← 3.41.42 · Araṇya Kāṇḍa 41: Rāma pursues the deer · 3.41.44 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.41.43

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

3.41.43

evaṃ tan na bhaved rakṣo vātāpir iva lakṣmaṇa
madvidhaṃ yo 'timanyeta dharmanityaṃ jitendriyam

So this rākṣasa, who would slight one like me—ever devoted to dharma and master of his senses—shall not survive, but perish like Vātāpi, Lakṣmaṇa.

Words: evaṃ — thus, so; tan na bhaved — that shall not survive; rakṣo — the rākṣasa; vātāpir iva — like Vātāpi; lakṣmaṇa — O Lakṣmaṇa; madvidhaṃ — one like me; yo 'timanyeta — who would slight; dharmanityaṃ — ever devoted to dharma; jitendriyam — master of the senses

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.