Shloka 3.18.12
शूर्पणखाविरूपणम् (The Disfigurement of Śūrpaṇakhā)
को हि रूपमिदं श्रेष्ठं संत्यज्य वरवर्णिनि।मानुषीषु वरारोहे कुर्याद्भावं विचक्षणः।।।।
ko hi rūpam idaṃ śreṣṭhaṃ saṃtyajya varavarṇini | mānuṣīṣu varārohe kuryād bhāvaṃ vicakṣaṇaḥ ||
O fair-hued lady of peerless form, best among women—what discerning man would forsake such excellent beauty as yours and set his heart on any mortal woman?
O lady of fair complexion and beautiful hips, which wise man will fall in love with any other female giving up a fine figure like you ?
The verse illustrates how flattery can be used to mislead; dharma calls for truthfulness and for the listener to practice discernment rather than vanity.
Lakṣmaṇa flatters Śūrpaṇakhā to intensify the prank, contrasting her (as she imagines) with ‘human women’ like Sītā.
Śūrpaṇakhā’s vulnerability to praise (kāma/ahaṃkāra) is highlighted as a moral weakness driving the plot.