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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.20.29

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 20: Lakṣmaṇa opposes fate with effort. He offers to overcome every obstacle by force, Rāma wipes away his tears but remains bound to the promise

In the sequence: he points to his weapons and promises to defeat anyone who intervenes

2.20.29

khaḍgadhārā hatā me 'dya dīpyamānā ivādrayaḥ
patiṣyanti dvipā bhūmau meghā iva savidyutaḥ

Smitten today by the edge of my sword, elephants gleaming like mountains will fall to the ground like clouds charged with lightning.

Words: khaḍgadhārā — by the sword's edge; hatā — struck, smitten; me — by me; 'dya — today; dīpyamānā — blazing, gleaming; ivādrayaḥ — like mountains; patiṣyanti — will fall; dvipā — elephants; bhūmau — to the ground; meghā — clouds; iva — like; savidyutaḥ — charged with lightning

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.