Canto 3 -
Araṇya-kāṇḍa
Chapter 49: Rāvaṇa Kidnaps Sītā
Text 3.49.10
स तामसितकेशान्तां भास्करस्य प्रभामिव।
वसनाभरणोपेतां मैथिलीं रावणोऽब्रवीत्॥
sa tām asita-keśāntāṁ bhāskarasya prabhām iva
vasanābharaṇopetāṁ maithilīṁ rāvaṇo ’bravīt
saḥ1 tām = she; asita-keśa-antām = her hair was dark at the tips; bhāskarasya = of the sun; prabhām = the radiance; iva = resembled; vasana-ābharaṇa-upetām = she was attired in garments and adorned with ornaments; maithilīm = to Maithilī; rāvaṇaḥ = Rāvaṇa; abravīt = spoke [as follows].
Her hair was dark at the tips. She resembled the radiance of the sun.1 She was attired in garments and adorned with ornaments. Rāvaṇa spoke to Maithilī [as follows].
Her hair was dark blue at the tips.1 Hair whose tips are reddish-brown is a sign of inauspiciousness. “She resembled the radiance of the sun” indicates that her presence was intolerable. “She was attired in garments and adorned with ornaments” indicate that it was impossible [for Rāvaṇa] to give her up.