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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.52.17
Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 52: Sītā drops her ornaments. She drops her silk and ornaments among five monkeys, Rāvaṇa confines her in Laṅkā and sends agents to Janasthāna
In the sequence: he orders the women guarding her to admit no visitors without permission, provide whatever valuables or clothing she wants, and speak no unkind word to her on pain of death. Rāvaṇa leaves the apartments and summons eight powerful rākṣasas
3.52.17
tathoktvā rākṣasīs tās tu rākṣasendraḥ pratāpavān
niṣkramyāntaḥpurāt tasmāt kiṃ kṛtyam iti cintayan
dadarśāṣṭau mahāvīryān rākṣasān piśitāśanān
Having thus addressed those rākṣasa-women, the mighty lord of rākṣasas went out from that inner apartment and, pondering 'What is to be done?', beheld eight flesh-eating rākṣasas of great valour.
Words: tathoktvā — having thus spoken; rākṣasīs — the rākṣasa-women; tās — those; tu — and; rākṣasendraḥ — the lord of rākṣasas; pratāpavān — the mighty one; niṣkramyāntaḥpurāt — having gone out from the inner apartment; tasmāt — from that; kiṃ — what; kṛtyam — is to be done; iti — thus; cintayan — pondering; dadarśāṣṭau — beheld eight; mahāvīryān — of great valour; rākṣasān — rākṣasas; piśitāśanān — flesh-eaters
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.