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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.54.29

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 lead her into the flowering grove → despite its beauty, she finds no comfort and collapses in fear and grief while remembering Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa.

3.54.29

iti pratisamādiṣṭā rākṣasyo rāvaṇena tāḥ
aśokavanikāṃ jagmur maithilīṃ parigṛhya tām

Thus commanded by Rāvaṇa, those rākṣasa-women, taking hold of Maithilī, went to the aśoka grove,

Words: iti — thus; pratisamādiṣṭā — commanded, instructed; rākṣasyo — the rākṣasa-women; rāvaṇena — by Rāvaṇa; tāḥ — those; aśokavanikāṃ — to the aśoka grove; jagmur — went; maithilīṃ — Maithilī; parigṛhya — taking hold of; tām — her

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.