← 3.21.1 · Araṇya Kāṇḍa 21: Khara’s army mobilizes · 3.21.3 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.21.2

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

3.21.2

tavāpamānaprabhavaḥ krodho 'yam atulo mama
na śakyate dhārayituṃ lavaṇāmbha ivotthitam

“This unequalled anger of mine, arisen from the insult to you, cannot be held back, like the risen tide of the salt sea.

Words: tavāpamānaprabhavaḥ — arisen from the insult to you; krodho 'yam — this anger; atulo — unequalled; mama — my; na śakyate — it cannot be; dhārayituṃ — to be held back, restrained; lavaṇāmbha — the salt sea, salt water; ivotthitam — like the risen

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.