← 3.41.41 · Araṇya Kāṇḍa 41: Rāma pursues the deer · 3.41.43 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.41.42

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: he recalls Agastya's destruction of Vātāpi and says the same fate awaits a rākṣasa who underestimates him

3.41.42

tvayāvigaṇya vātāpe paribhūtāś ca tejasā
jīvaloke dvijaśreṣṭhās tasmād asi jarāṃ gataḥ

'By you, Vātāpi, disregarding and scorning them by your power, the best of brahmins in the world of the living were destroyed; therefore you are digested (brought to your end).'

Words: tvayāvigaṇya — by you, disregarding; vātāpe — O Vātāpi; paribhūtāś ca — and scorned; tejasā — by (your) power; jīvaloke — in the world of the living; dvijaśreṣṭhās — the best of brahmins; tasmād — therefore; asi — you are; jarāṃ gataḥ — gone to digestion, dissolution

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.