← 3.47.3 · Araṇya Kāṇḍa 47: Sītā’s abduction · 3.47.5 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.47.4

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 47: Sītā’s abduction. Rāvaṇa reveals his ten-faced form and lifts her into his flying chariot, she calls on the forest, river and Jaṭāyu to inform Rāma

In the sequence: Rāvaṇa strikes his hands together and boasts that he can lift the earth, drink the ocean, stop the sun, and defeat Death

3.47.4

arkaṃ rundhyāṃ śarais tīkṣṇair vibhindyāṃ hi mahītalam
kāmarūpiṇam unmatte paśya māṃ kāmadaṃ patim

'With sharp arrows I could halt the sun and cleave open the surface of the earth. Behold me, foolish woman — a lord who changes shape at will and grants every wish, a fit husband!'

Words: arkaṃ — the sun; rundhyāṃ — I could obstruct, halt; śarais — with arrows; tīkṣṇair — sharp; vibhindyāṃ — I could cleave; hi — indeed; mahītalam — the surface of the earth; kāmarūpiṇam — one who takes any form at will; unmatte — O foolish woman; paśya — behold; māṃ — me; kāmadaṃ — granter of desires; patim — a husband

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.