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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.67.23

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 67: Story of Kabandha. A ṛṣi’s curse and Indra’s thunderbolt produced his deformed body, he asks for cremation to restore his discernment and name a helpful ally

In the sequence: Rāma explains that Rāvaṇa carried Sītā away but that they do not know his appearance, home, or strength → he offers to gather dry wood and perform the cremation, asking Kabandha for whatever information he has

3.67.23

sa tvaṃ sītāṃ samācakṣva yena vā yatra vā hṛtā
kuru kalyāṇam atyarthaṃ yadi jānāsi tattvataḥ

“Do you then tell of Sītā — by whom or whither she was carried off; do us this exceeding kindness, if you truly know.”

Words: sa — that, then; tvaṃ — you; sītāṃ — Sītā; samācakṣva — tell, declare; yena — by whom; vā — or; yatra — whither, where; vā — or; hṛtā — was carried off; kuru — do, make; kalyāṇam — a kindness, good deed; atyarthaṃ — exceedingly; yadi — if; jānāsi — you know; tattvataḥ — truly, in truth

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.