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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.44.12
Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 44: Rāvaṇa’s parivrājaka disguise. He approaches Sītā with Vedic words and praise of her beauty, she receives him as a brāhmaṇa guest
In the sequence: concealing his intention behind the disguise, he approaches Sītā as she sits grieving in the hut
3.44.12
sa tāṃ padmapalāśākṣīṃ pītakauśeyavāsinīm
abhyagacchata vaidehīṃ duṣṭacetā niśācaraḥ
That night-roamer of wicked mind approached her — Vaidehī, lotus-petal-eyed, clad in yellow silk.
Words: sa — that; tāṃ — her; padmapalāśākṣīṃ — lotus-petal-eyed; pītakauśeyavāsinīm — clad in yellow silk; abhyagacchata — approached; vaidehīṃ — Vaidehī; duṣṭacetā — of wicked mind; niśācaraḥ — the night-roamer
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.