← 3.41.3 · Araṇya Kāṇḍa 41: Rāma pursues the deer · 3.41.5 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.41.4

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: Lakṣmaṇa immediately suspects Mārīca, recalling that he has used disguises to kill royal hunters → he argues that no natural deer could be covered with jewels in this way

3.41.4

śaṅkamānas tu taṃ dṛṣṭvā lakṣmaṇo rāmam abravīt
tam evainam ahaṃ manye mārīcaṃ rākṣasaṃ mṛgam

But Lakṣmaṇa, seeing it, grew suspicious and said to Rāma: 'This very one I take to be that rākṣasa Mārīca in deer-form.'

Words: śaṅkamānas tu — but suspecting; taṃ dṛṣṭvā — having seen it; lakṣmaṇo — Lakṣmaṇa; rāmam abravīt — said to Rāma; tam evainam — this very one; ahaṃ manye — I think; mārīcaṃ — Mārīca; rākṣasaṃ — the rākṣasa; mṛgam — as a deer

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.