← 3.43.20 · Araṇya Kāṇḍa 43: Lakṣmaṇa leaves Sītā · 3.43.22 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.43.21
Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 43: Lakṣmaṇa leaves Sītā. He identifies the cry as deception, but her accusations overcome his resolve to stay and he departs toward Rāma
In the sequence: Sītā grows angrier, accusing him either of pursuing her himself or of acting for Bharata → she insists that she would die rather than belong to another man.
3.43.21
naitac citraṃ sapatneṣu pāpaṃ lakṣmaṇa yad bhavet
tvadvidheṣu nṛśaṃseṣu nityaṃ pracchannacāriṣu
It is no wonder, Lakṣmaṇa, that evil should be found among rivals such as you — cruel men, ever moving about in secret.
Words: naitac — not this; citraṃ — a wonder, strange; sapatneṣu — among rivals, foes; pāpaṃ — evil; lakṣmaṇa — O Lakṣmaṇa; yad — which; bhavet — should be; tvadvidheṣu — among those like you; nṛśaṃseṣu — among the cruel; nityaṃ — ever; pracchannacāriṣu — moving about in secret
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.