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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.73.17

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 73: Paraśurāma: Omens and the encounter on the road home. Janaka gives bridal wealth and the company leaves Mithilā, mixed omens and a dust-darkened sky precede Paraśurāma’s armed appearance

In the sequence: through the darkness appears a fearsome, matted-haired figure, blazing like the fire of destruction, an axe on his shoulder and a bow and great arrow in his hand

1.73.17

kailāsam iva durdharṣaṃ kālāgnim iva duḥsaham
jvalantam iva tejobhir durnirīkṣyaṃ pṛthagjanaiḥ

unassailable as Mount Kailāsa, unbearable as the fire of doom, blazing as it were with his splendour, hard for common folk to look upon;

Words: kailāsam — Kailāsa (the mountain); iva — like; durdharṣaṃ — unassailable; kālāgnim — the fire of doom; iva — like; duḥsaham — unbearable; jvalantam — blazing; iva — as it were; tejobhir — with (his) splendour; durnirīkṣyaṃ — hard to look upon; pṛthagjanaiḥ — by common people

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.