← 3.18.19 · Araṇya Kāṇḍa 18: Khara sends fourteen rākṣasas · 3.18.21 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.18.20
Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 18: Khara sends fourteen rākṣasas. Śūrpaṇakhā demands the blood of Rāma, Sītā & Lakṣmaṇa and leads Khara’s warriors to their hermitage
In the sequence: Khara sends fourteen powerful rākṣasas with orders to kill the travelers and satisfy his sister's demand
3.18.20
manoratho 'yam iṣṭo 'syā bhaginyā mama rākṣasāḥ
śīghraṃ saṃpadyatāṃ gatvā tau pramathya svatejasā
This is the cherished desire of my sister, O rākṣasas; let it swiftly be accomplished — go and crush those two by your own might.”
Words: manoratho — the heart's desire; 'yam — this; iṣṭo — cherished, desired; 'syā — of her; bhaginyā — of (my) sister; mama — my; rākṣasāḥ — O rākṣasas; śīghraṃ — swiftly; saṃpadyatāṃ — let it be accomplished; gatvā — having gone; tau — those two; pramathya — having crushed, destroyed; svatejasā — by your own might
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.