← 3.21.25 · Araṇya Kāṇḍa 21: Khara’s army mobilizes
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.21.26
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: Khara's chariot follows the advancing force, and he urges his driver to hurry.
3.21.26
pravṛddhamanyus tu kharaḥ kharasvano ripor vadhārthaṃ tvarito yathāntakaḥ
acūcudat sārathim unnadan punar mahābalo megha ivāśmavarṣavān
His wrath swollen, Khara of harsh voice, hastening like Death to slay his foe, roaring aloud once more, that mighty one, like a cloud raining down stones, urged on his charioteer.
Words: pravṛddhamanyus — his wrath swollen; tu — and; kharaḥ — Khara; kharasvano — of harsh voice; ripor — of the foe; vadhārthaṃ — for the slaying; tvarito — hastening; yathāntakaḥ — like Death; acūcudat — urged on, spurred; sārathim — the charioteer; unnadan — roaring aloud; punar — again; mahābalo — the mighty one; megha — a cloud; ivāśmavarṣavān — like (a cloud) raining down stones
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.