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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.25.21

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 25: Dūṣaṇa’s death. Rāma severs his arms, kills three commanders and destroys the troops, leaving Khara & Triśiras as the principal opponents

In the sequence: shattered armor, broken bows, and bloodied bodies cover the battlefield

3.25.21

kṣaṇena tu mahāghoraṃ vanaṃ nihatarākṣasaṃ
babhūva niraya prakhyaṃ māṃsaśoṇitakardamam

In a moment the great, dreadful forest, its rākṣasas slain, became like a hell, a mire of flesh and blood.

Words: kṣaṇena — in a moment; tu — and; mahāghoraṃ — great and dreadful; vanaṃ — forest; nihatarākṣasaṃ — with its rākṣasas slain; babhūva — became; niraya prakhyaṃ — like a hell; māṃsaśoṇitakardamam — a mire of flesh and blood

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.