← 3.42.10 · Araṇya Kāṇḍa 42: Mārīca’s false cry · 3.42.12 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.42.11

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 42: Mārīca’s false cry. Mortally wounded, he calls in Rāma’s voice, Rāma fears for Sītā and takes another deer’s meat before hurrying back

In the sequence: he resolves to kill it and shoots a blazing arrow described as fashioned through Brahmā's weapon-craft

3.42.11

tam eva mṛgam uddiśya jvalantam iva pannagam
mumoca jvalitaṃ dīptam astrabrahmavinirmitam

and aiming at that very deer, he loosed a blazing, flaming (arrow), like a fiery serpent, fashioned by Brahmā's weapon-craft.

Words: tam eva mṛgam — at that very deer; uddiśya — aiming at; jvalantam iva pannagam — like a blazing serpent; mumoca — loosed; jvalitaṃ — flaming; dīptam — blazing; astrabrahmavinirmitam — fashioned by the Brahmā-weapon

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.