← 3.40.31 · Araṇya Kāṇḍa 40: The golden deer appears

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.40.32

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: Sītā comes out gathering flowers and sees him → his extraordinary appearance holds her attention while he continues moving within view.

3.40.32

adṛṣṭapūrvaṃ dṛṣṭvā taṃ nānāratnamayaṃ mṛgam
vismayaṃ paramaṃ sītā jagāma janakātmajā

Seeing that deer, made of many jewels, never seen before, Sītā, the daughter of Janaka, fell into the utmost wonder.

Words: adṛṣṭapūrvaṃ — never seen before; dṛṣṭvā — having seen; taṃ — it; nānāratnamayaṃ — made of various jewels; mṛgam — deer; vismayaṃ paramaṃ — the utmost wonder; sītā — Sītā; jagāma — went into, fell into; janakātmajā — the daughter of Janaka

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.