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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.28.16

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 28: Khara’s mace destroyed. Rāma condemns his attacks on the ṛṣis, Khara throws a blazing mace and Rāma shatters it with arrows

In the sequence: Khara answers that killing ordinary troops is no reason to boast → he claims that his mace is enough to kill Rāma and cuts the argument short because sunset would interrupt their fight

3.28.16

prākṛtān rākṣasān hatvā yuddhe daśarathātmaja
ātmanā katham ātmānam apraśasyaṃ praśaṃsasi

“Having slain only common rākṣasas in battle, son of Daśaratha, why do you yourself praise yourself, though unworthy of praise?

Words: prākṛtān — common, ordinary; rākṣasān — rākṣasas; hatvā — having slain; yuddhe — in battle; daśarathātmaja — O son of Daśaratha; ātmanā — by yourself; katham — how, why; ātmānam — yourself; apraśasyaṃ — unworthy of praise; praśaṃsasi — you praise

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.