← 1.55.11 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 55: Story of Viśvāmitra: Vasiṣṭha’s staff absorbs the weapons · 1.55.13 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.55.12
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
1.55.12
triśūlam astraṃ ghoraṃ ca kāpālam atha kaṅkaṇam
etāny astrāṇi cikṣepa sarvāṇi raghunandana
the terrible Triśūla (trident) missile, the Kāpāla (skull) and the Kaṅkaṇa (bracelet)—all these missiles he hurled, O delight of the Raghus.
Words: triśūlam — the Triśūla (trident missile); astraṃ — missile; ghoraṃ — terrible; ca — and; kāpālam — the Kāpāla (skull missile); atha — then; kaṅkaṇam — the Kaṅkaṇa (bracelet missile); etāny astrāṇi — these missiles; cikṣepa — hurled; sarvāṇi — all; raghunandana — O delight of the Raghus
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.