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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.52.18
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
3.52.18
sa tān dṛṣṭvā mahāvīryo varadānena mohitaḥ
uvācaitān idaṃ vākyaṃ praśasya balavīryataḥ
Seeing them, the greatly valiant one, deluded by the boon he had won, praised them for their strength and valour and spoke to them these words:
Words: sa — he; tān — them; dṛṣṭvā — having seen; mahāvīryo — the greatly valiant one; varadānena — by the granting of a boon; mohitaḥ — deluded; uvācaitān — spoke to them; idaṃ — this; vākyaṃ — speech; praśasya — having praised; balavīryataḥ — for their strength and valour
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.