Shloka 3.18.11
शूर्पणखाविरूपणम् (The Disfigurement of Śūrpaṇakhā)
एनां विरूपामसतीं करालां निर्णतोदरीम्।भार्यां वृद्धां परित्यज्य त्वामेवैष भजिष्यति।।।।
enāṃ virūpām asatīṃ karālāṃ nirṇatodarīm | bhāryāṃ vṛddhāṃ parityajya tvām evaiṣa bhajiṣyati ||
Casting off that wife—ugly, unfaithful, frightful, and slack-bellied, an old woman—he will choose you alone and cleave to you.
He will abandon this ugly-looking, unchaste, frightening old woman of drooping belly and accept you alone as his wife.
It demonstrates adharma in speech—falsehood and insult—showing how verbal harm can inflame conflict; the narrative warns that satya and restraint prevent escalation.
Lakṣmaṇa intensifies the joke by disparaging the existing wife (Sītā), leading Śūrpaṇakhā to believe she has a chance with Rāma.
A negative lesson: the danger of uncontrolled speech (vāg-doṣa) and the ease with which desire turns credulous.