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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.41.18

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: she hopes to take it back to Ayodhyā as a living marvel for the family → if it cannot be caught alive, she asks for its golden hide to spread over her grass couch

3.41.18

jīvan na yadi te 'bhyeti grahaṇaṃ mṛgasattamaḥ
ajinaṃ naraśārdūla ruciraṃ me bhaviṣyati

If the best of deer does not come alive into your capture, then, O tiger among men, its lovely hide will be mine.

Words: jīvan na yadi — if not alive; te 'bhyeti — comes to you; grahaṇaṃ — capture; mṛgasattamaḥ — the best of deer; ajinaṃ — the hide, skin; naraśārdūla — O tiger among men; ruciraṃ — lovely; me bhaviṣyati — will be 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.