← 3.23.4 · Araṇya Kāṇḍa 23: Rāma prepares to fight alone · 3.23.6 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.23.5
Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 23: Rāma prepares to fight alone. He reads the omens as signs of victory, sends Sītā & Lakṣmaṇa into a mountain cave and faces the fourteen thousand
In the sequence: his weapons seem eager for battle, birds signal danger, and his throbbing arm foretells combat → Lakṣmaṇa's bright, composed face gives him confidence in victory
3.23.5
sadhūmāś ca śarāḥ sarve mama yuddhābhinandinaḥ
rukmapṛṣṭhāni cāpāni viveṣṭante ca lakṣmaṇa
And all my arrows, rejoicing in the coming battle, are smoking, and my gold-backed bows quiver, Lakṣmaṇa.
Words: sadhūmāś — smoking; ca — and; śarāḥ — arrows; sarve — all; mama — my; yuddhābhinandinaḥ — rejoicing in battle; rukmapṛṣṭhāni — gold-backed; cāpāni — bows; viveṣṭante — quiver, writhe; ca — and; lakṣmaṇa — O Lakṣmaṇa
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.