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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.53.5
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: After dispatching the eight agents, Rāvaṇa returns to Sītā, whom he finds grieving among her guards
3.53.5
mṛgayūthaparibhraṣṭāṃ mṛgīṃ śvabhir ivāvṛtām
adhomukhamukhīṃ dīnām abhyetya ca niśācaraḥ
like a doe strayed from the herd and hemmed in by hounds, her face downcast and wretched—and the night-ranger, approaching her,
Words: mṛgayūthaparibhraṣṭāṃ — strayed from the herd of deer; mṛgīṃ — a doe; śvabhir — by hounds; ivāvṛtām — as if hemmed in; adhomukhamukhīṃ — with downcast face; dīnām — wretched; abhyetya — having approached; ca — and; niśācaraḥ — the night-ranger
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.