← 3.26.11 · Araṇya Kāṇḍa 26: Triśiras loses his three heads · 3.26.13 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.26.12
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: three arrows strike Rāma's forehead → Rāma mocks their force and answers with fourteen arrows into Triśiras's chest
3.26.12
aho vikramaśūrasya rākṣasasyedṛśaṃ balam
puṣpair iva śarair yasya lalāṭe 'smi parikṣataḥ
mamāpi pratigṛhṇīṣva śarāṃś cāpaguṇacyutān
“Ah, such is the strength of this rākṣasa, valiant in prowess, by whose arrows — as if with flowers — I have been wounded on the forehead! Now receive my arrows too, sped from my bowstring.
Words: aho — ah! (exclamation); vikramaśūrasya — of (this rākṣasa) valiant in prowess; rākṣasasyedṛśaṃ — of the rākṣasa, such; balam — strength; puṣpair — with flowers; iva — as if, like; śarair — with arrows; yasya — by whose; lalāṭe — on the forehead; 'smi — I am; parikṣataḥ — wounded, torn; mamāpi — of mine too; pratigṛhṇīṣva — receive; śarāṃś — arrows; cāpaguṇacyutān — sped from the bowstring
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.