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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.54.27

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 54: Rāvaṇa’s deadline and threat. Sītā refuses him, he gives her twelve months to submit or be killed for his meal, then sends her to the aśoka grove

In the sequence: they must take her to the aśoka grove, guard her closely, and alternate threats with soothing words to force compliance

3.54.27

aśokavanikāmadhye maithilī nīyatām iti
tatreyaṃ rakṣyatāṃ gūḍham uṣmābhiḥ parivāritā

'Let Maithilī be taken into the midst of the aśoka grove; there let her be kept closely guarded, surrounded by you.'

Words: aśokavanikāmadhye — into the midst of the aśoka grove; maithilī — Maithilī; nīyatām — let (her) be taken; iti — (thus); tatreyaṃ — there she; rakṣyatāṃ — let (her) be guarded; gūḍham — closely, secretly; uṣmābhiḥ — by you (text uṣmābhiḥ for yuṣmābhiḥ); parivāritā — surrounded

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.