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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.43.26

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: Wounded by her words, Lakṣmaṇa says he reveres her but responds with bitter generalizations about women and calls the forest beings to witness that he has obeyed his brother

3.43.26

uttaraṃ notsahe vaktuṃ daivataṃ bhavatī mama
vākyam apratirūpaṃ tu na citraṃ strīṣu maithili

'I dare not make reply — your ladyship is a deity to me; but an unseemly word is nothing strange in women, Maithilī.

Words: uttaraṃ — a reply; notsahe — I dare not; vaktuṃ — to speak; daivataṃ — a deity; bhavatī — your ladyship, you; mama — to me; vākyam — a word; apratirūpaṃ — unseemly, unbecoming; tu — but; na — not; citraṃ — strange, a wonder; strīṣu — among women; maithili — O Maithilī

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.