← 3.28.8 · Araṇya Kāṇḍa 28: Khara’s mace destroyed · 3.28.10 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.28.9
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
3.28.9
nacirāt prāpyate loke pāpānāṃ karmaṇāṃ phalam
saviṣāṇām ivānnānāṃ bhuktānāṃ kṣaṇadācara
Before long, in this world, the fruit of evil deeds is reaped, O night-roamer, as the effect of poisoned foods that have been eaten.
Words: nacirāt — before long, soon; prāpyate — is obtained, reaped; loke — in the world; pāpānāṃ — of evil; karmaṇāṃ — of deeds; phalam — fruit; saviṣāṇām — poisoned; ivānnānāṃ — as of foods; bhuktānāṃ — eaten; kṣaṇadācara — O night-roamer
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.