← 3.45.19 · Araṇya Kāṇḍa 45: Rāvaṇa reveals his identity · 3.45.21 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.45.20

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 45: Rāvaṇa reveals his identity. Sītā recounts her marriage and exile, he offers Queenship in Laṅkā and she rejects him with warnings of destruction

In the sequence: she asks the visitor's name, lineage, and reason for traveling alone.

3.45.20

sa tvaṃ nāma ca gotraṃ ca kulam ācakṣva tattvataḥ
ekaś ca daṇḍakāraṇye kimarthaṃ carasi dvija

'Now you — tell me truly your name, your gotra, and your family; and why, O Brahmin, do you wander alone in the Daṇḍaka forest?'

Words: sa — you (that one); tvaṃ — you; nāma — name; ca — and; gotraṃ — gotra, lineage; ca — and; kulam — family; ācakṣva — tell; tattvataḥ — truly; ekaś — alone; ca — and; daṇḍakāraṇye — in the Daṇḍaka forest; kimarthaṃ — for what purpose; carasi — you wander; dvija — O twice-born

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.