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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.41.9

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: Sītā interrupts and asks Rāma to capture it for their enjoyment

3.41.9

āryaputrābhirāmo 'sau mṛgo harati me manaḥ
ānayainaṃ mahābāho krīḍārthaṃ no bhaviṣyati

'Noble husband, that lovely deer steals my heart; fetch it, O mighty-armed one—it shall be for our amusement.'

Words: āryaputrābhirāmo 'sau — noble husband, that lovely (deer); mṛgo — the deer; harati me manaḥ — steals my heart; ānayainaṃ — fetch this; mahābāho — O mighty-armed; krīḍārthaṃ — for the sake of play; no bhaviṣyati — it will be for us

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.