Canto 3 -
Araṇya-kāṇḍa
Chapter 3: Virādha Carries Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa
Text 3.3.2

अथोवाच पुनर्वाक्यं विराधः पूरयन्वनम्।
आत्मानं पृच्छते ब्रूतं कौ युवां क्व गमिष्यथः॥

athovāca punar vākyaṁ virādhaḥ pūrayan vanam
ātmānaṁ pṛcchate brūtaṁ kau yuvāṁ kva gamiṣyathaḥ

atha = then; uvāca = spoke; punar = however; vākyam = [these] words; virādhaḥ = Virādha; pūrayan = while filling; vanam = the forest with the sound [of his voice]; ātmānam = You about Yourselves; pṛcchate = I have asked; brūtam = tell me; kau = who; yuvām = are both of You; kva = Where; gamiṣyathaḥ = are You two going.

However, Virādha then spoke [these] words while filling the forest with the sound [of his voice]: “I have asked You about Yourselves. Tell me. Who are both of You? Where are You two going?”

Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa attacked Virādha in order to favor him. This is described in this chapter.1

1 As it will be clear in Chapter 4, Virādha was formerly a gandharva who had been cursed by Kuvera to become a rākṣasa until Lord Rāma defeats him in a fight. The omniscient Supreme Personality of Godhead Rāmacandra wanted to favor Virādha by defeating him in a fight so that he could be released from the body of a rākṣasa.