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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.41.14

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 41: Rāma pursues the deer. Lakṣmaṇa suspects Mārīca, Sītā asks for the living animal or its hide and Rāma leaves Lakṣmaṇa to guard her

In the sequence: Sītā interrupts and asks Rāma to capture it for their enjoyment

3.41.14

aho rūpam aho lakṣmīḥ svarasaṃpac ca śobhanā
mṛgo 'dbhuto vicitro 'sau hṛdayaṃ haratīva me

Ah, what beauty! Ah, what grace, and what a lovely richness of voice! That wondrous, dappled deer fairly steals my heart.

Words: aho — ah!; rūpam — beauty; aho — ah!; lakṣmīḥ — grace, splendour; svarasaṃpac ca — and richness of voice; śobhanā — lovely; mṛgo 'dbhuto — the wondrous deer; vicitro 'sau — that dappled one; hṛdayaṃ — the heart; haratīva me — fairly steals mine

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.