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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.53.19

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 claims that Laṅkā's ocean defenses and his own strength make rescue impossible, belittling Rāma's power

3.53.19

parikṣiptā samudreṇa laṅkeyaṃ śatayojanā
neyaṃ dharṣayituṃ śakyā sendrair api surāsuraiḥ

This Laṅkā, a hundred yojanas wide, is girdled by the ocean; it cannot be assailed even by the gods and asuras together with Indra.

Words: parikṣiptā — girdled, surrounded; samudreṇa — by the ocean; laṅkeyaṃ — this Laṅkā; śatayojanā — a hundred yojanas (wide); neyaṃ — this (is) not; dharṣayituṃ — to be assailed; śakyā — possible, able; sendrair — together with Indra; api — even; surāsuraiḥ — by gods and asuras

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.