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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.51.19

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 51: Sītā condemns the deception. She connects the golden deer with her abduction, challenges Rāvaṇa to face the brothers and warns him to release her

In the sequence: she interprets Rāvaṇa's refusal of sound advice as a sign that death is near, invoking the river and tortures of the world of punishment

3.51.19

taptakāñcanapuṣpāṃ ca vaidūryapravaracchadām
drakṣyase śālmalīṃ tīkṣṇām āyasaiḥ kaṇṭakaiś citām

And you shall behold the cruel śālmalī tree, its flowers of molten gold and its leaves of choice beryl, thickly set with iron thorns.

Words: taptakāñcanapuṣpāṃ — with flowers of molten gold; ca — and; vaidūryapravaracchadām — with leaves of choice beryl; drakṣyase — you shall see; śālmalīṃ — the śālmalī (silk-cotton) tree; tīkṣṇām — sharp, cruel; āyasaiḥ — with iron; kaṇṭakaiś — thorns; citām — thickly set, covered

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.