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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.57.11

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 57: Lakṣmaṇa explains his departure. He recounts Sītā’s accusations after the false cry, Rāma insists that her harsh words should not have overridden his order

In the sequence: he recounts how the cry in Rāma's voice frightened Sītā and how he tried to reassure her that no enemy could overcome Rāma

3.57.11

vigarhitaṃ ca nīcaṃ ca katham āryo 'bhidhāsyati
trāhīti vacanaṃ sīte yas trāyet tridaśān api

O Sītā, how would the noble one—he who could rescue even the gods—utter so despicable and base a word as 'save me!'?

Words: vigarhitaṃ — despicable, reproachable; ca — and; nīcaṃ — base, low; ca — and; katham — how; āryo — the noble one; 'bhidhāsyati — would utter; trāhīti — 'save (me),' thus; vacanaṃ — word; sīte — O Sītā; yas — who; trāyet — could rescue; tridaśān — the gods (the thirty); api — even

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.