Aranya Kanda, Sarga 17

Meaning

Having taken their bath, Rāma, Sītā and also Lakṣmaṇa then returned to their hermitage from the aforesaid bank of the Godāvarī. (1)

Meaning

Having reached that hermitage on performing the morning devotions, Rāghava with Lakṣmaṇa entered his hut thatched with leaves. (2)

Meaning

Being honoured by great sages, he stayed happily there. Seated with Sītā in that hut thatched with leaves, the mighty-armed Śrī Rāma shone brightly like the moon accompanied with the constellation Citrā, and discussed various topics with his brother, Lakṣmaṇa. (3-4)

Meaning

While Śrī Rāma was seated there, his mind engrossed in talk, a certain ogress visited that region by chance. (5)

Meaning

Having arrived there, the aforesaid sister of the ogre Rāvaṇa, (who was endowed with ten heads), Śūrpaṇakhā (whose nails resembled a winnowing basket) beheld Śrī Rāma, who looked like a god. (6)

Meaning

Seeing Śrī Rāma with a radiant countenance, mighty arms, eyes large like the petals of a lotus, and a majestic gait like that of an elephant, wearing a rounded mass of matted hair, tender, yet possessed of extraordinary strength, endowed with the bodily marks of a monarch, cerulean like a blue lotus, having a splendour similar to that of Cupid and looking like Indra (the ruler of gods), the ogress got infatuated with love. Overcome with passion, the ogress, who had an ugly face, large belly, deformed eyes, coppery hair, was misshapen, had a frightful voice, was hard-hearted and aged, spoke adversely, was extremely vile of conduct and had a repelling aspect, spoke as follows to Śrī Rāma, who had a charming face, a slender waist, large eyes, beautiful locks, a pleasing aspect and a sweet voice, was youthful and candid, of right conduct and amiable : “Wearing matted locks and dressed in an ascetic garb, wielding a bow and arrows and accompanied with your wife, how have you come to this region frequented by ogres? What is the object of your visit? Be pleased to relate that.” (7—13)

Meaning

Thus spoken to by the ogress Śūrpaṇakhā, Śrī Rāma (the tormentor of foes) proceeded to narrate everything, possessed as he was of a guileless mind : (14)

Meaning

“There was a king named Daśaratha, possessing the prowess of gods. I am his eldest son, known among the people by the name of Rāma. (15)

Meaning

“Here is my younger brother, Lakṣmaṇa by name, devoted to me, and here is my wife, the princess of Videha, known by the name of Sītā. (16)

Meaning

“Fettered by the command of my father, the king, and my mother (Kaikeyī), and seeking to discharge my sacred obligation to them and in order to practise virtue in the form of austerities, I have come to stay in this forest. (17)

Meaning

“I, for my part, desire to know you. Whose daughter are you? What is your name and whose wife are you? Possessed as you are of charming limbs, you appear to me to be an ogress (capable of assuming any form at will) on the face of it. (18)

Meaning

“Tell me truly what for you have come here.” Stricken with love to hear this, the ogress in question replied as follows : (19)

Meaning

“Hear my word, O Rāma ! I shall give out to you the real truth. I am an ogress, Śūrpaṇakhā by name, and capable of assuming any form at will. (20)

Meaning

“Causing fear to all, I haunt this forest alone. I have a brother, Rāvaṇa by name; I wonder if his name has ever reached your ears. (21)

Meaning

“He is a valiant son of Viśravā, if you have ever heard of him. The very mighty Kumbhakarṇa too, who is given to excessive sleep, is my brother. (22)

Meaning

“Vibhīṣaṇa, my third brother, for his part, is pious-minded; he has none of the activities of an ogre. Again, my other two brothers, Khara and Dūṣaṇa, are well-known for their valour on the battlefield. (23)

Meaning

“I definitely surpass them all in point of valour, O Rāma ! Ever since I saw you for the first time, I have sought you, the foremost among men, as my husband in my mind. (24)

Meaning

“I am richly endowed with power. I am able to range at will by dint of my strength. Therefore, be my husband for long. What can you hope to accomplish with Sītā as your partner? (25)

Meaning

“Being deformed and ugly too, she is not worthy of you. I alone stand as a match for you. Look upon me as your wife. (26)

Meaning

“Alongwith this brother of yours I shall devour this ugly, vile, hideous human lady with a sunken belly. (27)

Meaning

“Then, beholding the peaks of mountains and forests of every description, you full of concupiscence will wander with me through the Daṇḍaka forest.” (28)

Meaning

Spoken to in these words and laughing heartily, Śrī Rāma (a scion of Kakutstha), who was an adept in expression, proceeded to reply as follows to that woman with love-intoxicated eyes : (29)