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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.42.7
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: the deer repeatedly appears and disappears, stays just beyond arrow range, and draws him farther into the forest
3.42.7
chinnābhrair iva saṃvītaṃ śāradaṃ candramaṇḍalam
muhūrtād eva dadṛśe muhur dūrāt prakāśate
like the autumn moon-disc veiled by scattered clouds, it was seen only for a moment, and again shone forth from afar.
Words: chinnābhrair iva — as if by broken clouds; saṃvītaṃ — veiled, covered; śāradaṃ — autumnal; candramaṇḍalam — the moon-disc; muhūrtād eva — for just a moment; dadṛśe — was seen; muhur — again, repeatedly; dūrāt — from afar; prakāśate — shines forth
Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. 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.