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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.22.2

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

3.22.2

nipetus turagās tasya rathayuktā mahājavāḥ
same puṣpacite deśe rājamārge yadṛcchayā

His swift horses, yoked to the chariot, stumbled and fell, as if by chance, on the level, flower-strewn ground of the royal road.

Words: nipetus — fell, stumbled; turagās — horses; tasya — his; rathayuktā — yoked to the chariot; mahājavāḥ — of great speed, swift; same — on the level; puṣpacite — flower-strewn; deśe — place, ground; rājamārge — on the royal road; yadṛcchayā — by chance

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.