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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.53.16

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

3.53.16

yad idaṃ rājyatantraṃ me tvayi sarvaṃ pratiṣṭhitam
jīvitaṃ ca viśālākṣi tvaṃ me prāṇair garīyasī

This whole machinery of my kingdom rests upon you; and my life too, wide-eyed one—you are dearer to me than my very breaths.

Words: yad — which; idaṃ — this; rājyatantraṃ — machinery of the kingdom; me — my; tvayi — upon you; sarvaṃ — whole; pratiṣṭhitam — rests, is established; jīvitaṃ — life; ca — and; viśālākṣi — O wide-eyed one; tvaṃ — you; me — to me; prāṇair — than my life-breaths; garīyasī — dearer, weightier

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.