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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.19.21

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 19: Daśaratha’s resistance: The army offered in Rāma’s place. Daśaratha resists sending the young Rāma, offers himself and his army instead and renews his refusal on hearing of Rāvaṇa’s power

In the sequence: Daśaratha admits he cannot face Rāvaṇa, whose power cannot be withstood by Devas, dānavas, gandharvas, yakṣas, patagas or pannagas, and again refuses to send Rāma → he nevertheless offers to fight Mārīca or Subāhu with his companions.

1.19.21

na śaktā rāvaṇaṃ soḍhuṃ kiṃ punar mānavā yudhi
sa hi vīryavatāṃ vīryam ādatte yudhi rākṣasaḥ

— are not able to withstand Rāvaṇa, much less humans in war; for in battle that rākṣasa robs the mighty of their might.

Words: na — not; śaktā — able; rāvaṇaṃ — Rāvaṇa; soḍhuṃ — to withstand, endure; kiṃ punar — how much more/less; mānavā — humans; yudhi — in war; sa — he; hi — for; vīryavatāṃ — of the mighty; vīryam — the might; ādatte — takes away, robs; yudhi — in battle; rākṣasaḥ — the rākṣasa

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. Sanskrit: The Vālmīki-Rāmāyaṇa: Critical Edition, Oriental Institute, Baroda, 1960–1975 (gen. eds. G. H. Bhatt, U. P. Shah); IAST from GRETIL (Göttingen). Translation and word glosses: Claude Opus 4.6–4.7; summaries and sequences: ChatGPT Astra (machine-made). Numbering follows the Critical Edition, not the vulgate (e.g. Gita Press, valmikiramayan.net), so sarga and verse numbers can differ from those editions.