← 1.25.20 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 25: Rāma kills Tāṭakā · 1.25.22 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.25.21

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: the Suras depart as twilight approaches → Viśvāmitra, delighted by Tāṭakā's death, kisses Rāma on the head and proposes spending the night there before continuing to his hermitage at dawn.

1.25.21

tato munivaraḥ prītis tāṭakā vadhatoṣitaḥ
mūrdhni rāmam upāghrāya idaṃ vacanam abravīt

Then the best of sages, pleased, gratified by the slaying of Tāṭakā, kissing Rāma on the head, spoke these words:

Words: tato — then; munivaraḥ — the best of sages; prītis — pleased; tāṭakā — of Tāṭakā; vadhatoṣitaḥ — gratified by the slaying; mūrdhni — on the head; rāmam — Rāma; upāghrāya — having kissed (lit. smelled); idaṃ — this; vacanam — word; abravīt — spoke

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.