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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.30.17
Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 30: Śūrpaṇakhā reaches Rāvaṇa’s court. The narrative recalls his conquests, tapas and protection from nonhuman enemies, leaving him vulnerable to a human
In the sequence: during ten thousand years of austerity, he offered his own heads to Brahmā
3.30.17
daśavarṣasahasrāṇi tapas taptvā mahāvane
purā svayambhuve dhīraḥ śirāṃsy upajahāra yaḥ
who of old, steadfast, having performed austerities for ten thousand years in the great forest, offered up his own heads to the Self-existent (Brahmā);
Words: daśavarṣasahasrāṇi — ten thousand years; tapas — austerity; taptvā — having performed; mahāvane — in the great forest; purā — of old; svayambhuve — to the Self-existent (Brahmā); dhīraḥ — the steadfast; śirāṃsy — (his) heads; upajahāra — offered up; yaḥ — who
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.