Ravana Woos Sita in the Ashoka Grove

Verse 1 (3.282.1)

ततस्तां भर्तृशोकार्तां दीनां मलिनवाससम् । मणिशेषाभ्यलंकारां रुदतीं च पतिव्रताम् ॥

tatastāṃ bhartṛśokārtāṃ dīnāṃ malinavāsasam | maṇiśeṣābhyalaṃkārāṃ rudatīṃ ca pativratām

Then she, stricken with grief for her husband, wretched, in soiled garments, with only her jewels left for ornament, weeping, faithful to her lord,

Verse 2 (3.282.2)

राक्षसीभिरुपास्यन्तीं समासीनां शिलातले । रावणःकामबाणार्तो ददर्शोपससर्प च ॥

rākṣasībhirupāsyantīṃ samāsīnāṃ śilātale | rāvaṇaḥkāmabāṇārto dadarśopasasarpa ca

waited on by the rakshasis as she sat on a slab of stone, was seen by Ravana, tormented by the arrows of desire, and he approached her.

Verse 3 (3.282.3)

देवदानवगन्धर्वयक्षकिंपुरुषैर्युधि । अजितोशोकवनिकां ययौ कन्दर्पपीडितः ॥

devadānavagandharvayakṣakiṃpuruṣairyudhi | ajitośokavanikāṃ yayau kandarpapīḍitaḥ

He who had never been conquered in battle by gods, danavas, gandharvas, yakshas or kimpurushas went to the Ashoka grove, tormented by Kandarpa.

Verse 4 (3.282.4)

दिव्याम्बरधरः श्रीमान्सुमृष्टमणिकुण्डलः । विचित्रमाल्यमुकुटो वसन्त इव मूर्तिमान् ॥

divyāmbaradharaḥ śrīmānsumṛṣṭamaṇikuṇḍalaḥ | vicitramālyamukuṭo vasanta iva mūrtimān

Glorious, clad in heavenly garments, with polished jewelled earrings, wearing a crown and garlands of many colours, he was like Spring in bodily form.

Note on the text: Corrected श्रीमन् → श्रीमान् (misprint in Wikisource; the nominative śrīmān is needed, not the vocative; critical edition śrīmān).

Verse 5 (3.282.5)

न कल्पवृक्षसदृशोयत्नादपि विभूषितः । श्मशानचैत्यद्रुमवद्भूषितोऽपि भयंकरः ॥

na kalpavṛkṣasadṛśoyatnādapi vibhūṣitaḥ | śmaśānacaityadrumavadbhūṣito'pi bhayaṃkaraḥ

Yet for all his careful adornment he was nothing like a wishing-tree; adorned as he was, he was fearsome, like a tree at a shrine in a cremation ground.

Note on the text: Wikisource reads न ("not like a wishing-tree") where the critical edition has sa; the sentence is sound either way, so the base reading is kept as a recension variant.

Verse 6 (3.282.6)

स तस्यास्तनुमध्यायाः समीपे रजनीचरः । ददृशे रोहिणीमेत्य शनैश्चर इव ग्रहः ॥

sa tasyāstanumadhyāyāḥ samīpe rajanīcaraḥ | dadṛśe rohiṇīmetya śanaiścara iva grahaḥ

Close beside that slender-waisted woman, the night-walker looked like the planet Saturn come up to the star Rohini.

Note on the text: Corrected ग्रैहः → ग्रहः (misprint in Wikisource; a stray vowel sign; critical edition grahaḥ).

Verse 7 (3.282.7)

स तामामन्त्र्य सुश्रोणीं पुष्पकेतुशराहतः । इदमित्यब्रवीद्वाक्यं त्रस्तां रौहीमिवाबलाम् ॥

sa tāmāmantrya suśroṇīṃ puṣpaketuśarāhataḥ | idamityabravīdvākyaṃ trastāṃ rauhīmivābalām

Struck by the arrows of the flower-bannered god, he addressed the lovely-hipped woman, frightened and helpless as a doe, and spoke these words.

Verse 8 (3.282.8)

सीते पर्याप्तमेतावत्कृतोभर्तुरनुग्रहः । प्रसादं कुरु तन्वङ्गि क्रियतां परिकर्म ते ॥

sīte paryāptametāvatkṛtobharturanugrahaḥ | prasādaṃ kuru tanvaṅgi kriyatāṃ parikarma te

"Sita, enough! You have shown your husband favour enough. Be gracious to me, slender one; let yourself be adorned.

Note on the text: No speaker heading in Wikisource; the whole verse is Ravana's direct speech, so it is assigned to Ravana.

Verse 9 (3.282.9)

भजस्वमां वरारोहे महार्हाभरणाम्बरा । भवमे सर्वनारीणामुत्तमा वरवर्णिनी ॥

bhajasvamāṃ varārohe mahārhābharaṇāmbarā | bhavame sarvanārīṇāmuttamā varavarṇinī

Accept me, lovely woman. Wearing costly ornaments and garments, become the foremost of all my women, the fairest of complexion.

Verse 10 (3.282.10)

सन्ति मे देवकन्याश्च गन्धर्वाणां च योषितः । सन्ति दानवकन्याश्च दैत्यानां चापि योषितः । तासामद्यविशालाक्षि सर्वासां मे भवोत्तमा ॥

santi me devakanyāśca gandharvāṇāṃ ca yoṣitaḥ | santi dānavakanyāśca daityānāṃ cāpi yoṣitaḥ | tāsāmadyaviśālākṣi sarvāsāṃ me bhavottamā

I have daughters of the gods and wives of the gandharvas; I have daughters of the danavas, and wives of the daityas too. Today, large-eyed one, be the foremost of them all for me.

Note on the text: Corrected देवक्न्याश्च → देवकन्याश्च (misprint in Wikisource; a broken conjunct; critical edition devakanyāś ca). Corrected गन्धर्वाणआं → गन्धर्वाणां (misprint in Wikisource; a broken vowel sign). Corrected दानवन्याश् → दानवकन्याश्च (misprint in Wikisource; dropped aksharas; critical edition dānavakanyāś ca). Removed a stray wiki mark (`). Matches critical edition 3.265.10 (listed there among the unmatched verses; its first line reads "rājarṣīṇāṃ tathāṅganāḥ" for गन्धर्वाणां च योषितः, a recension variant). The third line (तासामद्य …) is not in the critical edition (found in the vulgate recension).

Verse 11 (3.282.11)

चतुर्दश पिशाचीनां कोट्यो मे वचने स्थिताः । द्विस्तावत्पुरुषादानां रक्षसां भीमकर्मणाम् ॥

caturdaśa piśācīnāṃ koṭyo me vacane sthitāḥ | dvistāvatpuruṣādānāṃ rakṣasāṃ bhīmakarmaṇām

Fourteen crores of pishachis stand at my command, and twice that number of man-eating rakshasas of terrible deeds.

Verse 12 (3.282.12)

ततो मे त्रिगुणा यक्षा ये मद्वचनकारिणः । केचिदेव धनाध्यक्षं भ्रातरं मे समाश्रिताः ॥

tato me triguṇā yakṣā ye madvacanakāriṇaḥ | kecideva dhanādhyakṣaṃ bhrātaraṃ me samāśritāḥ

Beyond them, three times as many yakshas carry out my word; only a few have taken refuge with my brother, the lord of wealth.

Verse 13 (3.282.13)

गन्धर्वाप्सरसो भद्रे मामापानगतं सदा । उपतिष्ठन्ति वामोरु यथैव भ्रातरं मम ॥

gandharvāpsaraso bhadre māmāpānagataṃ sadā | upatiṣṭhanti vāmoru yathaiva bhrātaraṃ mama

Gandharvas and apsarases, good lady, always wait on me when I sit at drink, lovely one, just as they wait on my brother.

Note on the text: Corrected गन्दर्वाप्सरसो → गन्धर्वाप्सरसो (misprint in Wikisource; द for ध; critical edition gandharvāpsaraso).

Verse 14 (3.282.14)

पुत्रोऽहमपि विप्रर्षेः साक्षाद्विश्रवसो मुनेः । पञ्चमो लोकपालानामिति मे प्रथितं यशः ॥

putro'hamapi viprarṣeḥ sākṣādviśravaso muneḥ | pañcamo lokapālānāmiti me prathitaṃ yaśaḥ

I too am the son of a brahmin seer, the sage Vishravas himself, and my fame is widespread as the fifth of the world-guardians.

Verse 15 (3.282.15)

दिव्यानि भक्ष्यभोज्यानि पानानि विविधानि च । यथैव त्रिदशेशस्यतथैव मम भामिनि ॥

divyāni bhakṣyabhojyāni pānāni vividhāni ca | yathaiva tridaśeśasyatathaiva mama bhāmini

Heavenly foods of every kind and drinks of many sorts are mine, beautiful lady, just as they are the lord of the thirty gods'.

Verse 16 (3.282.16)

क्षीयतां दुष्कृतं कर्म वनवासकृतं तव । भार्या मे भवसुश्रोणि यथा मन्दोदरीतथा ॥

kṣīyatāṃ duṣkṛtaṃ karma vanavāsakṛtaṃ tava | bhāryā me bhavasuśroṇi yathā mandodarītathā

Let the hardship you have suffered living in the forest come to an end. Be my wife, lovely-hipped one, as Mandodari is."

Note on the text: Corrected मण्डोदरी → मन्दोदरी (misprint in Wikisource; ण्ड for न्द; the queen is Mandodari, critical edition mandodarī).

Verse 17 (3.282.17)

इत्युक्ता तेन वैदेही परिवृत्य शुभानना । तृणमन्तरतः कृत्वातमुवाच निशाचरम् ॥

ityuktā tena vaidehī parivṛtya śubhānanā | tṛṇamantarataḥ kṛtvātamuvāca niśācaram

Thus addressed by him, lovely-faced Vaidehi turned away and, placing a blade of grass between them, spoke to the night-walker.

Note on the text: Corrected सुभानना → शुभानना (misprint in Wikisource; स for श; śubhānanā, "lovely-faced", as in the critical edition). Corrected तृणमनतरतः → तृणमन्तरतः (misprint in Wikisource; a broken conjunct; critical edition tṛṇam antarataḥ).

Verse 18 (3.282.18)

अशिवेनातिवामोरूरजस्रं नेत्रवारिणा । स्तनावपतितौ बाला संहतावभिवर्षती ॥

aśivenātivāmorūrajasraṃ netravāriṇā | stanāvapatitau bālā saṃhatāvabhivarṣatī

The young woman of lovely thighs ceaselessly bathed her full, firm breasts with inauspicious tears;

Note on the text: Matches critical edition 3.265.18ab-cd (listed there among the unmatched verses); Wikisource divides 3.265.18–22 differently from the critical edition.

Verse 19 (3.282.19)

व्यवस्थाप्यकथंचित्सा विषादादतिमोहिता । उवाच वाक्यं तं क्षुद्रं वैदेही पतिदेवता ॥

vyavasthāpyakathaṃcitsā viṣādādatimohitā | uvāca vākyaṃ taṃ kṣudraṃ vaidehī patidevatā

and, steadying herself somehow though bewildered by despair, Vaidehi, whose god was her husband, spoke these words to that base creature.

Note on the text: Removed the wiki marks ` and '. The first line is not in the critical edition's constituted text but appears in its apparatus as star passage 1270 after 3.265.18 (found in the vulgate recension); the second line is critical edition 3.265.18ef.

Verse 20 (3.282.20)

असकृद्वदतो वाक्यमीदृशं राक्षसेश्वर । विषादयुक्तमेतत्ते मया श्रुतमभाग्यया । तद्भद्रमुख भद्रं ते मानसं विनिवर्त्यताम् ॥

asakṛdvadato vākyamīdṛśaṃ rākṣaseśvara | viṣādayuktametatte mayā śrutamabhāgyayā | tadbhadramukha bhadraṃ te mānasaṃ vinivartyatām

"Lord of the rakshasas, to my misfortune I have heard you say such grievous things to me again and again. Good sir, blessings on you: turn your mind away from me.

Note on the text: This verse is critical edition 3.265.19 + 20ab. No speaker heading in Wikisource; the whole verse is Sita's direct speech, so it is assigned to Sita. Her speech runs to verse 23.

Verse 21 (3.282.21)

परदाराऽस्म्यलभ्या च सततं च पतिव्रता । न चैवौपयिकी भार्या मानुषी तव राक्षस ॥

paradārā'smyalabhyā ca satataṃ ca pativratā | na caivaupayikī bhāryā mānuṣī tava rākṣasa

I am another man's wife, beyond your reach, and ever devoted to my husband. And a human woman is no fitting wife for you, rakshasa.

Note on the text: This verse is critical edition 3.265.20cd + 21ab (where the critical edition reads mānuṣī kṛpaṇā tava; तव राक्षस is a recension variant). Corrected भार्य → भार्या (misprint in Wikisource; a dropped vowel sign; critical edition bhāryā).

Verse 22 (3.282.22)

विवशां धर्षयित्वा च कां त्वं प्रीतिमवाप्स्यसि । न च पालयसे धर्मं लोकपालसमः कथम् ॥

vivaśāṃ dharṣayitvā ca kāṃ tvaṃ prītimavāpsyasi | na ca pālayase dharmaṃ lokapālasamaḥ katham

What pleasure will you gain by forcing a helpless woman? And how is it that you, who count yourself equal to the world-guardians, do not uphold dharma?

Note on the text: This verse is critical edition 3.265.21cd + 22cd; the critical edition's 3.265.22ab ("prajāpatisamo vipro brahmayoniḥ pitā tava") is not in Wikisource, whose verse reads complete without it, so nothing is restored. Corrected धर्षयित्वच → धर्षयित्वा च (misprint in Wikisource; a dropped vowel sign; critical edition dharṣayitvā ca).

Verse 23 (3.282.23)

भ्रातरं राजराजं तं महेश्वरसखं प्रभुम् । धनेश्वरं व्यपदिशन्कथं त्विह न लज्जसे ॥

bhrātaraṃ rājarājaṃ taṃ maheśvarasakhaṃ prabhum | dhaneśvaraṃ vyapadiśankathaṃ tviha na lajjase

How is it that you feel no shame here, when you name as your brother that king of kings, the lord of wealth, the mighty friend of Maheshvara?"

Note on the text: Corrected महेश्वरसस्वं → महेश्वरसखं (misprint in Wikisource; स्व for ख; critical edition maheśvarasakhaṃ).

Verse 24 (3.282.24)

इत्युक्त्वा प्रारुदत्सीता कम्पयन्ती पयोधरौ । शिरोधरां च तन्वङ्गी मुखं प्रच्छाद्यवाससा ॥

ityuktvā prārudatsītā kampayantī payodharau | śirodharāṃ ca tanvaṅgī mukhaṃ pracchādyavāsasā

Having said this, Sita began to weep, her breasts trembling, and the slender woman covered her neck and her face with her garment.

Note on the text: Corrected मुस्वं → मुखं (misprint in Wikisource; स्व for ख; critical edition mukhaṃ).

Verse 25 (3.282.25)

तस्या रुदत्या भामिन्या दीर्घा वेणी सुसंयता । ददृशे स्वसिता स्निग्धा काली व्यालीव मूर्धनि ॥

tasyā rudatyā bhāminyā dīrghā veṇī susaṃyatā | dadṛśe svasitā snigdhā kālī vyālīva mūrdhani

As the beautiful woman wept, her long, neatly bound braid, very dark and glossy, looked like a black serpent on her head.

Note on the text: Corrected तस्य → तस्या (misprint in Wikisource; the feminine genitive is needed; critical edition tasyā). Corrected भामित्या → भामिन्या (misprint in Wikisource; त्य for न्य; critical edition bhāminyā). Corrected सुसयता → सुसंयता (misprint in Wikisource; a dropped anusvara; critical edition susaṃyatā).

Verse 26 (3.282.26)

श्रुत्वा तद्रावणो वाक्यं सीतयोक्तं सुनिष्ठुरम् । प्रत्याख्यातोऽपिदुर्मेधाः पुनरेवाब्रवीद्वचः ॥

śrutvā tadrāvaṇo vākyaṃ sītayoktaṃ suniṣṭhuram | pratyākhyāto'pidurmedhāḥ punarevābravīdvacaḥ

Hearing those very harsh words spoken by Sita, the evil-minded Ravana, though rebuffed, spoke again.

Note on the text: Corrected सुनिषुरम् → सुनिष्ठुरम् (misprint in Wikisource; a broken conjunct; critical edition suniṣṭhuram).

Verse 27 (3.282.27)

काममङ्गानि मे सीते दुनोतु मकरध्वजः । नत्वामकामां सुश्रोणीं समेष्ये चारुहासिनीं ॥

kāmamaṅgāni me sīte dunotu makaradhvajaḥ | natvāmakāmāṃ suśroṇīṃ sameṣye cāruhāsinīṃ

"Let the makara-bannered god of love burn my limbs as he will, Sita; I will not lie with you, lovely-hipped and sweetly smiling, against your will.

Note on the text: Corrected काममङ्गनि → काममङ्गानि (misprint in Wikisource; a dropped vowel sign; critical edition kāmam aṅgāni). Corrected समेप्ये → समेष्ये (misprint in Wikisource; प for ष; critical edition sameṣye). No speaker heading in Wikisource; the whole verse is Ravana's direct speech, so it is assigned to Ravana.

Verse 28 (3.282.28)

किंनु शक्यं मया कर्तुं यत्त्वमद्यापिमानुषम् । आहारभूतमस्माकं राममेवानुरुध्यसे ॥

kiṃnu śakyaṃ mayā kartuṃ yattvamadyāpimānuṣam | āhārabhūtamasmākaṃ rāmamevānurudhyase

But what can I do, when even now you cling to Rama, a mere human, who is food for the likes of us?"

Verse 29 (3.282.29)

इत्युक्त्वा तामनिन्द्याङ्गीं स राक्षसमहेश्वरः । तत्रैवान्तर्हितो भूत्वा जगामाभिमतां दिशम् ॥

ityuktvā tāmanindyāṅgīṃ sa rākṣasamaheśvaraḥ | tatraivāntarhito bhūtvā jagāmābhimatāṃ diśam

Having said this to the flawless woman, the great lord of the rakshasas vanished on the spot and went where he pleased.

Verse 30 (3.282.30)

राक्षसीभिः परिवृतावैदेही शोककर्शिता । सेव्यमाना त्रिजटया तत्रैव न्यवसत्तदा ॥

rākṣasībhiḥ parivṛtāvaidehī śokakarśitā | sevyamānā trijaṭayā tatraiva nyavasattadā

Vaidehi, worn thin with grief and surrounded by the rakshasis, lived on there, attended by Trijata.

Note on the text: Corrected शोककशिंता → शोककर्शिता (misprint in Wikisource; a misplaced repha and stray anusvara; critical edition śokakarśitā).