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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.44.30
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: he asks who she is and why she is alone
3.44.30
kāsi kasya kutaś ca tvaṃ kiṃnimittaṃ ca daṇḍakān
ekā carasi kalyāṇi ghorān rākṣasasevitān
Who are you, whose are you, and whence? And for what reason do you wander alone, O blessed one, through the dreadful Daṇḍaka forests, haunted by rākṣasas?
Words: kāsi — who are you; kasya — whose; kutaś — whence; ca — and; tvaṃ — you; kiṃnimittaṃ — for what reason; ca — and; daṇḍakān — the Daṇḍaka forests; ekā — alone; carasi — you wander; kalyāṇi — O blessed one; ghorān — dreadful; rākṣasasevitān — haunted by rākṣasas
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.