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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.23.9

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

3.23.9

udyatānāṃ hi yuddhārthaṃ yeṣāṃ bhavati lakṣmaṇaḥ
niṣprabhaṃ vadanaṃ teṣāṃ bhavaty āyuḥ parikṣayaḥ

For those who, roused for battle, have a lustreless face, O Lakṣmaṇa — for them comes the end of life.

Words: udyatānāṃ — of those roused, ready; hi — for; yuddhārthaṃ — for battle; yeṣāṃ — of whom; bhavati — becomes, is; lakṣmaṇaḥ — O Lakṣmaṇa; niṣprabhaṃ — lustreless; vadanaṃ — face; teṣāṃ — of them; bhavaty — becomes, comes; āyuḥ — of life; parikṣayaḥ — end, destruction

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.