← 3.40.17 · Araṇya Kāṇḍa 40: The golden deer appears · 3.40.19 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.40.18

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

3.40.18

pralobhanārthaṃ vaidehyā nānādhātuvicitritam
vicaran gacchate samyak śādvalāni samantataḥ

in order to entice Vaidehī, variegated with minerals of every kind, roaming, moved gracefully over the grassy patches on every side.

Words: pralobhanārthaṃ — for the sake of enticing; vaidehyā — of, for Vaidehī; nānādhātuvicitritam — variegated with various minerals; vicaran — roaming; gacchate — moves, goes; samyak — well, gracefully; śādvalāni — grassy patches, lawns; samantataḥ — on every side

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.