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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.42.15
Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 42: Mārīca’s false cry. Mortally wounded, he calls in Rāma’s voice, Rāma fears for Sītā and takes another deer’s meat before hurrying back
In the sequence: as he dies, he abandons the deer disguise and reveals his large rākṣasa body
3.42.15
tena marmaṇi nirviddhaḥ śareṇānupamena hi
mṛgarūpaṃ tu tat tyaktvā rākṣasaṃ rūpam ātmanaḥ
cakre sa sumahākāyo mārīco jīvitaṃ tyajan
Pierced to the vitals by that matchless arrow, casting off that deer-form, Mārīca of huge body assumed his own rākṣasa form, as he gave up his life.
Words: tena — by that; marmaṇi — in the vital point; nirviddhaḥ — pierced; śareṇānupamena hi — by the matchless arrow; mṛgarūpaṃ tu tat — that deer-form; tyaktvā — having cast off; rākṣasaṃ rūpam — the rākṣasa form; ātmanaḥ — his own; cakre — made, assumed; sa sumahākāyo — he of huge body; mārīco — Mārīca; jīvitaṃ tyajan — giving up (his) life
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.