← 3.53.14 · Araṇya Kāṇḍa 53: Rāvaṇa’s offer to Sītā · 3.53.16 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.53.15

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 53: Rāvaṇa’s offer to Sītā. He displays his palace, promises wealth and authority over his wives, claims rescue is impossible and bows at her feet

In the sequence: he boasts of the number of rākṣasas under his command and says that his Kingdom and life are now at her disposal

3.53.15

teṣāṃ prabhur ahaṃ sīte sarveṣāṃ bhīmakarmaṇām
sahasram ekam ekasya mama kāryapuraḥsaram

of all those of dreadful deeds I am the lord, Sītā; for me a thousand attend upon each single one, going before in my service.

Words: teṣāṃ — of them; prabhur — lord; ahaṃ — I; sīte — O Sītā; sarveṣāṃ — of all; bhīmakarmaṇām — of dreadful deeds; sahasram — a thousand; ekam — one; ekasya — for each single one; mama — my; kāryapuraḥsaram — going before in service

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.