← 1.25.21 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 25: Rāma kills Tāṭakā

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.25.22

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.

1.25.22

ihādya rajanīṃ rāma vasema śubhadarśana
śvaḥ prabhāte gamiṣyāmas tad āśramapadaṃ mama

“Here today let us spend the night, O Rāma of auspicious aspect; tomorrow at dawn we shall go to that hermitage of mine.”

Words: ihādya — here today; rajanīṃ — the night; rāma — O Rāma; vasema — let us dwell; śubhadarśana — O you of auspicious aspect; śvaḥ — tomorrow; prabhāte — at dawn; gamiṣyāmas — we shall go; tad — that; āśramapadaṃ — the hermitage; mama — of mine

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.