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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.23.28

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 23: Story of Tāṭakā’s forest: Indra’s cleansing and the ruined country. The Sarayū’s origin and confluence are explained, Indra’s cleansing gives Malada & Karūṣa their names and Tāṭakā’s devastation makes the region impassable

In the sequence: Viśvāmitra commands Rāma to kill her and restore safety to land that no one dares enter.

1.23.28

svabāhubalam āśritya jahīmāṃ duṣṭacāriṇīm
manniyogād imaṃ deśaṃ kuru niṣkaṇṭakaṃ punaḥ

Relying on the strength of your own arms, slay this evil-doer; at my command make this region free of thorns once more.

Words: svabāhubalam — the strength of your own arms; āśritya — having relied on, resorted to; jahīmāṃ — slay this; duṣṭacāriṇīm — the evil-doer; manniyogād — at my command; imaṃ — this; deśaṃ — region; kuru — make; niṣkaṇṭakaṃ — free of thorns, free of trouble; punaḥ — again, once more

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki, the ādikavi of the ādikāvya: the first poet of the first poem. 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.