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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.41.26

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

3.41.26

paśyāsya jṛmbhamāṇasya dīptām agniśikhopamām
jihvāṃ mukhān niḥsarantīṃ meghād iva śatahradām

Look, as he yawns, at his tongue coming forth from his mouth, blazing like a flame of fire, like lightning from a cloud.

Words: paśyāsya — look, of this one; jṛmbhamāṇasya — yawning; dīptām — blazing; agniśikhopamām — like a flame of fire; jihvāṃ — tongue; mukhān niḥsarantīṃ — coming out of the mouth; meghād iva — as from a cloud; śatahradām — lightning (the hundred-flashing)

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.