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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.41.23

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: Rāma too is captivated by its appearance and speaks of fulfilling her wish

3.41.23

paśya lakṣmaṇa vaidehyāḥ spṛhāṃ mṛgagatām imām
rūpaśreṣṭhatayā hy eṣa mṛgo 'dya na bhaviṣyati

See, Lakṣmaṇa, this longing of Vaidehī's, fixed upon the deer; by reason of its surpassing beauty, this deer shall not live out this day.

Words: paśya — see; lakṣmaṇa — O Lakṣmaṇa; vaidehyāḥ — of Vaidehī; spṛhāṃ — longing, desire; mṛgagatām — fixed on the deer; imām — this; rūpaśreṣṭhatayā — by (its) surpassing beauty; hy eṣa — for this; mṛgo 'dya — the deer today; na bhaviṣyati — will not exist (i.e. will be killed)

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. 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.