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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.53.21

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

3.53.21

rājyabhraṣṭena dīnena tāpasena gatāyuṣā
kiṃ kariṣyasi rāmeṇa mānuṣeṇālpatejasā

What will you do with Rāma—fallen from his kingdom, wretched, an ascetic whose days are spent, a mere man of scant power?

Words: rājyabhraṣṭena — fallen from his kingdom; dīnena — wretched; tāpasena — an ascetic; gatāyuṣā — whose life is spent; kiṃ — what; kariṣyasi — will you do; rāmeṇa — with Rāma; mānuṣeṇālpatejasā — a mere man of scant power

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.