← 1.25.1 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 25: Rāma kills Tāṭakā · 1.25.3 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.25.2

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 25: Rāma kills Tāṭakā. Rāma’s bowstring draws her attack, he kills her with an arrow to the breast and the Devas ask Viśvāmitra to reward him with divine weapons

In the sequence: Rāma joins his palms and agrees to obey Viśvāmitra → he recalls Daśaratha’s instruction, given in Ayodhyā before his elders, and affirms the need to protect the region, cows, and brāhmaṇas

1.25.2

pitur vacananirdeśāt pitur vacanagauravāt
vacanaṃ kauśikasyeti kartavyam aviśaṅkayā

“By the injunction of my father's word, and out of reverence for my father's word, the word of the Kauśika (Viśvāmitra) must be carried out without hesitation.

Words: pitur — of the father; vacananirdeśāt — by the injunction of the word; pitur — of the father; vacanagauravāt — out of reverence for the word; vacanaṃ — the word; kauśikasyeti — ‘of the Kauśika,’ thus; kartavyam — to be done; aviśaṅkayā — without hesitation

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.