Araṇya Kāṇḍa 26: Triśiras loses his three heads · 3.26.2 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.26.1

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 26: Triśiras loses his three heads. He takes Khara’s place in battle, Rāma wrecks his chariot and severs his heads, Khara advances himself

In the sequence: Triśiras intercepts Khara and asks to fight first, swearing on his weapon that either he or Rāma will die → Khara can return victorious if Rāma falls, or fight afterward if Triśiras fails

3.26.1

kharaṃ tu rāmābhimukhaṃ prayāntaṃ vāhinīpatiḥ
rākṣasas triśirā nāma saṃnipatyedam abravīt

As Khara was advancing toward Rāma, an army-commander, a rākṣasa named Triśiras, coming up to him, said this:

Words: kharaṃ — Khara; tu — and; rāmābhimukhaṃ — facing Rāma; prayāntaṃ — advancing; vāhinīpatiḥ — the army-commander; rākṣasas — the rākṣasa; triśirā — Triśiras; nāma — by name; saṃnipatyedam — coming up (to him), this; abravīt — said

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.