Canto 3 -
Araṇya-kāṇḍa
Chapter 5: Rāma Meets Sage Śarabhaṅga
Text 3.5.38
एष पन्था नरव्याघ्र मुहूर्तं पश्य तात माम्।
यावज्जहामि गात्राणि जीर्णां त्वचमिवोरगः॥
eṣa panthā nara-vyāghra muhūrtaṁ paśya tāta mām
yāvaj jahāmi gātrāṇi jīrṇāṁ tvacam ivoragaḥ
eṣaḥ = here; panthāḥ = is the path; nara-vyāghra = Prince Rāma; muhūrtam = for a while; paśya = look; tāta = O father of everyone; mām = at me; yāvat = until; jahāmi = I give up; gātrāṇi = my body; jīrṇām = [shedding its] old; tvacam = skin; iva = like; uragaḥ = a snake.
Here is the path. Prince Rāma, O father of everyone, look at me for a while until I give up my body like a snake [shedding its] old skin.
Śarabhaṅga thus showed the path to Sutīkṣṇa’s āśrama with his hand. He then requested that Rāma be present while he gave up his body.
GLOSS. [The glossator reads juhomi instead of jahāmi indicating that] the sage wanted to offer his body into the [sacrificial] fire as an oblation.