ततस्तु ते तं समुदग्रतेजसं तथापि तीक्ष्णप्रदरा निशाचराः।
न शेकुरेनं सहसा प्रमर्दितुं वनद्विपा दीप्तमिवाग्निमुत्थितम्॥
tatas tu te taṁ samudagra-tejasaṁ
tathāpi tīkṣṇa-pradarā niśācarāḥ
na śekur enaṁ sahasā pramardituṁ
vana-dvipā dīptam ivāgnim utthitam
tataḥ = then; tu = but; te = the; tam samudagra-tejasam tathā = whose prowess flared up; api = though; tīkṣṇa-pradarāḥ = they had sharp arrows at their disposal 3; niśācarāḥ = rākṣasas; na = not; śekuḥ = could; enam = Lord Rāma; sahasā = instantly; pramarditum = destroy; vana-dvipāḥ = forest elephants; dīptam = [facing] blazing; iva = like; agnim = fire; utthitam = as He came forward upon seeing them.
But then, like forest elephants [facing] blazing fire, though they had sharp arrows at their disposal, the rākṣasas could not instantly destroy Lord Rāma whose prowess flared up as He came forward upon seeing them.
[1] āśīr uraga-daṁṣṭrāyāṁ priya-vākyābhiṣaṅgayoḥ. (Nighaṇṭu)
[2] prathamau pravarādimau. (Vaijayantī)
[3] pradarā bhaṅga-nārī-rug-bāṇāḥ. (Amara)
This verse is a summary of the next chapter.