← 3.28.1 · Araṇya Kāṇḍa 28: Khara’s mace destroyed · 3.28.3 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.28.2
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: Facing the now dismounted Khara, Rāma condemns his cruelty and the killing of tapasvins → he says power cannot protect someone forever from the consequences of such actions
3.28.2
gajāśvarathasaṃbādhe bale mahati tiṣṭhatā
kṛtaṃ sudāruṇaṃ karma sarvalokajugupsitam
“Standing amid a great army thronging with elephants, horses, and chariots, you have done a most cruel deed, abhorred by all the world.
Words: gajāśvarathasaṃbādhe — thronging with elephants, horses, and chariots; bale — in an army; mahati — great; tiṣṭhatā — by (you) standing; kṛtaṃ — done; sudāruṇaṃ — most cruel; karma — deed; sarvalokajugupsitam — abhorred by all the world
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.