Aranya Kanda, Sarga 46

Meaning

Enraged when spoken to in harsh words by Sītā, and ardently longing to meet Śrī Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa, the younger brother of Śrī Rāma, departed without delay as it were. (1)

Meaning

Getting an opportunity to meet Sītā alone, provided by the departure of Lakṣmaṇa and availing himself of it, nay, assuming the form of a wandering anchorite, Rāvaṇa, the ten-headed monster, quickly advanced towards Sītā, a princess of the Videha territory. (2)

Meaning

Appearing in the form of a wandering recluse, clad in a neat ochre-coloured garment, with a tuft of hair on the crown of his head and with shoes on, carrying an umbrella on the right shoulder and bearing a glossy staff and a bright Kamaṇḍalu (a vessel made of marine cocoanut shell for carrying water) on the left shoulder, he tried to humour Sītā, a princess of the Videha kingdom. Rāvaṇa, who was possessed of great might, approached her while she was bereft of the two brothers, Śrī Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa, even as thick darkness overtakes dusk, which is without the sun and the moon. The exceedingly cruel fellow then saw that illustrious and youthful princess in the same way as an unpropitious planet would frown at Rohiṇī (a consort of the moon-god and a constellation of that name) bereft of the moon. Perceiving that fierce ogre of sinful deeds, the trees existing in Janasthāna did not wave nor did the wind blow freely. Seeing the red-eyed monster looking intently on the river, the river Godāvarī too, which had a swift current, began to course slowly for fear of him. Seeking to obtain an opportunity when Śrī Rāma should be away from Sītā, Rāvaṇa, the ten-headed monster, sought the presence of Sītā, a princess of the Videha territory, in the guise of a wandering mendicant during the absence of Śrī Rāma. In a propitious garb the unpropitious Rāvaṇa approached Sītā, a princess of the Videha kingdom, who was then grieving for her husband, even as the planet Saturn would approach the constellation, Citrā. Looking intently at Sītā, a princess of the Videha territory, the illustrious consort of Śrī Rāma, Rāvaṇa suddenly stood before her in an auspicious garb and thereby resembling a well overgrown with blades of grass. Standing delighted in mind to gaze at that moment on Sītā, a princess of the Videha kingdom, the blessed consort of Śrī Rāma—who had lovely teeth and lips, a countenance shining brightly as the full moon and eyes resembling the petals of a lotus, was clad in yellow silk—sitting in her hut of leaves tormented with grief and flooded with tears, the ogre, Rāvaṇa, drew near her. (3—13)

Meaning

Pierced with the darts of Love to see her and chanting Vedic Mantras in order to impress on her that he was a Brāhmaṇa recluse, Rāvaṇa, the suzerain lord of ogres, proceeded to address polite words to her in that lonely place. (14)

Meaning

Rāvaṇa, they say, extolled that lady, who was the foremost among women in all the three worlds, and shone brightly with her body like Lakṣmī, the goddess of beauty and fortune, without a lotus, in the following words : (15)

Meaning

“O lady possessing the hue and splendour of silver and gold and clad in yellow silk, and having in your person a cluster of lotuses (in the guise of eyes, countenance, hands, feet and so on) like a lotus pond, are you Hrī (the deity presiding over modesty), Śrī (the goddess of elegance), Kīrti (the deity presiding over fame), the blessed Lakṣmī (the goddess of fortune), or a celestial nymph or Bhūti (the goddess presiding over the mystic powers) or Rati (the consort of Love) acting according to her own inclinations, O lady with a charming countenance and other comely limbs? (16-17)

Meaning

“How even smooth and white are your teeth with their surface resembling jasmine buds and how large and fair are your eyes red at the end with dark pupils. (18)

Meaning

“Broad and fleshy are your hips and thighs resembling the trunk of an elephant; and these breasts of yours are fully developed, round, joined together, and prominent with rounded and elevated teats, lovable and charming, resembling a pair of smooth palmyra fruits and adorned with strings of excellent gems. (19-20)

Meaning

“O playful and charming lady with sweet smiles, shapely teeth and lovely eyes, you steal away my heart even as a river washes away its banks with its current. (21)

Meaning

“Your waist can be enclosed within the tips of one thumb and index finger, O lady with sleek hair and close breasts! Neither a goddess, nor a Gandharva lady, nor a Yakṣa woman nor a Kinnara girl nor a human lady of such passing comeliness was seen by me ever before on the face of the earth. Your comeliness, which is foremost in all the three worlds, as also your tenderness and youth, on the one hand, and your residence in this forest, on the other hand, agitate my mind. As such depart from this place, may prosperity attend on you ! You ought no longer to stay here. (22—24)

Meaning

“This forest is the home of fierce ogres capable of assuming any form at will. The charming topmost storeys of palaces as well as prosperous cities and sweet-smelling gardens alone are fit to be occupied and frequented by you. I consider that garland as foremost, that fragrant substance as excellent and that article of wearing apparel as the best and also that husband as worth choosing, that is united with you, O charming lady with dark eyes! Who are you, O lady with bright smiles? To me you appear to be a goddess married to the (eleven) Rudras, the (forty-nine) wind-gods or the (eight) Vasus, O lady with charming limbs! Neither Gandharvas nor gods nor Kinnaras visit this forest. (25—28)

Meaning

“This forest is the home of ogres. How did you come to this place at all? Here live monkeys, lions, leopards, tigers and deer, wolves, bears, hyenas and buzzards. How do you not feel afraid of them? How do you not feel afraid of dreadful elephants in rut and full of speed, though living alone in this huge forest, O lady with a charming countenance? Who are you? Whose consort are you and where do you hail from? And for what purpose do you range alone in the frightful Daṇḍaka forest frequented by ogres, O blessed one?” Eulogized as above by the swindler Rāvaṇa and actually seeing the aforesaid Rāvaṇa come in the garb of a Brāhmaṇa, Sītā, the princess of Mithilā, adored him with all honours due to an unexpected guest. (29—33)

Meaning

Having offered him a seat first and tended upon him with water to wash his feet with, she then said to Rāvaṇa of gentle aspect only this: “Cooked food is ready.” (34)

Meaning

Perceiving him arrived without previous notice in the garb of a Brāhmaṇa, carrying a water-pot (made of marine cocoanut-shell) and clad in saffron-coloured robes and unworthy of neglect because of her having perceived the marks of a Brāhmaṇa on his person, Sītā invited him in the following words to dinner as a Brāhmaṇa since he had come dressed as such : (35)

Meaning

“Here is a seat of green grass, O Brāhmaṇa ! Let yourself be seated at will on it. Also let this water to wash your feet with be accepted. And here is excellent produce of the forest dressed for you. This may be partaken of by you on this spot at ease.” (36)

Meaning

Being invited to dine in the aforesaid words and closely observing Queen Sītā, the princess of Mithilā, who had uttered the full formula with which a guest is invited to dine, Rāvaṇa fully and resolutely made up his mind to carry her away by force and thereby to bring about his own death. (37)

Meaning

Then, looking out for her neatly dressed husband—who had gone ahunting with Lakṣmaṇa—and casting her eyes round, Sītā only saw at that moment that vast green forest but not Śrī Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa. (38)