Araṇya Kāṇḍa 22: Omens on Khara’s march · 3.22.2 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.22.1

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 22: Omens on Khara’s march. Blood-coloured rain, darkness and bodily tremors warn of disaster, Khara dismisses them and advances with his leading warriors

In the sequence: Ominous signs accompany the march: blood-colored rain, stumbling horses, a red-rimmed halo around the sun, and a vulture settling on Khara's standard

3.22.1

tat prayātaṃ balaṃ ghoram aśivaṃ śoṇitodakam
abhyavarṣan mahāmeghas tumulo gardabhāruṇaḥ

Upon that dreadful army as it marched, a great tumultuous cloud, ashen as a donkey, rained down inauspicious blood-water.

Words: tat — that; prayātaṃ — marching, set forth; balaṃ — army, force; ghoram — dreadful; aśivaṃ — inauspicious; śoṇitodakam — blood-water; abhyavarṣan — rained down (upon); mahāmeghas — a great cloud; tumulo — tumultuous; gardabhāruṇaḥ — ashen as a donkey

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.