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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.40.17

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: he moves gracefully over the grass, nibbles shoots, and approaches the trees near the hut so that Sītā will see him

3.40.17

vanaṃ prajvalayan ramyaṃ rāmāśramapadaṃ ca tat
manoharaṃ darśanīyaṃ rūpaṃ kṛtvā sa rākṣasaḥ

Lighting up the lovely forest and that hermitage-ground of Rāma, that rākṣasa, having taken on a form charming and fair to behold,

Words: vanaṃ — the forest; prajvalayan — lighting up, setting ablaze; ramyaṃ — lovely; rāmāśramapadaṃ ca tat — and that hermitage-ground of Rāma; manoharaṃ — charming; darśanīyaṃ — fair to behold; rūpaṃ kṛtvā — having taken a form; sa rākṣasaḥ — that rākṣasa

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki, the ādikavi of the ādikāvya: the first poet of the first poem. 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.