← 3.45.43 · Araṇya Kāṇḍa 45: Rāvaṇa reveals his identity · 3.45.45 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.45.44
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: despite her firm words, she trembles → Rāvaṇa responds by boasting of his power to frighten her.
3.45.44
itīva tad vākyam aduṣṭabhāvā sudṛṣṭam uktvā rajanīcaraṃ tam
gātraprakampād vyathitā babhūva vātoddhatā sā kadalīva tanvī
Having spoken such words firmly to that night-roamer, she of faultless nature — slender-formed — fell to trembling in every limb and grew distressed, like a plantain tree tossed by the wind.
Words: itīva — thus indeed; tad — that; vākyam — speech; aduṣṭabhāvā — of faultless disposition; sudṛṣṭam — well-considered, firmly; uktvā — having spoken; rajanīcaraṃ — the night-roamer; tam — that; gātraprakampād — from trembling of the body; vyathitā — distressed, agitated; babhūva — became; vātoddhatā — tossed by the wind; sā — she; kadalīva — like a plantain tree; tanvī — the slender one
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.