Araṇya Kāṇḍa 21: Khara’s army mobilizes · 3.21.2 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.21.1

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 21: Khara’s army mobilizes. Dūṣaṇa assembles fourteen thousand rākṣasas, Khara mounts his chariot and the armed force marches from Janasthāna

In the sequence: Provoked by Śūrpaṇakhā, Khara declares that he cannot contain his anger and dismisses Rāma as a mere mortal

3.21.1

evam ādharṣitaḥ śūraḥ śūrpaṇakhyā kharas tadā
uvāca rakṣasāṃ madhye kharaḥ kharataraṃ vacaḥ

Thus provoked by Śūrpaṇakhā, the brave Khara then spoke, in the midst of the rākṣasas, words harsher than harsh:

Words: evam — thus; ādharṣitaḥ — provoked, challenged; śūraḥ — the brave one; śūrpaṇakhyā — by Śūrpaṇakhā; kharas — Khara; tadā — then; uvāca — spoke; rakṣasāṃ — of the rākṣasas; madhye — in the midst; kharaḥ — Khara; kharataraṃ — harsher (than harsh; a pun on his name); vacaḥ — words

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. 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.