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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.54.5

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: she reaffirms her marriage and says Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa will kill him → had he attempted the abduction in Rāma's presence, he would already have died like Khara

3.54.5

pratyakṣaṃ yady ahaṃ tasya tvayā syāṃ dharṣitā balāt
śayitā tvaṃ hataḥ saṃkhye janasthāne yathā kharaḥ

Had I been assaulted by you by force before his very eyes, you would lie slain in battle, as Khara was slain in Janasthāna.

Words: pratyakṣaṃ — before (his) eyes; yady — if; ahaṃ — I; tasya — his; tvayā — by you; syāṃ — were, should be; dharṣitā — assaulted; balāt — by force; śayitā — would lie (slain); tvaṃ — you; hataḥ — slain; saṃkhye — in battle; janasthāne — in Janasthāna; yathā — as; kharaḥ — Khara

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.