← 1.29.16 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 29: Protection of Siddhāśrama: Rāma’s three astras · 1.29.18 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.29.17
Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 29: Protection of Siddhāśrama: Rāma’s three astras. Rāma casts Mārīca into the sea with the Mānava astra, kills Subāhu with the Āgneya astra and defeats the remaining rākṣasas with the Vāyavya astra, allowing the yajña to finish
In the sequence: seeing Mārīca senseless and reeling under the cold arrow’s force, Rāma tells Lakṣmaṇa that the Mānava astra, described as śīteṣu (cold-arrowed), attended by dharma, has stunned and carried him away without killing him
1.29.17
paśya lakṣmaṇa śīteṣuṃ mānavaṃ dharmasaṃhitam
mohayitvā nayaty enaṃ na ca prāṇair viyujyate
“Behold, Lakṣmaṇa, the cold-arrowed Mānava (weapon), attended by dharma: having stupefied him, it carries him off, yet he is not deprived of life.
Words: paśya — behold; lakṣmaṇa — O Lakṣmaṇa; śīteṣuṃ — the cold-arrowed (Śīteṣu); mānavaṃ — the Mānava; dharmasaṃhitam — attended by, in accord with dharma; mohayitvā — having stupefied, deluded; nayaty — carries off, leads away; enaṃ — him; na — not; ca — and, yet; prāṇair — of life-breaths; viyujyate — is deprived, separated
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.