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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.51.9
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 says his boasts are worthless because he has not won her in an open contest, and challenges him to stop and face the brothers
3.51.9
kiṃ śakyaṃ kartum evaṃ hi yaj javenaiva dhāvasi
muhūrtam api tiṣṭhasva na jīvan pratiyāsyasi
What can be done, since you flee at such speed? Stand still even for a moment—you will not go back alive!
Words: kiṃ — what; śakyaṃ — can be, is possible; kartum — to do; evaṃ — thus; hi — for; yaj — since; javenaiva — at such very speed; dhāvasi — you flee, run; muhūrtam — for a moment; api — even; tiṣṭhasva — stand still; na — not; jīvan — alive, living; pratiyāsyasi — you will go back
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.