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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.55.11
Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 55: Story of Viśvāmitra: Vasiṣṭha’s staff absorbs the weapons. Vasiṣṭha’s staff absorbs every missile, including the Brahmāstra, Viśvāmitra recognizes the superiority of spiritual power and resolves to attain brāhmaṇa status
In the sequence: Viśvāmitra releases a succession of divine missiles: weapons of water, wind, sleep, delusion, torment, destruction, divine nooses, discuses, thunderbolts, and others → the staff absorbs them all
1.55.11
śaktidvayaṃ ca cikṣepa kaṅkālaṃ musalaṃ tathā
vaidyādharaṃ mahāstraṃ ca kālāstram atha dāruṇam
he hurled the pair of spears, the Kaṅkāla (skeleton) and the Musala (mace), the great Vaidyādhara missile, and then the terrible Kāla missile;
Words: śaktidvayaṃ — the pair of spears; ca — and; cikṣepa — hurled; kaṅkālaṃ — the Kaṅkāla (skeleton missile); musalaṃ — the Musala (mace/pestle missile); tathā — and, likewise; vaidyādharaṃ — the Vaidyādhara (missile of the Vidyādharas); mahāstraṃ — the great missile; ca — and; kālāstram — the Kāla missile; atha — then; dāruṇam — terrible, dreadful
Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. 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.