← 3.52.27 · Araṇya Kāṇḍa 52: Sītā drops her ornaments · 3.52.29 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.52.28
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: they depart secretly for Janasthāna → Rāvaṇa congratulates himself on obtaining Sītā, unaware of the consequences of this new enmity.
3.52.28
tataḥ priyaṃ vākyam upetya rākṣasā mahārtham aṣṭāv abhivādya rāvaṇam
vihāya laṅkāṃ sahitāḥ pratasthire yato janasthānam alakṣyadarśanāḥ
Then the eight rākṣasas, having received the pleasing, weighty command and saluted Rāvaṇa, left Laṅkā together and set out for Janasthāna, unseen by any eye.
Words: tataḥ — then; priyaṃ — pleasing; vākyam — command, speech; upetya — having received, approached; rākṣasā — the rākṣasas; mahārtham — weighty, of great import; aṣṭāv — eight; abhivādya — having saluted; rāvaṇam — Rāvaṇa; vihāya — having left; laṅkāṃ — Laṅkā; sahitāḥ — together; pratasthire — set out; yato — toward where; janasthānam — Janasthāna; alakṣyadarśanāḥ — unseen, invisible
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.