अरण्यकाण्ड
Araṇyakāṇḍa forms the Ramayana’s decisive middle movement: the exile narrative expands from ethical trial into epic catastrophe. Entering the Daṇḍaka forest, Rāma, Sītā, and Lakṣmaṇa encounter ascetic communities whose precarious dharma depends upon royal protection; the book repeatedly frames kingship as a protective obligation rather than mere sovereignty. Early episodes (Virādha’s defeat; meetings with Śarabhaṅga, Sūtīkṣṇa, Agastya; settlement at Pañcavaṭī) establish a sacral geography of hermitages and rivers, and also a poetics of forest description—seasons, flora, and the hermitage economy—typical of Vālmīki’s sustained nature-catalogues. The narrative then turns sharply with Śūrpaṇakhā’s erotic aggression and humiliation, which triggers a military escalation culminating in Rāma’s annihilation of Khara, Dūṣaṇa, and Triśiras and the slaughter of Janasthāna’s forces. This victory, while heroic, becomes the hinge by which Rāvaṇa is drawn into the plot, and the book stages a sophisticated political-ethical debate through Mārīca’s counsel and Rāvaṇa’s refusal—an anatomy of hubris, counsel, and royal failure. The abduction of Sītā—engineered through the golden deer deception and the separation of the brothers—constitutes the Kāṇḍa’s tragic apex. Jatāyu’s resistance, Sītā’s defiance in Laṅkā’s prospect, and Rāma’s grief-stricken search modulate the dominant rasa from vīra to karuṇa. The closing encounters with Kabandha and Śabarī redirect grief into strategy, pointing Rāma toward Sugrīva and Pampā, thus structurally preparing the Kiṣkindhā alliance. As preserved in the IIT Kanpur Southern Recension, the book also reflects a living transmission with additional traditional verses and expansions that intensify devotional, descriptive, and didactic textures.
Rāma, Sītā, and Lakṣmaṇa enter Daṇḍakāraṇya, receive the hospitality and petitions of sages, and commit to protecting ascetic settlements from rākṣasas. After defeating Virādha and visiting major hermitages (Śarabhaṅga, Sūtīkṣṇa, Agastya), they establish an āśrama at Pañcavaṭī. Śūrpaṇakhā’s encounter leads to attacks that Rāma repels, climaxing in the destruction of Khara’s forces at Janasthāna. Enraged, Rāvaṇa consults and coerces Mārīca into the golden-deer ruse; Rāma is drawn away, Lakṣmaṇa is sent off, and Rāvaṇa abducts Sītā despite Jatāyu’s resistance. Rāma’s search and lament culminate in guidance from Kabandha and Śabarī, directing him toward Pampā and the future alliance with Sugrīva.
तापसाश्रममण्डलदर्शनम् (Entering Dandaka and Meeting the Sages)
Sarga 1 opens with Rama’s entry into the great Dandaka forest and a sustained descriptive survey of an ascetic settlement network (tāpasāśrama-maṇḍala). The hermitages are portrayed as ritually ordered and aesthetically luminous: courtyards are cleansed and sprinkled, Vedic recitations reverberate, offerings and fire-sanctuaries are maintained, and the space shelters birds and deer—marking the forest āśrama as a disciplined micro-polity. Rama approaches with his great bow’s string loosened, signaling controlled readiness rather than aggression. The sages, endowed with divine insight, greet Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana with auspicious benedictions, gazing upon them in wonder and likening Rama’s radiance to the rising moon. Hospitality follows standard dharma protocols: seating in a leaf-hut, offering water, then forest foods (roots, fruits, flowers). The sages explicitly articulate a constitutional theology of kingship: Rama is declared refuge, dharma-protector, and daṇḍadhara; a king is described as a ‘fourth part of Indra’ due to protective duty. They conclude by petitioning protection for ascetics who have renounced coercive power, presenting themselves as dependents “like children,” thereby extending Rama’s sovereign responsibility into the wilderness.
Virādha-saṃvādaḥ — Encounter with Virādha in the Daṇḍakāraṇya (Aranya Kanda, Sarga 2)
At sunrise, after receiving hospitality from the sages, Rāma formally takes leave and penetrates deeper into the forest (3.2.1), with Lakṣmaṇa accompanying him through a terrain densely populated by animals, ominous sounds, and disrupted vegetation—an ecological signal of rākṣasa intrusion (3.2.2–3.2.3). The trio encounters a terrifying puruṣāda identified as Virādha, described through amplified physical imagery and trophies of slaughter, intensifying bhayānaka rasa (3.2.4–3.2.7). Virādha charges them, seizes Vaidehī (Sītā) onto his lap, and interrogates the brothers’ ascetic appearance while accusing them of violating tapas by living with a woman (3.2.9–3.2.11). He self-identifies as a rākṣasa who habitually consumes sages and declares intent to take Sītā and drink the brothers’ blood (3.2.12–3.2.13), causing Sītā’s fear and trembling (3.2.14–3.2.15). Rāma, anguished at her defilement by another’s touch, frames the moment as the swift fulfillment of Kaikeyī’s boons and articulates that this violation surpasses even the grief of paternal death or loss of kingdom (3.2.18–3.2.21). Lakṣmaṇa responds with controlled fury, reaffirming Rāma’s lordly stature and vowing immediate lethal retaliation; his speech channels redirected political anger into righteous protection (3.2.22–3.2.26). The chapter thus juxtaposes ascetic signifiers with moral legitimacy, clarifies the primacy of protecting Sītā and sages, and prepares the tactical transition from endurance to sanctioned violence in the forest.
विराधप्रश्नोत्तर-युद्धम् (Viradha’s Challenge and the Clash in Dandaka)
Sarga 3 presents a tightly structured exchange that moves from inquiry to identification, then to escalating combat. Lakṣmaṇa opens with a controlled, almost ironic interrogation of Virādha’s identity. Virādha counters by demanding the princes’ identity and destination, prompting Rāma to introduce their kṣatriya status and forest-wandering purpose while insisting on knowing the demon’s motives. Virādha self-identifies (son of Jaya, mother Śatahradā) and cites a boon from Brahmā granting weapon-immunity (acchedya/abhedya), then issues an ultimatum to abandon Sītā. Rāma’s reply shifts the tone into righteous anger; Lakṣmaṇa denounces Virādha as death-seeking. Combat follows in phases: Rāma strings his bow, releases seven swift, golden-feathered arrows; Virādha, pierced, abandons Sītā, lifts a spear likened to Indra’s banner, and charges. The brothers shower arrows; Virādha’s boon is dramatized as arrows falling from his body as he laughs and yawns. Rāma then cleaves the spear midair with two arrows; the broken weapon falls like a slab from Meru shattered by thunder. The brothers draw swords; Virādha grapples them and carries them on his shoulders into a dense, ominous forest landscape, while Rāma strategically allows the movement, recognizing it aligns with their intended path.
विराधवधः — The Slaying (Burial) of Viradha
Sarga 4 stages a compact ethical-combat sequence: Sītā witnesses Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa being forcefully carried by the rākṣasa Virādha and cries out, prompting immediate counteraction. The brothers break Virādha’s arms and assault him with arrows, swords, and physical force, yet observe his apparent invulnerability. Rāma diagnoses the constraint: due to Virādha’s tapas-based protection, conventional weapon-killing in battle is ineffective; the correct method is to bury him in a deep pit (pradara/śvabhra). Lakṣmaṇa digs, while Rāma immobilizes Virādha by pinning his neck with his foot. Virādha then shifts to humble speech, revealing prior identity as the gandharva Tumburu, cursed by Kubera (Vaiśravaṇa) due to neglect of duty while infatuated with Rambhā; the curse ends when Rāma causes his death, restoring him to his original state and enabling ascent to heaven. Virādha also provides directional counsel: the sage Śarabhanga dwells about one and a half yojanas away and can confer welfare. The episode concludes with Virādha’s burial, sealing with rocks, and the trio resuming their forest journey.
शरभङ्गाश्रमगमनम् तथा इन्द्रदर्शनम् (Approach to Sarabhanga’s Hermitage and the Vision of Indra)
After the slaying of Virādha, Rama reassures Sītā and turns to Lakṣmaṇa, emphasizing the difficulty of the unfamiliar forest and the urgency of reaching the ascetic Śarabhanga. Near Śarabhanga’s hermitage, Rama witnesses an adbhuta scene in the sky: Indra’s radiant chariot, tawny horses, a spotless umbrella and costly yak-tail fans, and celestial attendants praised by gandharvas, devas, siddhas, and great ṛṣis. Rama instructs Lakṣmaṇa to remain with Sītā while he identifies the dazzling being, then proceeds to the hermitage. Indra, foreseeing Rama’s larger destiny, privately asks Śarabhanga to remove him from Rama’s sight, stating that Rama must complete an exceptionally difficult task before their meeting is appropriate. Indra departs to heaven. Rama, with Sītā and Lakṣmaṇa, respectfully approaches Śarabhanga, enquires about Indra’s visit, and hears that Indra had offered to take the sage to Brahmaloka. Śarabhanga delays his ascent until he can honor Rama as a dear guest, offers Rama the merit of conquered worlds, and directs him instead toward the righteous ascetic Sūtīkṣṇa via the Mandākinī. Finally, Śarabhanga performs a sacrificial act, enters the fire, emerges youthful, transcends the worlds of gods and sages, and ascends to Brahmaloka where Brahmā welcomes him—closing the sarga with a clear linkage between tapas, cosmic hierarchy, and Rama’s unfolding mission.
षष्ठस्सर्गः — तपस्विरक्षणे राजधर्मोपदेशः (Sarga 6: The Sages’ Appeal and Instruction on Royal Duty)
After Śarabhanga attains heaven, diverse assemblies of ascetics arrive at his hermitage and approach Rama, described as blazing with fire-like radiance. They praise Rama’s fame, valor, filial devotion, truthfulness, and dharma, then apologize for petitioning him as needy supplicants. The sages articulate a normative doctrine of rāja-dharma: a king who takes the traditional one-sixth tax yet fails to protect subjects commits grave injustice; conversely, a ruler who guards residents like beloved sons gains enduring fame and reaches Brahmā’s world. They further state that a portion of a sage’s merit accrues to the king who protects the people righteously, linking political protection to spiritual economy. The sages then present evidence of rākṣasa atrocities—bodies of slain ascetics and widespread slaughter near Pampa, Mandākinī, and Citrakūṭa—and seek refuge in Rama as the highest protector on earth. Rama responds with humility, insisting ascetics may command him; he declares he entered the forest not merely for personal ends but to fulfill his father’s instruction and to repel rākṣasa aggression. Granting assurance of safety, Rama—together with Lakshmana—sets out toward the sage Sūtīkṣṇa.
सुतीक्ष्णाश्रमप्रवेशः — Entry into Sutikshna’s Hermitage
This sarga maps Rāma’s transition deeper into the ascetic landscape. Accompanied by Sītā, Lakṣmaṇa, and brahmin sages, he reaches Sutīkṣṇa’s hermitage after a long journey and river-crossing, entering a dense forest and locating an āśrama marked by ascetic signs (bark garments, seclusion). Rāma formally introduces himself and requests audience; Sutīkṣṇa welcomes him with affectionate embrace and frames Rāma’s presence as protective guardianship for the āśrama. Sutīkṣṇa recounts a prior divine assurance involving Indra (Śatakratu) and the notion of worlds won by tapas and merit, offering Rāma freedom to roam by grace—an ascetic idiom of spiritual “jurisdiction.” Rāma responds with self-possession and restraint, declining borrowed merit and asserting personal responsibility: he will win worlds by himself, seeking only forest residence. Sutīkṣṇa praises the hermitage’s abundance and harmless animal herds; Rāma, hearing of repeated incursions, momentarily lifts bow and arrow, but recognizes the pain such violence would cause the sage and therefore limits the prospect of long residence. The chapter closes with evening rites (sandhyā), settling in the āśrama, and Sutīkṣṇa’s hospitality with food suitable for ascetics.
सुतीक्ष्णाश्रमप्रस्थानम् (Departure from Sutikshna’s Hermitage)
Sarga 8 presents a ritualized morning transition from hospitality to onward travel. Having been honored by the sage Sutikshna, Rama (with Lakshmana) passes the night in the hermitage and rises at dawn. Rama and Sita bathe with cool, lotus-fragrant water, then—together with Lakshmana—perform prescribed worship to fire and deities, and salute the rising sun, marking the disciplined temporal order of forest-life. Approaching Sutikshna, they request leave, explaining their urgency to visit the full circuit of hermitages of the Dandaka-dwelling sages and to proceed before the sun becomes unbearably hot; their speech embeds a moral simile about ill-gotten prosperity producing arrogance, aligning physical heat with ethical disorder. Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana then touch the sage’s feet; Sutikshna lifts them up, embraces them affectionately, and grants a blessing of safe passage, describing the scenic abundance of the forest—fruits, flowers, herds, quiet birds, lotus lakes, waterfowl, peacocks, and hill-stream waterfalls—thereby turning geography into a guided itinerary. He asks them to return after seeing these places. Sita equips the brothers with quivers, bows, and swords; armed and radiant, the trio departs, concluding the chapter’s emphasis on reverence, permission, and purposeful movement through sacred landscape.
सीताया धर्मोपदेशः—शस्त्रसंयोगदोषकथा (Sita’s Counsel on Dharma and the Peril of Weapon-Association)
As Rāma prepares to depart with Sūtīkṣṇa’s permission, Sītā addresses him in affectionate yet analytic speech. She affirms Rāma’s truthfulness, fidelity, and self-mastery, then identifies a potential dharma-risk: the ‘third vice’—violence without enmity—becoming proximate when one lives in the forest carrying weapons. She recalls Rāma’s vow to protect Daṇḍakāraṇya’s sages and acknowledges the rationale for entering the forest armed with Lakṣmaṇa, yet argues that weapon-association can vitiate the mind. To illustrate, she narrates an exemplum of an ascetic entrusted with Indra’s sword; constant carrying gradually eroded his tapas-resolution, producing a fierce disposition and moral downfall. Sītā urges that the bow’s proper function in the forest is defensive protection of the distressed, not proactive killing without offense. She concludes by deferring to Rāma’s superior discernment—asking him to deliberate with Lakṣmaṇa and act promptly according to dharma, framing her words as loving reminder rather than instruction.
दशमः सर्गः — Rama’s Vow to Protect the Sages of Daṇḍaka (Dharma of Refuge)
This sarga is structured as an ethical dialogue framed by Sītā’s bhartṛ-bhakti and Rāma’s dharma-niṣṭhā. Rāma first acknowledges Sītā’s affectionate admonition as befitting her lineage and her role as sadharma-cāriṇī. He then articulates the kṣatriya rationale for bearing arms: the bow signifies the prevention of ‘ārta-śabda’—the cry of distress—within society. Rāma recounts how Daṇḍaka’s ascetics personally sought his refuge, describing rākṣasa harassment that targets sacrificial times (homa-kāla) and lunar/ritual observances (parva-kāla), thereby threatening both lives and ritual continuity. The sages affirm that, though empowered by tapas to retaliate, they refuse to dissipate long-earned austerity through violent action or curses, and therefore request protection from Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa. Rāma states he promised comprehensive protection and insists that truthfulness (satya) binds him even above personal safety; he would sooner forfeit life than break a pledge made to brāhmaṇas. Concluding, he reassures Sītā of his approval of her counsel and proceeds with Lakṣmaṇa, bow in hand, through the delightful tapo-vanas.
पञ्चाप्सरो-सरः कथनम् तथा अगस्त्याश्रममार्गनिर्देशः (Panchapsara Lake Account and Directions to Agastya)
Sarga 11 frames a travel-and-inquiry sequence in which Rama leads, Sita remains protected in the middle, and Lakshmana follows armed with bow, establishing a disciplined procession. The trio encounters an uncanny soundscape at a clear lake; upon questioning the sage Dharmabrata, they receive an etiological account of Panchāpsarā-taṭāka, created through Mandakarni’s tapas and later associated with five apsarases sent by the gods to disrupt his penance. The narrative then transitions to a longer itinerary cycle: Rama’s respectful residence among multiple hermitages over varying durations is summarized as a decade of favorable forest-dwelling. Returning to Sutikshna’s āśrama, Rama requests to visit Agastya; Sutikshna provides precise route guidance (yojana measures, southern direction, overnight stop at lotus-ponds) and encourages immediate departure. Rama reaches the hermitage of Agastya’s brother (identified in translation tradition here as Sudarsana), is received with ritual propriety (sandhyā observance, hospitality of roots and fruits), and departs at dawn toward Agastya. En route, Rama narrates to Lakshmana the Ilvala–Vatapi episode and Agastya’s decisive protection of brahmins, culminating in the visual confirmation of Agastya’s hermitage and its civilizing influence over the southern quarter (including the Vindhya motif and the pacification of hostile beings).
अगस्त्याश्रमप्रवेशः तथा दिव्यायुधप्रदानम् (Entry into Agastya’s Hermitage and the Gift of Divine Weapons)
Lakṣmaṇa enters Agastya’s āśrama precinct and addresses Agastya’s disciple, identifying himself and requesting audience for Rāma, Sītā, and himself as forest-dwellers by paternal command. The disciple reports to the sage; Agastya expresses long-held anticipation of Rāma’s arrival and orders prompt hospitality. Rāma is ushered in, observing the hermitage’s sacral topography—altars/places associated with multiple deities—signaling an integrated ritual cosmos within the ascetic settlement. Agastya emerges with disciples; Rāma recognizes him as a treasury of tapas, performs respectful prostration, and stands with folded palms along with Sītā and Lakṣmaṇa. Agastya receives them with seat and water, feeds them according to vānaprastha norms, and articulates atithi-dharma: offerings to fire and proper honoring of guests are mandatory, with moral consequences for neglect. He then bestows a Vaiṣṇava bow crafted by Viśvakarman, an unfailing arrow given by Brahmā, two quivers of inexhaustible arrows and a sword with sheath given by Indra—framing weaponry as dharmically authorized instruments for protection in the forest.
पञ्चवटी-निर्देशः (Agastya Directs Rama to Panchavati)
This sarga is structured as a formal hermitage dialogue between Agastya and Rāma. Agastya welcomes the princes and Sītā, acknowledging their reverential visit and recognizing their journey-fatigue; he notes Sītā’s delicate endurance and frames her presence in the forest as an extraordinary act of marital devotion. A didactic segment contrasts stereotyped claims about women’s fickleness with Sītā’s exemplary steadiness, likening her to Arundhatī, and instructs Rāma to ensure Sītā’s comfort and joy. Rāma, with folded palms, responds with humility and requests a suitable residence-site: a well-watered, forested region for establishing an āśrama. After reflective pause, Agastya provides a precise topographic itinerary and praises the nearing completion of Rāma’s exile-vow, forecasting his return to righteous kingship. He recommends Pañcavaṭī—near the Godāvarī, abundant in roots and fruits, rich in birds, solitary and holy—and adds a governance duty: Rāma should protect the local tapasvins. The chapter closes with leave-taking rituals (pāda-abhivandana) and the brothers’ armed departure with Sītā along the instructed path. The Southern Recension here also preserves a duplicated verse-unit (3.13.18–19) reflecting traditional transmission.
जटायुस्संवादः — Encounter with Jaṭāyu and the Genealogy of Beings (Aranyakanda 14)
While proceeding toward Pañcavaṭī, Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa encounter a formidable vulture perched on a banyan tree and initially suspect a rākṣasa. The bird speaks gently, identifies himself as Daśaratha’s friend, and is honored by Rāma, who requests his name and lineage. Jaṭāyu responds with a cosmological-genealogical discourse: he enumerates early Prajāpatis, then Dakṣa’s famed sixty daughters, and the eight wives of Kaśyapa (Aditi, Diti, Danu, Kālīkā, Tāmra, Krodhavaśā, Anala, Manu). The narration maps progeny lines—devas from Aditi (the thirty-three), daityas from Diti, specific beings from Danu and Kālīkā, and extensive avian and animal lineages from Tāmra and Krodhavaśā, including hawks, vultures, swans, and chakravākas; it further covers Surabhi’s descendants (cows and horses), Surasā and Kadrū’s serpent lines, and Vinatā’s sons (Garuḍa and Aruṇa). Jaṭāyu finally identifies himself as Aruṇa’s son and Sampāti’s younger brother, offering protective service: he will guard Sītā when the brothers are away in this dangerous forest. Rāma joyfully embraces and reveres him, then entrusts Sītā to Jaṭāyu’s protection and proceeds with Lakṣmaṇa to Pañcavaṭī, framing the alliance as a strategic and ethical safeguard amid rākṣasa-threatened wilderness.
पञ्चवटी-निवासः (Settlement at Pañcavaṭī and Construction of the Hermitage)
This sarga maps the transition from travel to habitation: Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa reach Pañcavaṭī, a forest tract described as simultaneously beautiful and perilous (populated by diverse wild and ‘vicious’ animals). Rāma tasks Lakṣmaṇa—explicitly praised for discernment—to survey and choose an āśrama-site that suits Sītā and provides nearby water, ritual materials (samidh, kuśa, flowers, water), and a pleasing terrain. After deliberation, Rāma selects a level, tree-surrounded location and points out adjacent features: a fragrant lotus-tank and the Godāvarī river, famed in sage-tradition (Agastya is cited) and animated by swans, ducks, and cakravāka birds; distant hills are ornamented with mineral streaks likened to decorative windows and elephants. The narrative then becomes procedural: Lakṣmaṇa rapidly constructs a leaf-hut (parṇaśālā) with bamboo supports, branches, ropes, leveled ground, and grass-and-leaf roofing; he bathes in the Godāvarī, brings lotuses, performs customary flower-offerings and peace-invocation before occupancy, and presents the finished dwelling. Rāma and Sītā rejoice; Rāma embraces Lakṣmaṇa, praising his gratitude, duty-knowledge, and emotional intelligence, and then the trio resides happily for a time, portrayed as godlike in serenity.
हेमन्तवर्णनम् तथा भरतधर्मनिष्ठा-चिन्तनम् (Winter Description and Reflection on Bharata’s Devotion)
This sarga opens with seasonal transition: as Rama dwells comfortably in the forest, śarad ends and the favored hemanta sets in (3.16.1). Rama proceeds at dawn to the Godavari for ablution (3.16.2), with Lakshmana following behind Sita carrying a water-pitcher (3.16.3). Lakshmana then delivers an extended hemanta-lakṣaṇa: fog, heavy dew, mild sun, severe cold winds, frost-dimmed moonlight, rivers veiled by vapor, lotus-tanks losing splendor, and fields rich with barley, wheat, and ripened rice (3.16.4–26). The description functions as environmental metadata and as an ethical backdrop for human conduct. The discourse pivots to Bharata: Lakshmana imagines Bharata performing penance, sleeping on cold ground, and taking daily ablutions in the Sarayu despite delicacy and royal upbringing (3.16.27–30). Bharata’s virtues are catalogued—self-control, truthfulness, humility, sweetness of speech, heroic restraint—culminating in the claim that he ‘wins heaven’ by adopting Rama’s ascetic mode (3.16.31–33). Lakshmana’s censure of Kaikeyi is checked by Rama, who prohibits criticism of the ‘second mother’ and redirects praise toward Bharata (3.16.36–37). Rama admits his vow remains firm yet his affection makes his mind waver, remembering Bharata’s ambrosial words and longing for reunion (3.16.38–40). The chapter closes with the trio bathing in the Godavari, offering libations to forefathers and deities, praising the rising sun, and Rama shining like Rudra with Nandi and Parvati imagery (3.16.41–43).
शूर्पणखाया आगमनम् — Surpanakha Approaches Rama
After bathing at the Godavari, Rama returns with Sita and Lakshmana to their hermitage and completes the forenoon rites before entering the leaf-thatched cottage. The sarga then pivots to a chance arrival: Surpanakha, sister of Ravana, sees Rama seated with Sita and becomes infatuated. Valmiki constructs a deliberate contrast catalogue—Rama’s auspicious beauty, youth, and measured conduct versus Surpanakha’s distorted, lust-driven demeanor—using parallel descriptors to sharpen the ethical and aesthetic opposition. Surpanakha questions the ascetic-coded appearance of a bow-bearing man living with his wife in a demon-haunted region, prompting Rama to answer with straightforward candor. A key normative statement is articulated: untruth is never acceptable to Rama, especially in an ashrama setting and in the presence of a woman. Rama identifies himself as Dasaratha’s eldest son, introduces Lakshmana and Sita, and frames forest residence as obedience to parental command and dharma. He then asks Surpanakha’s identity; she declares her name, shapeshifting capacity, and her terrifying solitary roaming, enumerates her brothers (Ravana, Kumbhakarna, Vibhishana, Khara, Dushana), and proposes marriage while disparaging Sita and threatening violence. The chapter closes with Rama’s poised, speech-skilled response beginning, setting up the ensuing ethical confrontation.
शूर्पणखाविरूपणम् (The Disfigurement of Śūrpaṇakhā)
Sarga 18 presents a tightly structured dialogue-to-action sequence. Rāma first responds to Śūrpaṇakhā’s erotic approach with measured clarity, stating his married status and redirecting her toward Lakṣmaṇa (3.18.1–5), framing co-wifehood as painful and thereby discouraging pursuit. Śūrpaṇakhā then turns to Lakṣmaṇa, who—skilled in speech—deploys irony and mock-offers that invert social hierarchies (servant/master) to deflect her advances (3.18.8–13). Misreading the mockery as sincere, she returns to Rāma and, in a surge of passion and jealousy, threatens Sītā directly, escalating from insult to attempted violence (3.18.14–17). Rāma restrains her mid-attack and corrects Lakṣmaṇa: jesting with cruel, uncivilized persons is improper when life is at stake (3.18.18–19). He then authorizes punitive deformation as a protective and deterrent act; Lakṣmaṇa cuts off her nose and ears with a sword (3.18.20–22). The chapter closes with Śūrpaṇakhā’s bloodied flight into the forest and her report to her brother Khara at Janasthāna, setting the stage for organized retaliation (3.18.23–26).
खरस्य क्रोधः — शूर्पणखावृत्तान्तकथनम् (Khara’s Wrath and Śūrpaṇakhā’s Report)
Sarga 19 opens with Khara encountering his sister Śūrpaṇakhā fallen, disfigured, and blood-soaked. His speech amplifies rākṣasa martial pride through a chain of rhetorical questions and similes (e.g., the folly of provoking a venomous serpent; the “noose of death”), framing the offender as already doomed. Khara demands a clear identification of the perpetrator and asserts that no divine or semi-divine beings can rescue the victim once he drags him into battle. Śūrpaṇakhā, recovering gradually and speaking through tears, identifies two youthful, handsome, powerful brothers—Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa—living like ascetics (bark and deer-skin garments, fruits and roots) yet bearing royal insignia; she also notes a jeweled woman between them (Sītā). She attributes her humiliation to both brothers “for the sake of that lady,” then articulates a revenge-wish: to drink the foaming blood of Sītā and the brothers on the battlefield. Khara, enraged, orders fourteen formidable rākṣasas to kill the two men and the “notorious” woman, so that Śūrpaṇakhā may drink their blood. The chapter culminates in the tactical failure of the fourteen night-rangers to crush Rāma, likened to elephants unable to face a sudden forest fire—establishing Rāma’s overwhelming martial radiance and escalating the conflict.
विंशः सर्गः (Sarga 20): शूर्पणखाप्रेरितराक्षसवधः — The Slaying of the Fourteen Demons Sent by Śūrpaṇakhā
Śūrpaṇakhā arrives at Rāma’s hermitage and indicates Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa, and Sītā to a group of rākṣasas, initiating a direct threat to the household-ascetic space. Rāma instructs Lakṣmaṇa to stand guard near Sītā, highlighting protective prioritization of the vulnerable while he engages the attackers. Rāma then self-identifies to the rākṣasas as Daśaratha’s son living on forest fare and states that, by ṛṣi injunction, he has come armed to eliminate offenders who torment ascetics—framing the coming violence within a juridical-ethical rationale. The fourteen rākṣasas respond with intimidation and claims of numerical superiority, invoking Khara’s wrath and threatening Rāma’s life. The combat is depicted with technical clarity: spears are hurled; Rāma counters by severing all fourteen spears with an equal number of gold-adorned arrows, then takes fourteen sun-bright nārācas and releases them like Indra’s vajra. The arrows pierce the demons’ chests; the rākṣasas fall lifeless like uprooted trees. Śūrpaṇakhā, enraged and terrified, roars and flees to Khara, collapsing in distress and reporting in detail the destruction of the demon contingent—an episode that intensifies the larger forest conflict.
खर-शूर्पणखा-संवादः | Khara and Surpanakha: Lament, Reproach, and the Janasthana Crisis
Sarga 21 presents a tightly dialogic sequence in Janasthāna after Śūrpaṇakhā’s humiliation and the rapid defeat of rākṣasa detachments. Khara first observes her fallen state and speaks with controlled clarity, questioning why she laments despite his protection and reminding her of the loyalty and presumed invulnerability of his commissioned warriors. Śūrpaṇakhā, disfigured (ears and nose cut) and blood-soaked, reports that fourteen rākṣasas sent to kill Rāma (with Lakṣmaṇa) were slain swiftly by sharp arrows, producing fear and strategic alarm. Her speech intensifies into a plea for refuge, employing oceanic metaphors of sorrow and terror, and then shifts to provocation: she demands Khara kill the ‘rākṣasa-thorn’ dwelling in Daṇḍakāraṇya, threatening self-destruction if he refuses. The chapter also contains harsh counter-judgments that frame Khara as lacking true valor if he cannot kill two humans, and it ends with Śūrpaṇakhā’s repeated lamentation and physical expression of grief (beating her chest). Thematically, the sarga maps how wounded pride and factional loyalty convert personal injury into collective militarization.
खरस्य सैन्योद्योगः — Khara Mobilizes the Janasthana Host
This sarga presents a command-and-mobilization sequence in Janasthana. After Surpanakha’s complaint shames Khara before the rākṣasas, Khara articulates an anger born of insult and declares Rama a mortal to be slain. Surpanakha, pleased, praises him again, and Khara turns to Dushana (senāpati) to operationalize the response. Orders follow: assemble the tiger-like, arrogant, mighty rākṣasas; prepare the chariot and an armory of bows, arrows, swords, and missiles. Dushana reports the sun-colored mahāratha ready; the text lingers on a high-detail description of the Meru-like chariot ornamented with gold, vaidūrya-studded fittings, bells, flags, and auspicious engravings (fish, flowers, trees, celestial motifs). Khara mounts, commands the ranks to march, and the narrative widens to the departure of fourteen thousand fierce rākṣasas bearing diverse weapons. The sarga closes with the army surging ahead, Khara’s chariot thundering through the directions, and Khara—likened to Yama and a hail-bearing cloud—driving forward to kill his enemy, marking a decisive escalation toward the Janasthana confrontation.
महोत्पात-लक्षणानि (Omens before Khara’s Assault)
अस्मिन् सर्गे जनस्थानात् प्रस्थितस्य खरस्य राक्षस-बलस्य पुरतः ‘महोत्पाताः’ क्रमशः दृश्यन्ते—रुधिरवर्ण-जलवृष्टिः, सूर्यपरिवेषः, राहुग्रासः (अपरर्वणि), केतु-दर्शनम्, अकाले तारोदयो, मत्स्य-पक्षिणां संलीनता, नलिन्यः शुष्कपङ्कजाः, विना वातं रेण्वुद्धानम्, उल्कापातः, भूमिकम्पः, तथा शिवानां/गोमायूनां/गृध्राणां भयशंसिनः नादाः। एते सर्वे लक्षणाः युद्धपूर्व-दैव-चिह्नरूपेण राक्षसानां ‘क्षय-निकटता’ सूचयन्ति। तथापि खरः स्वबल-वीर्य-गर्वात् निमित्तानि अवमन्यते—‘न चिन्तयामि’ इति घोषयन्, स्वशक्तिं अतिशयोक्त्या वर्णयति (तारापातन-शक्ति, मृत्युमपि मर्त्यधर्मे योजयितुम् इति)। ततः देव-ऋषि-गन्धर्व-सिद्ध-चारणाः युद्धदर्शनकाङ्क्षया समायान्ति, राघवस्य जयाशिषः प्रयुञ्जते, देवताः विमानस्थाः राक्षस-वाहिनीं ‘गतायुषाम्’ इव पश्यन्ति। सर्गान्ते खरः द्वादश-वीरैः परिवृतः, दूषणश्च चतुर्भिः सेनान्यैः सहितः, राम-लक्ष्मणौ सहसा अभ्युपैति—ग्रह-मालया चन्द्रसूर्याविव इति उपमया युद्धपरिसरः संक्षिप्यते।
उत्पातदर्शनं खरसैन्यसमागमश्च (Omens of calamity and the approach of Khara’s army)
अस्मिन् सर्गे खरो दण्डकारण्य-आश्रमं प्रति याते सति राम-लक्ष्मणौ तादृशान् महोत्पातान् पश्यतः—रुधिरधारावर्षिणः गर्दभ-आभ-मेघाः, पक्षिणां विकृत-कूजनम्, शराणां सधूमत्वं, बाहुस्फुरणं च। रामः लक्ष्मणं प्रति नीत्युपदेशं करोति—अनागतविधानं (आपदः पूर्वरक्षा) विदुषा कर्तव्यमिति। ततः सीतासुरक्षार्थं लक्ष्मणं आदेशयति यत् वैदेह्या सह दुर्ग-शैल-गुहां समाश्रयेत्; लक्ष्मणः शर-चाप-ग्रहणपूर्वकं तत्र प्रविशति। रामः कवचं धारयन्, महच्चापं उद्यम्य, ज्यास्वनैः दिशः पूरयन् रणशिरसि स्थितः। देव-गन्धर्व-सिद्ध-चारण-ऋषयः विमानस्थैः सह युद्धदर्शनकाङ्क्षिणः समागच्छन्ति; गो-ब्राह्मण-लोक-स्वस्तिवचनं कृत्वा राघवस्य जयमाशंसन्ति, तथापि ‘एकः रामः—चतुर्दशसहस्राणि राक्षसाः’ इति सामरिक-विस्मयमपि व्यक्तयन्ति। अनन्तरं यातुधान-सेनाया घोरध्वनि-ध्वज-वर्म-आयुध-सम्पन्नता, दुन्धुभि-नादः, सिंहनाद-तुल्य-कोलाहलः च वर्ण्यते; वनचर-जन्तवः पलायन्ते; रामः खरसैन्यं युद्धाभिमुखं निरीक्ष्य क्रोधं संहृत्य वधार्थं सज्जीभवति।
खरसेनासङ्ग्रामः — The Battle with Khara’s Host at the Hermitage
Khara arrives with an advance party at Rāma’s hermitage and sees Rāma standing in controlled fury with bow readied (3.25.1–3). Demon ministers surround their leader as the assault begins (3.25.4–9). The rākṣasa battalions unleash a ‘rain of arrows’ and diverse weapon-showers—spears, hammers, swords, axes, stones, even trees—rendered through cloud-and-mountain similes to emphasize overwhelming force (3.25.10, 3.25.32). Rāma absorbs and counters the barrage with composure: though struck and bleeding, he remains unshaken, compared to a mountain under thunderbolts and the evening sun veiled by clouds (3.25.13–14). Celestial observers—devas, gandharvas, siddhas, and great seers—lament seeing one warrior surrounded by thousands, heightening the ethical drama of solitary protection (3.25.15). Rāma then reverses the battle’s momentum, releasing hundreds and thousands of straight-flying arrows, described as Yama’s nooses that extract the demons’ lives (3.25.16–20). He systematically disables enemy capability—cutting bows, flags, armor, heads, limbs; killing charioteers, cavalry, elephants with riders, and infantry—until the battlefield is strewn with dismembered bodies and shattered weapons (3.25.21–22, 3.25.42). Survivors flee to Khara, are regrouped by Dūṣaṇa, and the demons reattack from all directions; Rāma answers with the dazzling Gāndharva-astra amid a frightening war-cry, filling the ten quarters with arrows and creating a darkness in the sky (3.25.29–39). The sarga closes with a grim catalogue of carnage, functioning as both martial narrative and a poetic inventory that maps the battle-space as a moral theatre of kṣātra-dharma (3.25.40–42).
दूषणवधः (The Slaying of Dūṣaṇa and the Rout of Khara’s Host)
This sarga presents a concentrated battle sequence in which Dūṣaṇa, observing his forces being cut down, commits five thousand rākṣasas to the fight. The rākṣasas unleash a continuous barrage—spears, swords, stones, trees, and arrows—while Rama counters with disciplined archery, receiving the assault and returning it with lethal precision. Rama breaks Dūṣaṇa’s bow, kills his horses, severs the charioteer’s head, and pierces Dūṣaṇa’s chest; when Dūṣaṇa, now chariotless, seizes a terrifying parigha (iron-studded mace/spear-like weapon) and charges, Rama amputates both arms, causing the weapon to fall and Dūṣaṇa to collapse like a tusk-shattered elephant. The cosmos responds with acclamation (“sādhu sādhu”), marking the deed as morally sanctioned. Three commanders—Mahākapāla, Sthūlākṣa, and Pramāthī—rush in with distinct weapons; Rama beheads Mahākapāla, overwhelms Pramāthī with innumerable arrows, blinds/strikes Sthūlākṣa’s eyes, and annihilates Dūṣaṇa’s five thousand followers swiftly. Khara, enraged, orders further chiefs and a larger assault; Rama continues the rout, and the forest becomes a hell-like battlefield of blood and flesh-mud. The sarga culminates in the quantitative assertion of Rama’s single-handed destruction of fourteen thousand rākṣasas and the dramatic approach of Khara in a great chariot, likened to Indra advancing with uplifted thunderbolt.
त्रिशिरोवधः (The Slaying of Triśiras) — Araṇyakāṇḍa, Sarga 27
This sarga stages a focused martial episode within the Janasthāna theatre. As Khara advances toward Rāma, the rākṣasa commander Triśiras intervenes, urging Khara to withdraw and assign the combat to him; he vows upon his weapon to kill Rāma and frames the duel as a test of fate, asking Khara to act briefly as an impartial witness. Permitted, Triśiras charges in a shining, horse-yoked chariot, releasing dense arrow-showers with drum-like resonance. Rāma meets the assault with composure, then becomes intensely provoked when struck on the forehead by three arrows; he remarks on the demon’s power, yet notes the arrows only scratch him, converting injury into a rhetorical measure of endurance. Rāma retaliates with fourteen venom-like arrows to Triśiras’ chest, disables the chariot by felling its four horses, brings down the charioteer, and cuts the banner—systematically removing mobility, command, and emblematic authority. As Triśiras attempts to flee from the wreck, Rāma pierces him and finally severs his three heads with three swift, sharp arrows. The surviving rākṣasas panic and scatter; Khara, enraged, rallies them and rushes at Rāma like Rāhu approaching the moon, closing the sarga by escalating the confrontation.
खररामयुद्धम् — The Battle of Khara and Rama (Aranya Kanda, Sarga 28)
This sarga stages the climactic duel between Khara and Rāma after Khara witnesses the destruction of his forces and the fall of commanders Dūṣaṇa and Triśiras (3.28.1–3). Khara advances in fear and rage, unleashing dense arrow-showers that fill the sky so completely that the sun is obscured (3.28.4–9), and he strikes Rāma with specialized darts (nālīka, vikarṇi), appearing to beings like Yama with a noose (3.28.10–11). Misreading Rāma as fatigued (3.28.12), Khara presses the attack, even severing Rāma’s bow at the grip and battering his armour until it falls (3.28.15–19). Rāma responds by stringing a new, great bow and advancing with the superior Vaiṣṇava bow associated with Agastya’s gift-tradition (3.28.20–21). In a tactical reversal, Rāma breaks Khara’s chariot-flag, then systematically disables the chariot system—yoke, horses, charioteer, pole, axle—and splinters Khara’s bow, finally piercing Khara with a decisive thirteenth arrow (3.28.22–31). Khara, dismounted and weapon-shifted to a mace, stands on the ground (3.28.32), while gods and great sages, arriving in aerial chariots, offer reverential praise for Rāma’s martial deed (3.28.33). The chapter’s thematic lesson emphasizes disciplined valour, strategic clarity under projectile saturation, and the epic’s recurrent motif of divine witness to dharmic force.
अरण्यकाण्डे एकोनत्रिंशः सर्गः (Sarga 29: Rama’s Admonition to Khara and the Shattering of the Mace)
This sarga is structured as a rhetorical duel preceding a decisive weapons-exchange. Rāma addresses Khara—now deprived of his chariot yet standing with a mace—beginning with measured, didactic admonition and shifting into a harsher prosecutorial tone. He frames Khara’s violence as lokaviruddha (against the moral consensus of the world), argues the inevitability of karmaphala (the ripening of sinful action), and declares himself an agent of royal order tasked with terminating perpetrators of ghora-pāpa. Rāma then issues explicit martial predictions: golden arrows will pierce Khara, and Khara will follow those righteous ascetics he devoured in Daṇḍakāraṇya; the seers Khara harmed will witness his fall. Khara replies with contempt, accusing Rāma of vain boasting and contrasting true valor with empty self-praise. He asserts his own sufficiency to kill Rāma, likening himself to Antaka (Yama) with the noose, and cuts off further speech due to impending sunset and the impropriety of delayed combat. The discourse resolves into action: Khara hurls a blazing mace like a thunderbolt; it incinerates trees and shrubs as it approaches, but Rāma intercepts it midair and shatters it into fragments with multiple arrows, neutralizing the threat and closing the chapter on a clear tactical advantage.
खरवधः — The Slaying of Khara (Janasthana Battle Climax)
This sarga completes the Janasthāna engagement through tightly staged dialogue and decisive weapons-sequences. Rāma first breaks Khara’s mace with arrows and, smiling, delivers a pointed reprimand: Khara’s boastful confidence is exposed, his promises to console rākṣasas are declared false, and the ethical charge is sharpened—Khara is portrayed as a continual threat to brāhmaṇa-led sacrificial life, forcing seers to offer oblations under fear. Khara counters with abusive speech, misreading bravado for fearlessness and attributing Rāma’s words to the “noose of death” that removes discrimination. Searching for an improvised weapon, Khara uproots a great śāla tree and hurls it; Rāma shatters it with a flood of arrows, then escalates to a fire-like dart/arrow likened to a brahmadaṇḍa, said to be Indra-given, and strikes Khara in the chest. Khara falls with layered similes (Vṛtra/Bala/Namuci paradigms), after which assembled rājarṣis and deities praise Rāma’s efficiency and the restoration of safe dharma-practice in Daṇḍaka. The chapter closes with Lakṣmaṇa returning with Sītā, and Sītā embracing the unhurt Rāma, integrating martial victory with household and ascetic welfare.
अकम्पनवृत्तान्तः — Akampana Reports Janasthana; Ravana Plans Sita’s Abduction
This sarga is structured as a rapid intelligence-to-decision sequence. Akampana flees Janasthāna and enters Laṅkā to brief Rāvaṇa: the rout of rākṣasas, the death of Khara and Dūṣaṇa, and a portrait of Rāma’s martial stature and supernatural efficacy (arrows described as golden-feathered, transforming into five-hooded serpents). Rāvaṇa initially responds with wrathful incredulity and rhetorical questioning, then demands further details; Akampana amplifies Rāma’s prowess through cosmological hyperbole (arresting rivers, wind, and sea; destabilizing sky and stars; even world-destruction and recreation). A strategic “means” (upāya) is proposed: Sītā as the vulnerability that can collapse Rāma’s resolve. Rāvaṇa accepts the counsel, resolves to act at dawn, and departs in a sun-bright chariot to consult Mārīca. At Mārīca’s āśrama, hospitality is exchanged; Rāvaṇa requests assistance for Sītā’s abduction, while Mārīca warns that provoking Rāma is suicidal, employing extended animal and battlefield metaphors. The chapter closes with Rāvaṇa’s temporary withdrawal to Laṅkā, marking the consolidation of the abduction plot.
अरण्यकाण्डे द्वात्रिंशः सर्गः — Śūrpaṇakhā’s Report to Rāvaṇa and the Panegyric of His Might
This sarga functions as a narrative relay from battlefield aftermath to strategic escalation. Śūrpaṇakhā, having witnessed Rāma single-handedly annihilate Khara, Dūṣaṇa, Triśiras, and fourteen thousand rākṣasas, emits a thundercloud-like roar and departs in fear and agitation toward Laṅkā. She finds Rāvaṇa enthroned in splendor—described through royal insignia, formidable bodily marks from divine conflicts, and a catalogue of superhuman capacities (invulnerability to divine weapons, disruption of yajñas, conquest of Kubera and seizure of the Puṣpaka-vimāna, and fearlessness against all beings except “humans” per boon-logic). The chapter’s rhetoric is intentionally encomiastic: it magnifies Rāvaṇa’s prowess to heighten the epic stakes and to foreshadow the paradox of his vulnerability. The sarga culminates with Śūrpaṇakhā, disfigured by Lakṣmaṇa, approaching the rākṣasa court and beginning a harsh, accusatory speech that will redirect Rāvaṇa’s attention toward Rāma and Sītā, thereby advancing the causal chain toward the central crisis.
शूर्पणखाया रावणं प्रति नीत्युपदेशः (Surpanakha’s Political Admonition to Ravana)
Sarga 33 frames a court-scene in which the distressed Surpanakha confronts Ravana seated among ministers and delivers a sustained nīti critique. She censures his intoxication in sensual pleasures, impulsive governance, and failure to perceive emergent threats within his own realm. A central argumentative axis is statecraft by intelligence: kings are called “far-sighted” because, through spies, they perceive distant affairs; Ravana is accused of being “without spies,” poorly advised, and thus ignorant of the catastrophe at Janasthana. She reports the scale of loss—Khara and Dushana with fourteen thousand rākṣasas slain by Rama alone—while noting that sages have gained safety and Dandaka has regained peace, yet Janasthana has been ravaged. The discourse generalizes into political ethics: a harsh, ungenerous, arrogant, fraudulent, or wrathful king loses refuge-seeking loyalty; in adversity even one’s own people may turn violent; a dethroned king becomes worthless despite capability. The sarga concludes with a positive royal ideal—alertness, sense-control, gratitude, righteousness, and justice—after which Ravana reflects at length on the faults enumerated, indicating a strategic pivot toward future action.
आरण्यकाण्डे चतुस्त्रिंशः सर्गः — Śūrpaṇakhā Reports to Rāvaṇa; Rāma’s Might and Sītā’s Description
In the courtly setting “amid ministers,” Rāvaṇa, angered by Śūrpaṇakhā’s harsh outburst, interrogates her with structured questions about Rāma—his identity, appearance, prowess, and the purpose of entering the “impenetrable” Daṇḍaka. Śūrpaṇakhā responds with a battle-report: Rāma’s Indra-like bow, swift straight-flying arrows, and the rapid destruction of the Janasthāna host, including Khara and Dūṣaṇa, framed through similes of storm and hail ruining ripe crops. She then pivots from military intelligence to persuasive counsel: Lakṣmaṇa is portrayed as Rāma’s equal in valor and as his “right hand,” while Sītā is elaborately praised through aesthetic markers (moon-face, golden hue, auspiciousness) and superhuman comparison. The argument culminates in incitement: abduct Sītā as a bride, kill Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa, and thereby serve rākṣasa interests. A key ethical subtext is noted explicitly—Rāma’s hesitation to kill a woman—used rhetorically by Śūrpaṇakhā to explain her survival and to propose a strategy that exploits perceived restraint.
मारीचाश्रमगमनम् (Ravana’s Journey to Maricha’s Hermitage)
Sarga 35 records Ravana’s transition from reactive outrage to calculated execution. After hearing Śūrpaṇakhā’s “horripilating” report, he formally disengages from his ministers, deliberates on merits/demerits and relative strengths, and proceeds covertly to the yānaśālā to order a chariot harnessed. The narrative then amplifies Ravana’s regal-terror iconography—ten heads, twenty arms, white parasols and yak-tail fans, gold earrings, and a desire-driven chariot—using dense epithets and cloud-lightning similes to mark sovereign mobility. The journey becomes a coastal-forest survey: mountains by the sea, lotus ponds, hermitages with altars, fragrant sandalwood and aguru groves, pearls drying on shores, conches, corals, and mounds of gold and silver, plus cities rich in grain, women, and war-animals. A major digression localizes a mythic landmark: the banyan “Subhadra,” whose branch Garuḍa once broke while carrying an elephant and tortoise, rescuing sages and later resolving to seize amṛta from Indra’s mansion. Crossing the sea’s farther shore, Ravana reaches a secluded sacred hermitage and finds Marīca living as an ascetic (deerskin, bark, regulated diet). Maricha receives him with formal hospitality and inquires about Lanka and Ravana’s urgent purpose; Ravana prepares to state his intent, closing the sarga on the threshold of counsel and conspiracy.
मारीचप्रलोभनम् / Ravana Solicits Maricha’s Aid (Golden Deer Stratagem)
This sarga is structured as a strategic dialogue in which Rāvaṇa approaches Mārīca as a last-resort operative, framing himself as “distressed” and seeking refuge in Mārīca’s capability. Rāvaṇa recounts the Janasthāna catastrophe—Khara, Dūṣaṇa, Triśiras, and fourteen thousand rākṣasas slain by the human Rāma—then pivots into polemical denigration of Rāma to normalize vengeance and reduce perceived risk. The operational plan is explicit: Mārīca must assume a dazzling golden deer form, roam before Sītā at Rāma’s āśrama, trigger her request to capture it, and thereby separate Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa from Sītā. In the resulting isolation, Rāvaṇa intends to abduct Sītā “like Rāhu eclipsing moonlight,” and afterward strike the grief-stricken Rāma. The chapter closes with Mārīca’s embodied fear at the very mention of Rāma—dry mouth, fixed gaze—and his respectful, truth-oriented counsel to Rāvaṇa, signaling an internal knowledge of Rāma’s prowess and the peril of the scheme.
मारीचोपदेशः — Maricha’s Counsel to Ravana (On Rama’s Dharma and the Peril of Abduction)
Sarga 37 is a rhetorically dense advisory dialogue in which Mārīca, characterized as both mahāprājña and vākyaviśārada, replies after hearing Rāvaṇa’s intent. He first frames a general political-ethical maxim: pleasant speech is common, but salutary counsel that may sound unpleasant is rare to speak and to hear (3.37.2). He then diagnoses Rāvaṇa’s governance failure—impulsiveness, lack of reliable intelligence, and enslavement to desire—arguing that such a ruler destroys self, kin, and realm (3.37.3–7). The core of the sarga is a sustained portrait of Rāma’s character as dharma-incarnate: not harsh, not ignorant, self-controlled, truthful, and unwavering in maryādā; his forest-exile is presented as voluntary fidelity to Daśaratha’s truth and Kaikeyī’s demand, undertaken without greed for kingdom or pleasures (3.37.10–13). Mārīca escalates from ethics to deterrence through vivid metaphors: Sītā cannot be severed from Rāma like sunlight from the sun; Rāma is an unenterable fire whose flames are arrows and whose fuel is bow and sword (3.37.14–18). He warns that being seen by Rāma in battle is tantamount to death, and he recommends strategic deliberation with ministers, notably Vibhīṣaṇa, weighing strengths, merits, and welfare before action (3.37.21–25). The Southern Recension’s repetitions (e.g., 3.37.16–17; 3.37.23–24) reinforce the didactic cadence of counsel and the inevitability implied by ignoring it.
अष्टत्रिंशः सर्गः — मारीचोपदेशः (Maricha’s Warning and the Memory of Rama’s Power)
This sarga presents a retrospective testimony and an admonitory counsel. Mārīca recounts his former predation in Daṇḍakāraṇya—depicted with hyperbolic strength ("thousand elephants"), cloud-dark splendor, and weapon-bearing terror—where he fed on ascetics. The narrative then recalls the earlier protective mission of Rāma under Viśvāmitra’s ritual discipline: Rāma stands guard at the sacrifice, described with luminous, moon-like imagery, youthful features, and ascetic simplicity. When Mārīca attacks the sacrificial altar, Rāma responds without agitation, strings his bow, and releases a sharp arrow that hurls Mārīca a hundred yojanas into the sea; notably, Rāma refrains from killing him, while Mārīca’s companions are destroyed. Using this lived experience as evidence, Mārīca warns Rāvaṇa against violating another’s wife (paradāra), predicts Laṅkā’s devastation for Sītā’s sake, and frames association with sin as socially contagious (fish perishing in a serpent-pool). The chapter thus fuses memory, ethical jurisprudence, and political foresight into a direct deterrent speech.
एकोनचत्वारिंशः सर्गः (Aranyakanda 39): राक्षसस्य रामत्रासवर्णनम् / The Demon’s Account of Rama-Fear
This sarga presents a first-person rākṣasa testimony addressed to Rāvaṇa. The speaker recounts entering Daṇḍakāraṇya with two accomplices, adopting animal disguise, and committing sustained violence against ascetics at sacrificial sites and tīrthas—an explicit inversion of dharmic space. He then narrates encountering Rāma, Sītā (Vaidehī), and Lakṣmaṇa; misjudging Rāma as a mere tapasvin, he charges in a sharp-horned animal form. Rāma responds with controlled martial efficiency: drawing a mighty bow, he releases three sharp arrows likened to Garuḍa/wind and thunderbolt, killing the two companions while the narrator escapes. The surviving rākṣasa claims a moral turn—becoming a recluse—yet remains psychologically dominated by trauma: he ‘sees Rāma in every tree,’ fears even words beginning with “ra,” and warns that war with Rāma is improper because Rāma could slay even mythic foes (Bali, Namuci). The chapter closes with admonition: Rāvaṇa’s offence will ruin others, and refusal of counsel leads to death by Rāma’s straight-flying arrows. The Southern Recension preserves repeated verse blocks (notably 3.39.8–9 and 3.39.23–24), reflecting traditional transmission layers.
मारीचोपदेश-प्रतिषेधः / Ravana Rejects Maricha’s Counsel and Orders the Golden Deer Deception
Sarga 40 is a concentrated study in counsel, kingship, and coercive statecraft. Maricha offers competent, welfare-oriented advice, but Ravana—likened to one who refuses medicine while wishing to die—rejects it and responds with harsh, dismissive speech. Ravana frames ministerial speech norms: a counsellor should speak only when asked, with folded hands, and with decorum; yet he weaponizes these norms to silence inconvenient prudence. The discourse then pivots into a theory of royal persona: kings are said to bear five forms (fire, Indra, moon, Varuna, Yama), implying that rulers embody heat/energy, valor, gentleness, command, and punitive grace—hence they demand reverence in all conditions. Having asserted dominance, Ravana issues operational instructions: Maricha must transform into a wondrous golden deer with silver spots, appear before Sita at Rama’s hermitage, and lure Rama away. After Rama departs, Maricha is to cry out in a voice resembling Rama—“Ha Sita, Ha Lakshmana”—so that, urged by Sita, Lakshmana also leaves. Ravana then plans to abduct Vaidehi as Indra carried off Sachi, promising Maricha half the kingdom for compliance, but ultimately enforcing obedience by threat of immediate death. The chapter’s thematic lesson is the collapse of ethical governance when counsel is subordinated to ego, fate-driven obstinacy, and intimidation.
मारीचस्य रावणं प्रति नीत्युपदेशः (Maricha’s Counsel on Kingship and Ruin to Ravana)
Sarga 41 presents a sustained nīti-oriented admonition in which Mārīca, compelled by a royal command adverse to his own welfare, speaks harshly to Rāvaṇa. He questions who has advised Rāvaṇa toward a self-destructive course that would ruin sons, kingdom, and ministers, and he censures counselors who fail to restrain a lust-driven king from an unrighteous path. Mārīca articulates a rājadharma thesis: the king is the root of righteousness and victory, hence must be protected and guided; yet a kingdom cannot be governed by one who is rude, hostile, and undisciplined. He uses political similes and social consequences—ministers fall with the king like swift horses under a slow charioteer on rough ground; righteous people may be ruined by others’ faults; subjects do not prosper under a cruel ruler, like sheep guarded by a jackal. The discourse culminates in a prophetic warning: if Rāvaṇa proceeds to abduct Sītā with Mārīca’s aid, none will survive—Rāvaṇa, Mārīca, Laṅkā, or the rākṣasas—because Rāma will kill Mārīca and soon after kill Rāvaṇa. The closing maxim states that those near death do not accept beneficial counsel even when offered by well-wishers.
मायामृगप्रकरणम् (The Illusory Deer Episode: Ravana and Maricha at Rama’s Hermitage)
Sarga 42 records the operational execution of Rāvaṇa’s deception. After earlier fear-based reluctance, Mārīca, distressed at the prospect of being seen by Rāma, nonetheless agrees to depart with Rāvaṇa. The pair ride a gem-adorned chariot yoked with grotesque, donkey-like beasts, traversing a wide civilizational landscape—towns, forests, mountains, rivers, states, and cities—until they reach Daṇḍakāraṇya and Rāma’s hermitage, described as surrounded by banana plants. Rāvaṇa dismounts, takes Mārīca by the hand, and commands immediate action. Mārīca transforms into an extraordinarily ornate deer, its body and ornaments rendered through dense visual similes (lotus hues, rainbow-like tail, gem-studded antlers, silver spots, mineral colors). The deer deliberately roams near the hermitage entrance, moving to and fro, mingling with herds, prancing in circles, and nibbling tender leaves while concealing predatory intent by not harming other animals. Sītā, while gathering flowers from karnikara, aśoka, and mango trees, sees the unprecedented jeweled deer and gazes with wonder and affection, as the illusion ‘illuminates’ the forest—thus achieving the lure central to Rāvaṇa’s plan.
मायामृगदर्शनम् (The Vision of the Illusory Deer)
Sītā, while gathering flowers near the hermitage, sees an extraordinary deer whose flanks gleam with gold-and-silver hues and whose body appears gem-speckled and moonlike in radiance. Enchanted, she calls to Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa and describes the forest’s many animals, insisting she has never seen such a creature; she requests it be captured alive as a future palace marvel, or else slain for its splendid skin. Lakṣmaṇa suspects deception and identifies the deer as Mārīca in disguise, arguing that such a jewel-like animal cannot exist in the world and must be māyā. Sītā, overcome by desire for the skin’s beauty, presses her request. Rāma too becomes tempted, yet frames his resolve within protective duty: he instructs Lakṣmaṇa to remain at the āśrama, guard Maithilī with constant vigilance, and enlist Jaṭāyu’s help. Rāma then departs, declaring he will swiftly kill or seize the deer, thereby setting the tactical separation that enables the next phase of the epic’s crisis.
मारीचवधः — The Slaying of Maricha (Golden Deer Deception)
Sarga 44 details the tactical pursuit and termination of Maricha’s deer-disguise, emphasizing how illusion (māyā) manipulates perception and distance. Rama equips himself—fastening a golden-handled sword and taking up his triple-curved bow with two quivers—then chases the enticing deer as it repeatedly appears and disappears, drawing him far from the hermitage. The narration uses extended simile (the autumnal moon intermittently veiled by clouds) to formalize the visual logic of deception. When the deer reappears from a cluster of trees, Rama resolves to kill it and releases a Brahma-created, serpent-hissing arrow that pierces the deer-body and tears Maricha’s heart. As Maricha sheds the artificial deer-form and assumes his huge rākṣasa body, he times a final act of psychological warfare: imitating Rama’s voice, he cries “Ha Site, Ha Lakshmana,” aiming to provoke Sita into sending Lakshmana away so Ravana can abduct her in solitude. Rama, recognizing the illusion as Lakshmana had warned, is nevertheless seized by fear and urgency; he takes venison from another deer and hastens back toward Janasthana, marking the chapter as a narrative hinge from pursuit to impending loss.
सीतया लक्ष्मणप्रेषणम् — Sita urges Lakshmana to seek Rama (The crisis of the ‘distressed voice’)
Sītā hears an anguished cry in the forest that resembles Rāma’s voice and commands Lakṣmaṇa to go immediately and ascertain Rāma’s condition (3.45.1–3). Lakṣmaṇa refuses to abandon Sītā, citing Rāma’s invincibility and the improbability of any being—gods, gandharvas, humans, animals, or rākṣasas—defeating him; he also suggests the cry may be a fabricated māyā, an illusion likened to a gandharva-city (3.45.10–19). Sītā’s fear intensifies into accusation: she interprets Lakṣmaṇa’s hesitation as concealed hostility, even alleging collusion with Bharata and insinuating desire for her, which she repudiates with vows of fidelity to Rāma (3.45.20–26). Lakṣmaṇa, initially restrained, answers with a sharp critique of harsh speech and appeals to witnesses of the forest, then resolves to go to Rāma while invoking forest deities to protect Sītā (3.45.27–33). He reports dreadful omens and uncertainty about reunion, after which Sītā threatens self-harm without Rāma, weeps, and strikes herself in grief; Lakṣmaṇa consoles her, salutes, and departs repeatedly looking back toward her, proceeding to Rāma’s vicinity (3.45.34–41).
रावणस्य परिव्राजकवेषेण सीतासमीपगमनम् (Ravana Approaches Sita Disguised as a Mendicant)
अस्मिन् सर्गे लक्ष्मणः सीतायाः परुषवचनैः क्षतः सन् राम-कल्याण-चिन्तया शीघ्रं गच्छति (3.46.1), तेन सीता एकाकिनीव दृश्यते। रावणः ‘अन्तर-प्रेप्सुः’ रामस्य अवसरं प्रतीक्ष्य, परिव्राजक/भिक्षु/द्विजातिवेषं धारयन् (काषायवस्त्र, शिखा, छत्र, उपानह, यष्टि, कमण्डलु/पात्र) सीतां प्रति अभिचक्रमे (3.46.2–3, 3.46.8)। वन-प्रकृतिः अपि तस्य उग्रतेजःकर्मणः संकेतं ददाति—द्रुमाः कम्पन्ते, मारुतः न प्रवाति, गोदावरी भयात् स्तिमिता भवति (3.46.6–7)। रावणः सीतां दृष्ट्वा तां प्रशंसति, देव्या-अप्सरसा-लक्ष्म्या-रत्यादिभिः उपमानैः संबोधयन्, रूप-वर्णनं विस्तरेण करोति (3.46.14–23)। ततः ‘अरण्ये न वासः’ इति उपदेश-रूपेण नगरीय-भोग-सम्पत्तेः प्रस्तावं च सूचयति (3.46.24–26) तथा ‘कासि कस्य’ इत्यादि प्रश्नैः परिचय-प्राप्तिं याचते (3.46.31)। सीता अतिथि-सत्कार-धर्मेण, ब्राह्मणवत् तं मन्यमाना, आसन-पाद्य-भोजनैः पूजयति (3.46.32–35)। रावणः तस्याः सौम्यभाषिण्याः निरीक्षणेन बलात् हरण-निश्चयं करोति—स्वात्मवधाय इव (3.46.36)। अन्ते सीता राम-लक्ष्मणयोः प्रतीक्षां कुर्वती वनमेव पश्यति, न तु तौ (3.46.37), इति सर्गः सीताहरणस्य तात्कालिक-भूमिकां स्थापयति।
सीतारावणसंवादः — Ravana Reveals Himself; Sita Affirms Rama’s Dharma
This sarga stages a high-stakes identification dialogue. Ravana, disguised as a parivrājaka (mendicant), questions Vaidehi, leveraging the social-ethical pressure of atithi-dharma (a guest must not be left unanswered). Sita responds with self-identification (Janaka’s daughter; Rama’s wife) and narrates the exile sequence: the intended consecration, Kaikeyi’s two boons, Rama’s fearless acceptance, and Lakshmana’s loyal accompaniment. She then invites the ‘guest’ to rest, expecting Rama’s return with forest provisions—an ironic hospitality offered to the abductor. When Sita asks Ravana for his name, gotra, and purpose, he drops the disguise and declares himself Ravana, lord of rakshasas, boasting of Lanka and offering queenship, attendants, and pleasure-gardens. Sita rejects him through a sustained chain of ethical and poetic rebuttals: she extols Rama’s virtues (truth, self-control, refuge-like leadership), contrasts Ravana and Rama via layered upamā (jackal vs lion; ditch vs sea; gold vs lead), and frames Ravana’s desire as self-destructive impossibility. The chapter closes with Sita’s bodily trembling after her fierce speech, and Ravana intensifying intimidation by recounting his lineage, power, and deeds.
रावणस्यात्मप्रशंसा लङ्कावर्णनं च — Ravana’s Self-Praise and the Description of Lanka
In this chapter, Ravana responds to Sita’s prior rebuke with visible anger—brows knit, speech sharpened—and shifts into a rhetorical strategy of intimidation and seduction. He first asserts identity and lineage (as Kubera’s step-brother), then amplifies his feared sovereignty by claiming that gods and beings flee at his wrath, and that even Kubera abandoned his former seat; he boasts of acquiring the Puṣpaka vimāna by valor. Ravana then deploys place-based persuasion: Lanka is described as a radiant, fortified city across the sea, filled with formidable rakshasas, white ramparts, golden interiors, jeweled gateways, vehicles and animals, music, and ever-fruiting gardens—an urban counter-image to the forest. He offers Sita co-residence and luxury, disparaging Rama as a mortal ascetic deprived of kingship, and frames refusal as future regret via the Purūravas–Urvasi exemplum. The discourse culminates in Sita’s fierce reply: she challenges the impropriety of invoking Kubera while intending an inauspicious act, predicts destruction for Ravana’s clan under such leadership, and declares that abducting Rama’s wife is unsurvivable—even nectar cannot avert death after violating a woman like her.
सीताहरणम् — Ravana reveals his true form and abducts Sita
This sarga concentrates the transition from verbal coercion to physical seizure. After hearing Sītā’s resistance, Rāvaṇa strikes his palms and enlarges into a fearsome form, abandoning the mendicant disguise and adopting a death-like appearance adorned with gold and red garments. He attempts persuasion by self-praise—claiming world-famous status, the capacity to assume forms at will, and superhuman martial power—then shifts to denigration of Rāma as a banished mortal living amid wild beasts. The discourse turns into action: Rāvaṇa grasps Sītā by the hair and thighs, terrifies the forest-deities, summons an illusory golden chariot harnessed with asses, and places her upon it. As she is carried through the sky, Sītā cries out to Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa, appeals to time and karmic consequence, and calls upon Janasthāna’s trees, mountains (Mālyavān, Prasravaṇa), and the Godāvarī river as witnesses to report the abduction. She then sees Jaṭāyu and implores him to inform Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa with exact details, establishing a chain of testimony crucial for the epic’s ensuing pursuit.
जटायुरुपदेशः — Jatāyu Confronts Rāvaṇa (Ethical Admonition and Challenge)
Sarga 50 opens with Jatāyu hearing the distress-call and immediately sighting Rāvaṇa carrying Vaidehī. From a tree-top vantage, the vulture-king introduces himself as a सत्यसंश्रय (truth-abiding) guardian aligned with eternal dharma, then identifies Sītā as Rama’s lawful पत्नी and frames her abduction as a violation of राजधर्म and social protection norms. Jatāyu argues that kings become the root-source of virtue and vice, so their conduct sets public standards for dharma, artha, and kāma. He indicts Rāvaṇa’s fickle, sinful disposition, warns that prosperity cannot endure with the evil-minded, and asks what offense Rama committed to merit this aggression—especially since Khara’s death followed Khara’s own trespass. The discourse escalates into direct deterrence: release Sītā or face ruin; the act is likened to binding a venomous serpent or tightening a noose of death. Jatāyu declares willingness to die performing a प्रियकार्य for Rama and Daśaratha, challenges Rāvaṇa to fight, and vows to pull him from the chariot like fruit from a stalk.
जटायुरावणयुद्धम् (Jatayu’s Combat with Ravana)
Sarga 51 intensifies the abduction episode through a sustained aerial-ground combat tableau between Jaṭāyu (gṛdhrarāja/pakṣirāja) and Rāvaṇa. Provoked by Jaṭāyu’s just rebuke, Rāvaṇa’s “twenty eyes” blaze with anger; he launches showers of arrows, while Jaṭāyu repeatedly counters by scattering missiles with his wings, breaking bows with his claws, tearing armor, and destroying the demon’s chariot apparatus—yoked beasts, parasol, fans, and charioteer. The chapter interweaves kinetic action with moral discourse: Jaṭāyu warns Rāvaṇa that abducting Rāma’s wife is a thief’s path and a self-chosen “poison-drink,” binding him to the noose of death. Rāvaṇa briefly falls with Sītā in his lap, is praised by beings for Jaṭāyu’s valor, then regains flight when he perceives the aged bird’s exhaustion. The climax turns tragic: Rāvaṇa, enraged, ultimately uses a sword to sever Jaṭāyu’s wings and feet; Jaṭāyu falls bloodied and near death. Sītā rushes to him and weeps, while Rāvaṇa departs, leaving the ethical witness of sacrifice and the narrative evidence that will later inform Rāma.
सीताहरण-विलापः / The Lament at Jatāyu and the Abduction of Sītā
Sarga 52 presents the abduction’s immediate aftermath and its cosmic reverberations. Sītā beholds Jatāyu (gṛdhrarāja) struck down by Rāvaṇa and laments in acute grief (3.52.1). The text frames human crisis through nimitta and śakuna—portents and ominous bird-calls—signaling that joy and sorrow are preceded by perceivable indications (3.52.2). As Rāvaṇa seizes Sītā, she cries out for Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa, clings to trees, and is forcibly taken skyward; the narrative explicitly marks the act as self-destructive for Rāvaṇa (ātmavināśāya) (3.52.42–43). Nature and the cosmos mirror the moral rupture: darkness spreads, wind stills, the sun dims, beings lament, and forests, ponds, mountains, and animals appear to grieve (3.52.9, 3.52.34–41). A dense sequence of poetic similes depicts Sītā’s radiance and dislocation—lightning in cloud, moon obscured by dark rainclouds, lotus without stalk—while her ornaments and flowers fall and scatter as trace-objects that map the abduction’s path (3.52.14–33). The sarga also includes a divine-omniscient register: Brahmā observes Sītā’s assault and declares the ‘task accomplished,’ while forest seers feel mixed sorrow and anticipatory relief, knowing Rāvaṇa’s destruction is now imminent (3.52.10–12).
सीताविलापः रावणनिन्दा च (Sita’s Lament and Condemnation of Ravana)
This sarga presents Sītā’s immediate psychological and ethical response as Rāvaṇa takes flight with her. The chapter opens with Sītā’s fear and agitation upon seeing Rāvaṇa rising into the sky, followed by sustained direct address that functions as forensic moral critique. She condemns the act as cowardly and adharma—abducting another’s wife when she is alone—and frames it as behavior that brings public censure and familial disgrace. Sītā recalls the fallen Jaṭāyu, who attempted to protect her, using this as both lament and indictment. The discourse then shifts from shame-language to threat-prophecy: she asserts that Rāma, enraged with Lakṣmaṇa, will destroy Rāvaṇa, and that even with an army Rāvaṇa cannot survive within the princes’ sight or endure the “touch” of their arrows. A sequence of death-omens and eschatological imagery follows (noose of death, Vaitaraṇī river, sword-leaf forest, thorned Śālmalī), marking Rāvaṇa’s perceived doom. The sarga closes with Rāvaṇa continuing to carry away the trembling, struggling princess, while her lamentation persists as a moral witness within the narrative.
सीताहरणोत्तरं लङ्काप्रवेशः — Sita’s Abduction and Ravana’s Entry into Lanka
This sarga tracks the abduction sequence’s closing arc and its immediate political aftermath. As Vaidehi is carried away, she searches in vain for protection and sees five eminent vanaras stationed on a mountain peak; in a tactical act of signaling, she drops her silk upper cloth and ornaments among them, hoping they will inform Rama, while Ravana—caught in the excitement of flight—fails to notice. Ravana’s aerial passage is rendered as swift and arrow-like, crossing forests, rivers, mountains, tanks, and the ocean (Varuna’s abode), whose waves and creatures are described as stilled in bewilderment at Sita’s seizure; celestial charanas and siddhas pronounce an ominous prophecy: “this is your end.” Upon reaching Lanka, Ravana proceeds through well-laid roads and guarded palace halls into the inner apartments, where Sita—overcome by grief—is confined in the harem. He orders fearsome rakshasi guards to prevent any unauthorized sight of her, commands that her desired comforts be provided, and threatens death for anyone who speaks harshly to her. Exiting the inner chambers and contemplating next steps, Ravana addresses eight powerful rakshasas, praising their strength and dispatching them to the now-desolate Janasthana to gather intelligence on Rama and to maintain constant efforts toward his death. The sarga closes by marking Ravana’s deluded joy at possessing Sita, while unknowingly intensifying the ultimate enmity that will bring his downfall.
रावणस्य सीताप्रलोभनम् (Ravana’s Attempt to Allure Sita)
This sarga stages a rhetorical and spatial coercion sequence in Lanka. Ravana, having dispatched eight fierce and powerful rākṣasas, self-assesses as “accomplished” through distorted judgment (3.55.1), then enters the residence to see Sita, who is depicted through layered similes of grief and helplessness (boat sinking in a storm; deer separated from the herd and surrounded by hounds) (3.55.4–6). He forcibly guides her through an opulent architectural complex—palaces, jeweled pillars, golden gateways, ivory and silver windows, golden trelliswork, crystal floors, step-wells and lotus tanks—using material splendor as persuasive pressure (3.55.7–13). Ravana’s discourse then shifts to political-military boasting (vast hosts, attendants, impregnable Lanka), self-superiority claims, and denigration of Rama as dispossessed and human (3.55.14–26). He offers queenship over his household and sovereignty over Lanka, including luxury goods and the Pushpaka vimāna taken from Kubera (3.55.17, 3.55.28–30). Sita’s response is non-verbal: she veils her moonlike face and weeps, her radiance dulled by anxiety (3.55.31–33). Ravana intensifies manipulation by reframing the act as fate-approved and even bows with his heads at her feet—an inversion of his own stated norm—ending in the delusion that she is already “his,” foreshadowing his moral downfall (3.55.34–37).
सीताया रावणनिन्दा — अशोकवनिकाप्रवेशः (Sita’s Rebuke of Ravana; Removal to the Ashoka Grove)
अस्मिन् सर्गे रावणेन सम्बोधितां सीतां शोकाकुलां तथापि निर्भयां दर्शयति। सा तृणमन्तरतः कृत्वा (संवादे अनादरचिह्नरूपेण) रावणं प्रत्युत्तरं ददाति—रामस्य कुल-कीर्तिं, धर्मात्मत्वं, तथा लक्ष्मणसहितस्य वीर्यं प्रतिपादयन्ती रावणस्य अवध्यत्वाभिमानं निरस्तं करोति। सीता रावणस्य विनाशं कालप्रेरितं घोषितवती—लङ्काया वैधव्यं, राक्षसकुलक्षयः, अन्तःपुरनाशः इत्यादीनि दुष्कृतफलानि सूचयति। धर्मदृष्टान्तेन सा यज्ञवेद्याः चण्डालेन अवमर्दन-अशक्यत्वं यथा, तथा स्वस्य पतिव्रताधर्मेण पापिना स्पर्श-अशक्यत्वं प्रतिपादयति। उपमानैः (हंसी-राजहंसः बनाम मद्गु) रावणस्य अयोग्यत्वं सूक्ष्मतया निरूपयति, तथा आत्मरक्षणापेक्षां त्यक्त्वा अपकीर्तिं न स्वीकर्तुम् इति दृढप्रतिज्ञां वदति। तदनन्तरं रावणः भयप्रद वचनं—द्वादशमासावधिं, अननुग्रहे छेदन-भक्षणधमकीं—उक्त्वा राक्षसीगणान् आज्ञापयति। राक्षस्यः सीतां परिवेष्ट्य अशोकवनिकां नयन्ति; तत्र सा राक्षसीवशे मृगीव व्याघ्रीणां मध्ये, भयशोकपीडिता, पतिस्मरणपरायणत्वात् विचेतना भवति।
मारीचवधोत्तरं रामस्य शङ्का-निमित्त-दर्शनं लक्ष्मण-निग्रहश्च (After Maricha’s Slaying: Omens, Anxiety, and Rama’s Rebuke of Lakshmana)
This sarga depicts the immediate aftermath of Rama killing Maricha, the demon who had assumed a deer-form (kāmarūpin). Rama swiftly returns toward Janasthana, but the narrative inserts a sequence of ominous signals: the jackal’s ghastly howl, the frightened behavior of animals and birds, and bodily portents such as the throbbing of Rama’s left eye. Rama interprets these as inauspicious indicators tied to a rakshasa stratagem: Maricha, while dying, imitated Rama’s voice to lure Lakshmana away from Sita. Reaching Janasthana in apprehension, Rama meets Lakshmana, sees his cheerless face, and rebukes him for leaving Sita alone in a demon-infested forest. The dialogue is ethically charged: Rama’s grief and suspicion crystallize into a dharma-crisis—balancing trust in Lakshmana with urgent fear for Sita’s safety. The chapter’s thematic lesson emphasizes how deception (māyā), misread duties, and hostile environments can fracture protective vows and precipitate irreversible loss.
सीतावियोगे रामस्य विलापः — Rama’s Lament and Inquiry on Sita’s Disappearance
Sarga 58 presents a tightly focused dialogue and interiorized lament as Rāma sees Lakṣmaṇa returning to the āśrama without Vaidehī (Sītā). Rāma’s questioning moves from immediate inquiry (where is Sītā?) to existential dependence (life is impossible without her), then to foreboding moral causality: leaving Sītā alone has created an opening for cruel rākṣasas seeking retaliation for Khara’s death. He hypothesizes a deceptive cry—an imitation of his voice calling “Lakṣmaṇa”—that may have frightened Sītā and prompted Lakṣmaṇa’s departure. The speech oscillates between grief, accusation, and strategic inference, revealing how sorrow can distort judgment while still producing investigative hypotheses. The sarga ends with urgent movement back to Janasthāna and a physical search of the hermitage and Sītā’s walking-places; the empty dwelling becomes the narrative proof-point that converts anxiety into certainty and initiates the search-arc.
अरण्यकाण्डे एकोनषष्टितमः सर्गः — Maricha’s Mimic Cry and the Rama–Lakshmana–Sita Confrontation
This sarga concentrates on the immediate aftermath of the deceptive cry heard from the forest. Rama, returning from the pursuit, sees Lakshmana arriving without Sita and reads the situation through ominous bodily signs and foreboding suspicion (vv. 1–4). Lakshmana explains that he did not abandon Sita voluntarily; the voice—“Ha Sita, Ha Lakshmana, save me”—reached her ears as though spoken by Rama, and in fear and affection she compelled Lakshmana to go (vv. 5–9). Lakshmana attempts to reassure her (reported speech) by asserting Rama’s invincibility and by diagnosing the cry as rakshasa imitation (vv. 10–15). The emotional center then shifts: Sita, deluded by panic, accuses Lakshmana of impure intent and even political conspiracy involving Bharata, reframing his reluctance as disguised hostility (vv. 16–19). Lakshmana exits the hermitage in anger (v. 20) and reports to Rama, who censures him for disobedience and for leaving Sita despite orders (vv. 21–24). Rama concludes the forensic explanation: the deer was a rakshasa (Maricha), struck by Rama’s arrow, who then imitated Rama’s voice to lure Lakshmana away; the ruse succeeded, leaving Sita vulnerable (vv. 25–27).
सीतान्वेषणविलापः (Rama’s Lament and Search for Sita)
Sarga 60 concentrates the immediate psychological aftermath of Sītā’s absence. Rama, returning toward the hermitage, registers repeated inauspicious omens—especially the throbbing of the left eye, stumbling, and bodily trembling—interpreting them as threats to Sītā’s safety. Reaching the āśrama and finding the leaf-cottage empty, he scans the site in agitation; the abandoned dwelling is compared to a lotus-pond despoiled by winter, while the surrounding forest appears ‘as if weeping’ with withered flowers and dispirited birds and animals. Rama cycles through competing hypotheses (abduction, death, concealment, or ordinary foraging), then erupts into frantic search behavior, running from tree to tree and landmark to landmark. In a striking sequence of apostrophes, he interrogates specific trees and beings—Kadamba, Bilva, Arjuna, Kakubha, Tilaka, Aśoka, Tāla, Jambu, Karnikāra, and even deer, elephant, and tiger—using poetic similes tied to Sītā’s appearance and habits (yellow silk, tilaka marks, floral preferences). The chapter culminates in Rama’s grief-driven near-delusion (addressing Sītā as if seen) and sustained wandering, presenting karuṇa-rasa as an ethical engine: sorrow intensifies resolve rather than dissolving obligation.
सीतान्वेषणारम्भः — The Search for Sita Begins
Returning to the hermitage-cottage, Rāma perceives an immediate forensic absence: the āśrama is empty of Vaidehī, the parṇaśālā is deserted, and the seats/mats are disturbed—material signs that displace ordinary domestic order. He searches in all directions and, failing to see Sītā, breaks into lament, repeatedly calling to her and imagining possibilities ranging from playful concealment to abduction or even predation. His speech intensifies into self-accusation and despair, including the threat of relinquishing life if separated from her, revealing grief as a destabilizing force that momentarily overwhelms discernment. Lakṣmaṇa, acting as ethical stabilizer and strategic companion, consoles him with practical hypotheses (river-bathing, hiding in the forest, testing affection) and urges immediate joint effort. The brothers then conduct a systematic search across forests, mountains, caves, peaks, rivers, and lotus-ponds, yet fail to locate her. The sarga thus juxtaposes vilāpa (emotive outcry) with an emergent protocol of search, establishing the narrative pivot from private loss to organized pursuit within the forest geography.
सीतावियोगे रामविलापः (Rāma’s Lament in Separation from Sītā)
Sarga 62 documents the immediate psychological and ethical shock after Sītā’s disappearance. Rāma, described as dharmātmā and kamalalocana, cannot see Sītā and breaks into structured lament (vilāpa), momentarily imagining her presence in the forest foliage and addressing her as if she were playfully hiding. The tone then pivots from tender recollection to forensic dread: he infers that rākṣasas have either devoured or abducted her, reading the tearful gaze of deer-herds as nature’s testimony. Rāma articulates reputational and moral anxiety—fear that the world will judge him nirvīrya (without valor) and nirdaya (without compassion)—and he anticipates the unbearable social-ritual consequences of returning to Ayodhyā and facing Janaka’s inquiry. The sarga also contains directive speech to Lakṣmaṇa: guidance regarding Bharata’s governance and the respectful protection of the queens (Kaikeyī, Sumitrā, Kauśalyā), and an instruction to report the loss in detail to his mother. The chapter closes with Lakṣmaṇa’s visible fear and agitation, mirroring the crisis of leadership and kinship duty triggered by Sītā’s abduction.
सीतावियोगे रामविलापः — Rama’s Lament in Separation from Sita
Sarga 63 concentrates on the immediate psychological aftermath of Sita’s disappearance. Rama, described as a prince separated from his beloved, is overwhelmed by śoka (grief) and moha (disorientation), repeatedly re-entering intense despair even as he perceives Lakshmana’s distress. His speech cycles through self-indictment (interpreting successive calamities as karmic consequence), vivid conjectures about Sita’s bodily harm at the hands of rākṣasas, and memory-images of domestic intimacy in the forest (Sita seated on a rock, smiling and conversing with Lakshmana). Rama then attempts inferential searching: he considers whether she went to the Godavari, to gather lotuses, or into a flowering forest, rejecting each possibility because Sita would not go alone. The lament expands into cosmic apostrophe, addressing Āditya (Sun) and Vāyu (Wind) as omniscient witnesses who might reveal whether she has been taken, killed, or is moving along a path. Lakshmana responds with time-appropriate counsel: abandon grief, adopt courage and enthusiasm for the search, since resolute persons do not collapse even in difficult tasks. The sarga closes with Rama’s inability to sustain that counsel, relinquishing fortitude and falling back into deep sorrow—marking grief as both an emotional state and a narrative engine driving the search.
गोदावरीतटे सीतान्वेषणम् — The Search for Sītā at the Godāvarī
Sarga 64 opens with Rāma’s dejection and urgent instruction to Lakṣmaṇa to check the Godāvarī, suspecting Sītā went to gather lotuses. Lakṣmaṇa searches the river’s tīrthas but finds no reply; Rāma then approaches the river and interrogates it directly, yet Godāvarī remains silent, portrayed as fearful of Rāvaṇa’s power. Rāma’s grief intensifies into anger: he questions how he can face Janaka and his own mother without Sītā, and vows to scour Godāvarī, Jana-sthāna, and Mount Prasravaṇa. Deer appear as semiotic witnesses; their gestures indicate a southern/southwestern direction, which Lakṣmaṇa interprets as a clue to Sītā’s abduction route. Following the indicated path, the brothers find a trail of fallen flowers that Rāma recognizes as those he gave Vaidehī to wear, suggesting violent disruption. Rāma addresses Prasravaṇa as if it were a sentient guardian, then threatens mountain and river with destruction in rage. Crucially, he discovers large rākṣasa footprints and Sītā’s frantic tracks, along with battle debris—broken bow, quivers, chariot fragments, parasol, armor, attendants, and blood-like stains—forming a forensic map of abduction. The chapter closes with Rāma’s apocalyptic rhetoric: if the gods do not restore Sītā, he will unleash arrows to overturn the cosmic order, presenting a dramatic tension between righteous grief and the dangers of unbounded wrath.
रामक्रोधवर्णनम् — Lakshmana’s Counsel to the Enraged Rama
This sarga frames the immediate psychological and ethical aftermath of Sita’s abduction through a high-intensity poetic portrait of Rama. Rama is described as tormented and emaciated by grief, repeatedly looking upon his strung bow and exhaling heated sighs, likened to the fire of cosmic dissolution and to Rudra/Śiva at world’s end—imagery that elevates personal sorrow into a near-cosmic threat. Observing an unprecedented rage in Rama, Lakshmana addresses him with folded hands and a parched throat, combining reverence with restraint. He urges Rama not to abandon his natural composure and welfare-oriented disposition, arguing that destroying worlds for one offender is improper and that kings should punish only the deserving. Lakshmana also reads the battlefield signs (broken chariot, blood, hoof and wheel marks) to infer a single-combat event rather than an army engagement. He then pivots to actionable strategy: search relentlessly across oceans, mountains, forests, caves, rivers, lotus-ponds, and even divine and gandharva realms until the abductor is found. Finally, he outlines a graduated policy—conciliation, humility, diplomacy, and, if these fail, overwhelming force—thus articulating a dharma-guided escalation model under crisis.
लक्ष्मणोपदेशः — Lakshmana Consoles Rama on Fate, Fortitude, and Right Action
Sarga 66 presents a concentrated counsel-scene (upadeśa) delivered by Lakshmana to Rama in the immediate aftermath of overwhelming grief. Rama is depicted as sorrow-stricken, weeping “like an orphan,” deluded, and momentarily incapacitated; Lakshmana consoles him physically and verbally by pressing Rama’s feet and reawakening his discernment. The argument proceeds by exempla and cosmic analogy: even the Sun and Moon undergo eclipse; great beings and even gods cannot escape daiva (fate); justice and its counter-movements are heard to operate even among deities such as Indra. Lakshmana then reframes Rama’s lament as unbefitting a truth-seeing leader, urging intellectual assessment (buddhi) to distinguish auspicious from inauspicious and to recognize that stable, discerning action is required for desired results. He recalls Rama’s prior instruction to him, praises Rama’s near-unfathomable intellect, and insists grief has merely ‘put knowledge to sleep.’ The counsel culminates in strategic restraint: assess divine and human prowess, avoid indiscriminate destruction, identify the sinful enemy precisely, and then uproot him—redirecting sorrow into disciplined action.
जटायुवृत्तान्तः — Jatāyu’s Testimony and Rāma’s Grief
Sarga 67 stages a rapid movement from counsel to misrecognition to revelation. Lakṣmaṇa urges a methodical search of Janasthāna’s rugged terrain—mountain fastnesses, caves, valleys, and fearsome groves—presenting steadiness in adversity as a mark of the wise. Rāma accepts the essence of this advice, yet his grief-driven anger remains close at hand as he roams with bow readied. They encounter Jatāyu fallen and bloodied, mountain-like in appearance; Rāma initially misconstrues him as a rākṣasa in vulture-form and resolves to kill him. Jatāyu, speaking with difficulty, corrects the error: Rāvaṇa carried off Sītā, and Jatāyu fought to protect her, destroying chariot, bow, quiver, and killing the charioteer before his wings were cut. The disclosure doubles Rāma’s sorrow; he embraces the dying bird—his father’s friend—laments his misfortunes, and collapses in grief, while maintaining filial compassion toward Jatāyu.
जटायुनिर्वाणसंस्कारः — Jatayu’s Final Testimony and Funeral Rites
Sarga 68 opens with Rāma seeing Jaṭāyu cast down on the earth by the fierce rākṣasa and addressing Lakṣmaṇa while assessing the bird’s failing breath and faint voice. Rāma urgently questions Jaṭāyu about Sītā’s abduction—Rāvaṇa’s motive, appearance, deeds, and dwelling—while Jaṭāyu, in a weakening voice, reports that Rāvaṇa seized Sītā through expansive māyā amid violent winds and carried her south, cutting Jaṭāyu’s wings when he resisted. As death approaches, Jaṭāyu’s perception reels, and he discloses a prognostic detail: the kidnapping occurred in the muhūrta called “Vinda,” whose effect is that the husband will regain lost wealth—an interpretive marker of eventual recovery that Rāvaṇa does not understand. Jaṭāyu further identifies Rāvaṇa genealogically (son of Viśravas, brother of Vaiśravaṇa/Kubera), then relinquishes life as Rāma pleads for more information. Overcome by grief, Rāma reflects on destiny’s inescapability and praises virtue found even among animals, declaring Jaṭāyu as worthy of honor like Daśaratha. Rāma orders firewood, performs cremation rites, offers meat-oblation, recites mantras as for a father, and both princes offer water-libations at the Godāvarī according to śāstric procedure. The sarga concludes with Jaṭāyu attaining an auspicious state through these rites, and Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa entering deeper into the forest with focused resolve to recover Sītā.
अयोमुखी-दर्शनम् तथा कबन्ध-प्रवेशः (Ayomukhi Encounter and the ظهور of Kabandha)
After performing funerary libations for Jaṭāyu, Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa continue the forest-search for Sītā, traversing dense, ominous terrain and moving through the krauñcāraṇya region near Mataṅga’s hermitage. They observe a cave described as netherworld-deep and perpetually dark, where the rākṣasī Ayomukhī appears, seizes Lakṣmaṇa, and proposes coerced union; Lakṣmaṇa responds with controlled force, severing her nose, ears, and breasts, after which she flees. The brothers press onward through an untrodden tract as Lakṣmaṇa reports bodily and environmental portents (throbbing arm, agitation, inauspicious signs) while also noting a bird (vañculaka) whose cry suggests victory in conflict. A catastrophic sound then erupts, leading them to the monstrous Kabandha—headless, with a single fiery eye on the chest and a mouth in the abdomen—who blocks their path, devours beasts, and physically seizes both brothers. Lakṣmaṇa momentarily counsels self-sacrifice, but Rāma steadies him and reflects on kāla (Time) as an irresistible force, framing their crisis within an ethical-epic meditation on endurance before Kabandha interrogates them as prey.
कबन्धवधः — The Severing of Kabandha’s Arms and the Opening of Dialogue
Sarga 70 presents a tightly structured encounter: Kabandha restrains Rama and Lakshmana with his arm-shackles and declares, from a hunger-driven predatory stance, that destiny has delivered them as food (3.70.1–2). Lakshmana responds with time-appropriate counsel, urging decisive action before they are consumed, and frames an ethical note on censurable killing—contrasting helpless victims with sacrificial animals to highlight the impropriety of slaughter without just contest (3.70.3–6). The demon, angered, opens his mouth to devour them; the brothers, as skilled judges of place and time, draw swords and amputate both arms at the shoulders—Rama striking the right, Lakshmana the left (3.70.7–9). Kabandha falls with thunderous resonance like a storm-cloud, then—blood-drenched and pitiable—questions their identity (3.70.10–11). Lakshmana identifies Rama as the famed Ikshvaku heir and himself as the younger brother, explaining their forest search for Sita abducted by a demon (3.70.12–14). Lakshmana then interrogates Kabandha’s own monstrous form (3.70.15). Remembering Indra’s words, Kabandha welcomes them, rejoices at the severing of his binding arms, and prepares to narrate the cause of his deformity as a consequence of haughtiness—signaling an impending moral-etiological disclosure (3.70.16–18).
दनु-शापकथा तथा सीताहरण-प्रश्नः (Danu’s Curse Narrative and Rama’s Inquiry about Sita)
This sarga is structured as an etiological confession followed by a pragmatic request for intelligence. A cursed being—identifying himself as a former, illustrious son of Danu—recounts his earlier beauty and renown, his arrogance after receiving long life from Brahmā, and his assault on Indra in battle. Indra’s vajra (described as śataparvan, “hundred-jointed”) mutilates him, after which Indra reshapes his body into a monstrous form with yojana-long arms and a mouth placed in the belly, enabling predation in the forest. The speaker explains that a seer (Sthūlaśiras) cursed him into this despised form for terrorizing forest-dwelling r̥ṣis, but also fixed the termination condition: when Rāma cuts off his arms and cremates him in a secluded forest, he will regain his auspicious form and release withheld knowledge. Rāma then states his own crisis—Sītā abducted by Rāvaṇa during his absence from Janasthāna—and asks for actionable details (abductor, location, power). The cursed being admits he lacks “divine knowledge” until cremation restores him; post-cremation he will disclose who knows the relevant rākṣasa and advises Rāma to form friendship with that swift, just-acting ally, who is said to have traversed the three worlds and thus knows what is unknown to others.
कबन्धमोक्षः—सुग्रीवमैत्र्युपदेशः (Kabandha’s Release and Counsel to Befriend Sugriva)
In this chapter, Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa, acting on Kabandha’s prior instruction, reach a mountain cleft and ignite a funeral pyre. Lakṣmaṇa kindles the pyre with large blazing logs; Kabandha’s massive, fat-like body burns slowly. Upon release, Kabandha rises purified, adorned in clean garments and a divine garland, ascends in a radiant vimāna drawn by swans, and addresses Rāma from the sky. He frames Rāma’s present suffering as a difficult phase governed by time (kāla), emphasizing that what is destined cannot be altered by mere wish. Kabandha then provides actionable strategy: Rāma must form a sincere, fire-witnessed alliance with Sugrīva, a displaced vānarendra living near Ṛṣyamūka and Lake Pampā, banished by his brother Vāli. Kabandha details Sugrīva’s virtues (truthfulness, humility, strength, intelligence), cautions against disrespecting him, and explains mutual benefit—Rāma can aid Sugrīva’s cause, and Sugrīva, with vānar forces and knowledge of terrains and hostile rākṣasa regions, can organize a systematic search for Sītā, even if she were hidden on Meru’s peak or in the netherworld.
पम्पा-ऋष्यमूक-मार्गोपदेशः (Guidance to Pampa and Rishyamuka; counsel to befriend Sugriva)
This sarga presents Kabandha’s final, highly structured itinerary and strategic counsel to Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa after indicating the means to recover Sītā. Kabandha maps an auspicious westward route through flowering forests, describing edible fruits and the sensory ecology of the landscape as a therapeutic counterweight to grief. He then directs the brothers to the lake Pampa, detailing its gentle banks, lotus-and-lily waters, abundant birds, fish, and forest game, and frames Lakṣmaṇa’s service (offering food and water) as disciplined companionship during hardship. The discourse then shifts from natural description to sacred geography: the Matanga-āśrama region where penance makes garlands imperishable, the continued presence of the ascetic Śabarī, and the protective injunction that prevents elephants from violating the hermitage. Kabandha further identifies Mount Ṛṣyamūka—difficult to climb, guarded, and morally selective (punitive to sinners)—and points to a concealed cave with a cool tank where Sugrīva resides with companions. The chapter concludes with Kabandha assuming a radiant form, departing skyward, and explicitly advising Rāma to establish friendship with Sugrīva, thereby converting landscape-navigation into alliance strategy.
शबरी-आश्रम-प्रवेशः (Rama and Lakshmana at Sabari’s Hermitage)
Guided by Kabandha’s directions, Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa proceed westward toward Lake Pampā and the Matanga-forest region. They reach the western bank, observe the fertile landscape and fruit-laden trees, and arrive at Śabarī’s hermitage. Śabarī—an accomplished ascetic revered among siddhas—receives them with formal hospitality (pādya, ācamanīya) and is questioned by Rāma about the success of her vows: obstacles to tapas, control of anger and appetite, mental peace, and the fruit of service to her gurus. Śabarī replies that the fulfillment of her penance has arrived through Rāma’s दर्शन, declaring her birth fruitful and her access to imperishable worlds assured by his grace. She then leads them through the renowned Matanga-vana, pointing out ritual landmarks and enduring signs of ascetic power: altars still radiant, waters and offerings sanctified by mantra, flowers that do not wilt, bark garments that remain wet, and even the seven seas said to have come by mere thought. Having shown what is ‘to be seen and heard,’ she seeks permission to relinquish her body. Rāma grants consent, acknowledging her devotion. Śabarī performs self-immolation as a yogic exit, is transfigured with divine adornment, and ascends to the blessed realm of the sages she served—while Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa respond with wonder at her dharma-grounded speech and attainment.
पम्पादर्शनम् — Vision of Lake Pampā and the Turn toward Sugrīva
After Śabarī departs to heaven by her own tapas-born radiance, Rāma reflects on the prabhāva (spiritual power) of great sages and addresses Lakṣmaṇa with composed urgency. The brothers leave the hermitage and proceed to the sacred region of Lake Pampā. The sarga is dominated by topographic and ecological mapping: Pampā’s cool waters; its variegated lotus-fields (red, white, blue); crystal-like clarity; soft gleaming sands; pleasure-groves; and a richly enumerated botany (mango, tilaka, aśoka, punnāga, vakula, uddāla, dhava, karavīra, jasmine/kunda, etc.) with a soundscape of peacocks, parrots, and diverse birds. Rāma’s gaze repeatedly returns to Pampā, yet the beauty intensifies his kāma-śoka—grief sharpened by love and separation from Sītā. The narrative then anchors geography to strategy: on Pampā’s bank stands the mineral-adorned, sacred Ṛṣyamūka mountain, residence of Sugrīva (son in the solar line as transmitted here), living in fear of Vāli with four vānaras. Rāma instructs Lakṣmaṇa to approach Sugrīva because the search for Sītā depends on this alliance. The sarga closes with Rāma entering the lotus-lake Pampā, emotionally constrained by sorrow yet moving decisively toward the next political-religious junction of the epic.