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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.55.3

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: Vasiṣṭha stands his ground, declaring the superiority of spiritual power → his brahman-staff extinguishes the fire weapon like water quenching flame

1.55.3

kṣatrabandho sthito 'smy eṣa yad balaṃ tad vidarśaya
nāśayāmy eṣa te darpaṃ śastrasya tava gādhija

'O base kṣatriya, here I stand—show what strength you have; here I destroy your pride and (the power) of your weapon, O son of Gādhi.'

Words: kṣatrabandho — O base kṣatriya (mere kinsman of warriors); sthito 'smy — I stand; eṣa — here (I am); yad — what; balaṃ — strength; tad — that; vidarśaya — show, display; nāśayāmy — I destroy; eṣa — here (now); te — your; darpaṃ — pride; śastrasya — of the weapon; tava — your; gādhija — O son of Gādhi

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.