# Araṇya Kāṇḍa 47 — Sītā’s abduction

*Rāvaṇa reveals his ten-faced form and lifts her into his flying chariot, she calls on the forest, river and Jaṭāyu to inform Rāma*

Portion: Rāvaṇa’s disguise and Sītā’s abduction · Verses: 36 · Ref format: 3.47.<verse>

## Sequence

- Rāvaṇa strikes his hands together and boasts that he can lift the earth, drink the ocean, stop the sun, and defeat Death (47.1–4)
- he abandons the parivrājaka disguise and reveals his huge, ten-faced, armed form (47.5–9)
- he again urges Sītā to choose him and insults Rāma for obeying the exile command (47.10–14)
- he seizes her by the hair with his left hand and around the thighs with his right (47.15–16)
- the vanadevatās flee, and his magical donkey-drawn chariot appears (47.17–18)
- threatening her, he lifts her into it → she cries for Rāma as he carries her unwilling and struggling into the air (47.19–22).

- Sītā calls to Lakṣmaṇa and Rāma, who are too far away to know what is happening (47.23–25)
- she warns Rāvaṇa that the consequences of his crime will mature in time and bring his death, then laments that Kaikeyī's wish seems fulfilled (47.26–28)
- she appeals to Janasthāna's trees, the mountains Mālyavat and Prasravaṇa, the Godāvarī, the vanadevatās, and all animals and birds to tell Rāma who has taken her (47.29–34)
- confident that he will recover her once he knows, she specifically calls on Jaṭāyu to report the whole abduction to both brothers (47.35–36).

## Verses

**3.47.1**  
sītāyā vacanaṃ śrutvā daśagrīvaḥ pratāpavān  
haste hastaṃ samāhatya cakāra sumahad vapuḥ  
Hearing Sītā's words, the mighty ten-necked Rāvaṇa, striking hand against hand, assumed a colossal form.

**3.47.2**  
sa maithilīṃ punar vākyaṃ babhāṣe ca tato bhṛśam  
nonmattayā śrutau manye mama vīryaparākramau  
He spoke to Maithilī once more, and then vehemently: 'It seems this foolish woman has not heard of my valor and prowess.'

**3.47.3**  
udvaheyaṃ bhujābhyāṃ tu medinīm ambare sthitaḥ  
āpibeyaṃ samudraṃ ca mṛtyuṃ hanyāṃ raṇe sthitaḥ  
'Standing in the sky, I could lift the earth with my arms, drink up the ocean, and, taking my stand in battle, slay Death himself.'

**3.47.4**  
arkaṃ rundhyāṃ śarais tīkṣṇair vibhindyāṃ hi mahītalam  
kāmarūpiṇam unmatte paśya māṃ kāmadaṃ patim  
'With sharp arrows I could halt the sun and cleave open the surface of the earth. Behold me, foolish woman — a lord who changes shape at will and grants every wish, a fit husband!'

**3.47.5**  
evam uktavatas tasya rāvaṇasya śikhiprabhe  
kruddhasya hariparyante rakte netre babhūvatuḥ  
As Rāvaṇa spoke thus in his fury, his two eyes, glowing like fire and tawny at the corners, turned red.

**3.47.6**  
sadyaḥ saumyaṃ parityajya bhikṣurūpaṃ sa rāvaṇaḥ  
svaṃ rūpaṃ kālarūpābhaṃ bheje vaiśravaṇānujaḥ  
At once casting off that gentle mendicant guise, Rāvaṇa, the younger brother of Vaiśravaṇa, assumed his own form, terrible as Death itself.

**3.47.7**  
saṃraktanayanaḥ śrīmāṃs taptakāñcanakuṇḍalaḥ  
daśāsyaḥ kārmukī bāṇī babhūva kṣaṇadācaraḥ  
Red-eyed, majestic, with earrings of burnished gold, ten-faced, bearing bow and arrows, the night-roamer stood revealed.

**3.47.8**  
sa parivrājakacchadma mahākāyo vihāya tat  
pratipede svakaṃ rūpaṃ rāvaṇo rākṣasādhipaḥ  
Casting off that disguise of a wandering mendicant, the huge-bodied Rāvaṇa, lord of the rākṣasas, resumed his own form.

**3.47.9**  
saṃraktanayanaḥ krodhāj jīmūtanicayaprabhaḥ  
raktāmbaradharas tasthau strīratnaṃ prekṣya maithilīm  
With eyes reddened by rage, glowing like a bank of thunderclouds, clad in red garments, he stood gazing upon Maithilī, that jewel among women.

**3.47.10**  
sa tām asitakeśāntāṃ bhāskarasya prabhām iva  
vasanābharaṇopetāṃ maithilīṃ rāvaṇo 'bravīt  
To her — dark-tressed and radiant as the sun's own light, adorned with garments and jewels, to Maithilī — Rāvaṇa spoke:

**3.47.11**  
triṣu lokeṣu vikhyātaṃ yadi bhartāram icchasi  
mām āśraya varārohe tavāhaṃ sadṛśaḥ patiḥ  
'If you want a husband renowned throughout the three worlds, turn to me, O fair-hipped one; I am a husband worthy of you.'

**3.47.12**  
māṃ bhajasva cirāya tvam ahaṃ ślāghyas tava priyaḥ  
naiva cāhaṃ kva cid bhadre kariṣye tava vipriyam  
tyajyatāṃ mānuṣo bhāvo mayi bhāvaḥ praṇīyatām  
'Love me long, and I shall be your praiseworthy beloved; never, gentle lady, will I do anything to displease you. Give up this attachment to a mortal, and let your affection be set on me.'

**3.47.13**  
rājyāc cyutam asiddhārthaṃ rāmaṃ parimitāyuṣam  
kair guṇair anuraktāsi mūḍhe paṇḍitamānini  
'By what virtues are you so enamored of Rāma — fallen from his kingdom, his ends unachieved, his lifespan brief — O foolish woman who fancies herself wise?'

**3.47.14**  
yaḥ striyā vacanād rājyaṃ vihāya sasuhṛjjanam  
asmin vyālānucarite vane vasati durmatiḥ  
'—that fool who, at a woman's word, forsook his kingdom and his kinsfolk and now dwells in this forest haunted by wild beasts!'

**3.47.15**  
ity uktvā maithilīṃ vākyaṃ priyārhāṃ priyavādinīm  
jagrāha rāvaṇaḥ sītāṃ budhaḥ khe rohiṇīm iva  
Having spoken these words to Maithilī — she who deserved only kindness and spoke only kindly — Rāvaṇa seized Sītā, as the planet Budha might seize the star Rohiṇī in the sky.

**3.47.16**  
vāmena sītāṃ padmākṣīṃ mūrdhajeṣu kareṇa saḥ  
ūrvos tu dakṣiṇenaiva parijagrāha pāṇinā  
With his left hand he seized the lotus-eyed Sītā by the hair, and with his right he grasped her about the thighs.

**3.47.17**  
taṃ dṛṣṭvā giriśṛṅgābhaṃ tīkṣṇadaṃṣṭraṃ mahābhujam  
prādravan mṛtyusaṃkāśaṃ bhayārtā vanadevatāḥ  
Seeing him — huge as a mountain peak, sharp-fanged, mighty-armed, and terrible as Death — the forest deities fled in terror.

**3.47.18**  
sa ca māyāmayo divyaḥ kharayuktaḥ kharasvanaḥ  
pratyadṛśyata hemāṅgo rāvaṇasya mahārathaḥ  
Then Rāvaṇa's great chariot appeared — magical and divine, drawn by donkeys, harsh-braying, its body all of gold.

**3.47.19**  
tatas tāṃ paruṣair vākyair abhitarjya mahāsvanaḥ  
aṅkenādāya vaidehīṃ ratham āropayat tadā  
Then, threatening her with harsh words, the loud-voiced Rāvaṇa took Vaidehī up in his arms and set her upon the chariot.

**3.47.20**  
sā gṛhītāticukrośa rāvaṇena yaśasvinī  
rāmeti sītā duḥkhārtā rāmaṃ dūragataṃ vane  
Seized by Rāvaṇa, the illustrious Sītā, tormented with grief, cried out aloud, 'Rāma!' — to Rāma who had gone far off in the forest.

**3.47.21**  
tām akāmāṃ sa kāmārtaḥ pannagendravadhūm iva  
viveṣṭamānām ādāya utpapāthātha rāvaṇaḥ  
Then, seizing her — unwilling and writhing like the consort of the serpent-king — the lust-stricken Rāvaṇa sprang up into the air.

**3.47.22**  
tataḥ sā rākṣasendreṇa hriyamāṇā vihāyasā  
bhṛśaṃ cukrośa matteva bhrāntacittā yathāturā  
Then, borne off through the sky by the lord of the rākṣasas, she cried out loudly, like a woman frenzied, her mind distraught, as one in torment.

**3.47.23**  
hā lakṣmaṇa mahābāho gurucittaprasādaka  
hriyamāṇāṃ na jānīṣe rakṣasā kāmarūpiṇā  
'Alas, Lakṣmaṇa, mighty-armed one, gladdener of your elders' hearts! You do not know that I am being carried off by a rākṣasa who changes shape at will!'

**3.47.24**  
jīvitaṃ sukham arthāṃś ca dharmahetoḥ parityajan  
hriyamāṇām adharmeṇa māṃ rāghava na paśyasi  
'You who would give up life, comfort, and wealth for the sake of dharma — O Rāghava, you do not see me being carried off in violation of all dharma!'

**3.47.25**  
nanu nāmāvinītānāṃ vinetāsi paraṃtapa  
katham evaṃvidhaṃ pāpaṃ na tvaṃ śādhi hi rāvaṇam  
'Surely you are the chastiser of the unruly, O scorcher of foes; why, then, do you not punish so wicked a one as Rāvaṇa?'

**3.47.26**  
nanu sadyo 'vinītasya dṛśyate karmaṇaḥ phalam  
kālo 'py aṅgī bhavaty atra sasyānām iva paktaye  
'Surely the fruit of a misdeed shows itself in due course; here, too, time plays its part, just as it does in the ripening of crops.'

**3.47.27**  
sa karma kṛtavān etat kālopahatacetanaḥ  
jīvitāntakaraṃ ghoraṃ rāmād vyasanam āpnuhi  
'You have done this deed, your wits undone by doom; now reap from Rāma a dreadful calamity that will end your life!'

**3.47.28**  
hantedānīṃ sakāmā tu kaikeyī bāndhavaiḥ saha  
hriyeyaṃ dharmakāmasya dharmapatnī yaśasvinaḥ  
'Ah, now Kaikeyī and her kinsmen have their wish — I, the lawful wife of the illustrious, dharma-loving Rāma, am being carried away!'

**3.47.29**  
āmantraye janasthānaṃ karṇikārāṃś ca puṣpitān  
kṣipraṃ rāmāya śaṃsadhvaṃ sītāṃ harati rāvaṇaḥ  
'I take my leave of Janasthāna and the flowering Karṇikāra trees; tell Rāma quickly — Rāvaṇa is carrying Sītā away!'

**3.47.30**  
mālyavantaṃ śikhariṇaṃ vande prasravaṇaṃ girim  
kṣipraṃ rāmāya śaṃsadhvaṃ sītāṃ harati rāvaṇaḥ  
'I salute the peaked mountain Mālyavat and Mount Prasravaṇa; tell Rāma quickly — Rāvaṇa is carrying Sītā away!'

**3.47.31**  
haṃsasārasasaṃghuṣṭāṃ vande godāvarīṃ nadīm  
kṣipraṃ rāmāya śaṃsadhvaṃ sītāṃ harati rāvaṇaḥ  
'I salute the river Godāvarī, loud with geese and cranes; tell Rāma quickly — Rāvaṇa is carrying Sītā away!'

**3.47.32**  
daivatāni ca yānty asmin vane vividhapādape  
namaskaromy ahaṃ tebhyo bhartuḥ śaṃsata māṃ hṛtām  
'And the deities who dwell in this forest of many trees — to them I bow; tell my husband that I have been carried off!'

**3.47.33**  
yāni kāni cid apy atra sattvāni nivasanty uta  
sarvāṇi śaraṇaṃ yāmi mṛgapakṣigaṇān api  
'Whatever creatures dwell here, to them all I go for refuge — even to the flocks of beasts and birds.'

**3.47.34**  
hriyamāṇāṃ priyāṃ bhartuḥ prāṇebhyo 'pi garīyasīm  
vivaśāpahṛtā sītā rāvaṇeneti śaṃsata  
'Tell him this: that Sītā, her husband's beloved, dearer to him than his own life, has been borne off helpless — carried away by Rāvaṇa!'

**3.47.35**  
viditvā māṃ mahābāhur amutrāpi mahābalaḥ  
āneṣyati parākramya vaivasvatahṛtām api  
'Once he learns of me, the mighty-armed, mighty Rāma will bring me back by force, even from the other world — even had Yama himself carried me off.'

**3.47.36**  
rāmāya tu yathātattvaṃ jaṭāyo haraṇaṃ mama  
lakṣmaṇāya ca tat sarvam ākhyātavyam aśeṣataḥ  
'O Jaṭāyus, my abduction must be told, just as it happened, to Rāma and to Lakṣmaṇa — the whole of it, leaving nothing out.'