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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.65.30

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 65: Kabandha’s grasp. A headless being with a chest-eye, belly-mouth and two long arms seizes both brothers as they search the forest

In the sequence: Rāma laments that another mortal danger has overtaken them before they can find Sītā, but steadies his resolve to act.

3.65.30

śūrāś ca balavantaś ca kṛtāstrāś ca raṇājire
kālābhipannāḥ sīdanti yathā vālukasetavaḥ

Even the brave and the strong and the skilled in arms, when overtaken by Time, collapse on the field of battle like dams of sand.

Words: śūrāś — the brave; ca — and; balavantaś — the strong; ca — and; kṛtāstrāś — skilled in arms; ca — and; raṇājire — on the field of battle; kālābhipannāḥ — overtaken by Time; sīdanti — sink, collapse; yathā — like; vālukasetavaḥ — dams of sand

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.