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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.36.25

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 predicts a burning Laṅkā surrounded by arrows and urges Rāvaṇa to remain content with his own wives → abducting Sītā will bring death to him and his relatives.

3.36.25

śarajālaparikṣiptām agnijvālāsamāvṛtām
pradagdhabhavanāṃ laṅkāṃ drakṣyasi tvam asaṃśayam

Without doubt you will see Laṅkā encircled by a net of arrows, wrapped in flames of fire, its houses burnt down.

Words: śarajālaparikṣiptām — encircled by a net of arrows; agnijvālāsamāvṛtām — enveloped in flames of fire; pradagdhabhavanāṃ — with houses burnt down; laṅkāṃ — Laṅkā; drakṣyasi tvam — you will see; asaṃśayam — without doubt

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.