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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.45.39

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 compares his desire to a jackal seeking a lioness and lists impossible, self-destructive acts as parallels for taking Rāma's wife

3.45.39

ayomukhānāṃ śūlānām agre caritum icchasi
rāmasya sadṛśīṃ bhāryāṃ yo 'dhigantuṃ tvam icchasi

'You wish to tread upon the tips of iron-pointed spikes — you who would win the wife worthy of Rāma!'

Words: ayomukhānāṃ — iron-pointed; śūlānām — of spikes, spears; agre — on the tips; caritum — to walk; icchasi — you wish; rāmasya — of Rāma; sadṛśīṃ — worthy, matching; bhāryāṃ — wife; yo — who; 'dhigantuṃ — to obtain; tvam — you; icchasi — wish

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.