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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.36.24

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 36: Mārīca’s story of his first defeat. He recalls attacking Viśvāmitra’s sacrifice and being hurled a hundred yojanas into the sea by the young Rāma’s arrow

In the sequence: he warns that Rāvaṇa's proposed war will likewise destroy the rākṣasas, including innocent people caught up in their ruler's wrongdoing

3.36.24

hṛtadārān sadārāṃś ca daśavidravato diśaḥ
hataśeṣān aśaraṇān drakṣyasi tvaṃ niśācarān

You will see the night-rangers—some robbed of their wives, some with their wives—fleeing in all ten directions, the survivors of the slaughter, helpless.

Words: hṛtadārān — those robbed of their wives; sadārāṃś ca — and those with their wives; daśavidravato — fleeing in the ten (directions); diśaḥ — the directions, quarters; hataśeṣān — the survivors of the slaughter; aśaraṇān — helpless, without refuge; drakṣyasi tvaṃ — you will see; niśācarān — the night-rangers

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.