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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.73.18

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

1.73.18

skandhe cāsajya paraśuṃ dhanur vidyudgaṇopamam
pragṛhya śaramukhyaṃ ca tripuraghnaṃ yathā haram

an axe slung upon his shoulder, and grasping a bow like a mass of lightning together with a chief arrow — like Hara, the destroyer of the Triple City.

Words: skandhe — on (his) shoulder; cāsajya — having slung, laid; paraśuṃ — the axe; dhanur — the bow; vidyudgaṇopamam — like a mass of lightning; pragṛhya — grasping, holding forth; śaramukhyaṃ — a chief arrow; ca — and; tripuraghnaṃ — the slayer of the Triple City; yathā — like; haram — Hara (Śiva)

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.