← 3.42.19 · Araṇya Kāṇḍa 42: Mārīca’s false cry · 3.42.21 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.42.20
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: Rāma recognizes that Lakṣmaṇa's suspicion was correct and fears what the false cry may cause Sītā and his brother to do
3.42.20
tatra rāmaṃ bhayaṃ tīvram āviveśa viṣādajam
rākṣasaṃ mṛgarūpaṃ taṃ hatvā śrutvā ca tat svaram
There, having slain that rākṣasa in deer-form and heard that cry, a sharp fear born of dismay entered Rāma.
Words: tatra — there; rāmaṃ — Rāma; bhayaṃ tīvram — sharp fear; āviveśa — entered; viṣādajam — born of dismay; rākṣasaṃ mṛgarūpaṃ — the rākṣasa in deer-form; taṃ hatvā — having slain him; śrutvā ca — and having heard; tat svaram — that cry
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.