← 3.53.19 · Araṇya Kāṇḍa 53: Rāvaṇa’s offer to Sītā · 3.53.21 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.53.20

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

3.53.20

na deveṣu na yakṣeṣu na gandharveṣu narṣiṣu
ahaṃ paśyāmi lokeṣu yo me vīryasamo bhavet

Neither among gods, nor yakṣas, nor gandharvas, nor seers do I see anyone in the worlds who could be my equal in valour.

Words: na — not; deveṣu — among gods; na — nor; yakṣeṣu — among yakṣas; na — nor; gandharveṣu — among gandharvas; narṣiṣu — nor among seers; ahaṃ — I; paśyāmi — see; lokeṣu — in the worlds; yo — who; me — my; vīryasamo — equal in valour; bhavet — might be

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.