Araṇya Kāṇḍa 67: Story of Kabandha · 3.67.2 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.67.1

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 67: Story of Kabandha. A ṛṣi’s curse and Indra’s thunderbolt produced his deformed body, he asks for cremation to restore his discernment and name a helpful ally

In the sequence: Kabandha recalls once possessing extraordinary beauty but taking a frightening form to terrify forest munis

3.67.1

purā rāma mahābāho mahābalaparākrama
rūpam āsīn mamācintyaṃ triṣu lokeṣu viśrutam
yathā somasya śakrasya sūryasya ca yathā vapuḥ

“Once, O mighty-armed Rāma, of great strength and prowess, I had a form unimaginable, renowned throughout the three worlds — a beauty like that of the moon, of Indra, and like the body of the sun.

Words: purā — once, formerly; rāma — O Rāma; mahābāho — O mighty-armed one; mahābalaparākrama — O you of great strength and prowess; rūpam — form, beauty; āsīn — was; mamācintyaṃ — my unimaginable; triṣu — in the three; lokeṣu — worlds; viśrutam — renowned; yathā — like, as; somasya — of the moon (Soma); śakrasya — of Śakra (Indra); sūryasya — of the sun; ca — and; yathā — as, like; vapuḥ — body, form

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. 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.