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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.24.2

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 24: Story of Tāṭakā: Birth, marriage and Agastya’s curse. Brahmā grants Suketu a powerful daughter, Tāṭakā marries Sunda and bears Mārīca, their attack on Agastya brings his transforming curses

In the sequence: Rāma asks how Tāṭakā can possess such extraordinary strength

1.24.2

alpavīryā yadā yakṣāḥ śrūyante munipuṃgava
kathaṃ nāgasahasrasya dhārayaty abalā balam

“Since yakṣas are heard to be of little valour, O bull among sages, how does a (mere) woman hold the strength of a thousand elephants?”

Words: alpavīryā — of little valour; yadā — since, when; yakṣāḥ — yakṣas; śrūyante — are heard (to be); munipuṃgava — O bull among sages; kathaṃ — how; nāgasahasrasya — of a thousand elephants; dhārayaty — holds; abalā — a woman (lit. the strengthless one); balam — strength

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.