एवमाधर्षितः शूरः शूर्पनख्या खरस्तदा।
उवाच रक्षसां मध्ये खरः खरतरं वचः॥
evam ādharṣitaḥ śūraḥ śūrpanakhyā kharas tadā
uvāca rakṣasāṁ madhye kharaḥ kharataraṁ vacaḥ
evam = thus; ādharṣitaḥ = insulted; śūraḥ = the heroic; śūrpanakhyā = by Śūrpaṇakhā; kharaḥ = and harsh; tadā = then; uvāca = spoke; rakṣasām = of the rākṣasas; madhye = in the presence; kharaḥ = Khara; kharataram = [the following] harsher; vacaḥ = words.
Insulted thus by Śūrpaṇakhā, the heroic and harsh Khara then spoke [the following] harsher words in the presence of the rākṣasas.
1 Technical note: By sandhi, rājan is transformed into rājaṁs.
2 Technical note: brahmavittamā ity atra brahma veda ity āhuḥ.
3 Technical note: “tasmād yaḥ krūra-rūpeṇa dehena haratāmṛtam, viṣṇur dāśarathir bhūtvā mokṣayiṣyati suvrata” iti śiva-śāpād rākṣasatvaṁ prāpto yājñavalkya-sutaś candrakānta ity arthaḥ. asminn arthe śeṣa-dharme bhīṣma-yudhiṣṭhira-saṁvāda-kathānusandheyā.
This chapter describes Khara’s preparation for a war [with Lord Rāma].
GLOSS. [The glossator reads akharaḥ in the place of kharaḥ, indicating that] Khara was naturally nonviolent because he was [formerly] a son of [the great sage] Yājñavalkya, as stated in the texts of Śānti-parva [of Mahābhārata] beginning yājñavalkya-sutā rājan.1
NOTE. One of the commentaries on Rāmāyaṇa 3.19.21 quotes these verses spoken by Bhīṣma in Śānti-parva:
yājñavalkya-sutā rājaṁs trayo vai loka-viśrutāḥ
candrakānta-mahāmegha-vijayā brāhmaṇottamāḥ
kharaś ca dūṣaṇaś ceti triśirā brahmavittamāḥ
āsaṁs teṣāṁ ca śiṣyāś ca caturdaśa-sahasradhā
“O King, three sons of Yājñavalkya were very famous in the world: Candrakānta, Mahāmegha and Vijaya. They were the best of the brāhmaṇas and superlative knowers of the Veda.2 They became Khara, Dūṣaṇa and Triśirā. They had fourteen thousand disciples.”
The same commentary also notes that this Candrakānta had become a rākṣasa upon being cursed by Lord Śiva and that he was to be released from his rākṣasa status by Lord Viṣṇu in the form of Lord Rāma.3