← 3.41.5 · Araṇya Kāṇḍa 41: Rāma pursues the deer · 3.41.7 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.41.6
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
3.41.6
asya māyāvido māyā mṛgarūpam idaṃ kṛtam
bhānumatpuruṣavyāghra gandharvapurasaṃnibham
This deer-form is the magic of this master of illusion, O radiant tiger among men—resembling a city of the gandharvas.
Words: asya — of this (one); māyāvido — of the illusionist; māyā — magic, illusion; mṛgarūpam — the deer-form; idaṃ — this; kṛtam — made; bhānumatpuruṣavyāghra — O radiant tiger among men; gandharvapurasaṃnibham — resembling a city of gandharvas
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.