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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.40.15

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 40: The golden deer appears. Mārīca yields to Rāvaṇa, travels to the hermitage and assumes a jewelled deer’s form that attracts Sītā while frightening the real deer

In the sequence: Mārīca becomes a marvelous deer with gemlike horns, sapphire-colored features, silver spots, golden coloring, and an iridescent tail

3.40.15

vaidūryasaṃkāśakhuras tanujaṅghaḥ susaṃhataḥ
indrāyudhasavarṇena pucchenordhvaṃ virājitaḥ

his hooves like lapis lazuli, his shanks slender, his body well-knit, made resplendent by an upraised tail coloured like the rainbow,

Words: vaidūryasaṃkāśakhuras — with hooves resembling lapis lazuli; tanujaṅghaḥ — slender-shanked; susaṃhataḥ — well-knit, compact; indrāyudhasavarṇena — of a colour like the rainbow; pucchenordhvaṃ — with tail, upward; virājitaḥ — made resplendent

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. Sanskrit: The Vālmīki-Rāmāyaṇa: Critical Edition, Oriental Institute, Baroda, 1960–1975 (gen. eds. G. H. Bhatt, U. P. Shah); IAST from GRETIL (Göttingen). Translation and word glosses: Claude Opus 4.6–4.7; summaries and sequences: ChatGPT Astra (machine-made). Numbering follows the Critical Edition, not the vulgate (e.g. Gita Press, valmikiramayan.net), so sarga and verse numbers can differ from those editions.