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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.55.8
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
1.55.8
śoṣaṇaṃ dāraṇaṃ caiva vajram astraṃ sudurjayam
brahmapāśaṃ kālapāśaṃ vāruṇaṃ pāśam eva ca
the Śoṣaṇa (drying-up) and the Dāraṇa (rending), the well-nigh invincible Vajra missile, the noose of Brahmā, the noose of Kāla, and the noose of Varuṇa;
Words: śoṣaṇaṃ — the Śoṣaṇa (drying-up missile); dāraṇaṃ — the Dāraṇa (rending missile); caiva — and; vajram — the Vajra (thunderbolt); astraṃ — missile; sudurjayam — hard to conquer, well-nigh invincible; brahmapāśaṃ — the noose of Brahmā; kālapāśaṃ — the noose of Kāla (Time/Death); vāruṇaṃ — of Varuṇa; pāśam — the noose; eva ca — and indeed
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.