Canto 3 -
Araṇya-kāṇḍa
Chapter 47: Rāvaṇa Reveals his Identity to Sītā
Text 3.47.37
पादपान्काञ्चनान्नूनं बहूपश्यसि मन्दभाक्।
राघवस्य प्रियां भार्यां यस्त्वमिच्छसि रावण॥
pādapān kāñcanān nūnaṁ bahūn paśyasi mandabhāk
rāghavasya priyāṁ bhāryāṁ yas tvam icchasi rāvaṇa
pādapān = trees; kāñcanān = golden; nūnam bahūn = many; paśyasi = [therefore] you see; mandabhāk = [are] ill-fated; rāghavasya = of Rāghava; priyām = the beloved; bhāryām = wife; yaḥ = who; tvam = you; icchasi = desire; rāvaṇa = Rāvaṇa.
Rāvaṇa, you, who desire the beloved wife of Rāghava, [are] ill-fated. [Therefore] you see many golden trees!
1 Rāmāyaṇa-bhūṣaṇa: mad-abhilāṣa-yuktas tvaṁ sadyo mariṣyasīti bhāvaḥ.
It is known that those who are close to death see golden trees.
Mandabhāk (“ill-fated”) also indicates that Rāvaṇa’s lifespan and so on are depleted. She intends to tell him, “[Because] you hanker for me, you will die immediately!”1