Canto 3 -
Araṇya-kāṇḍa
Chapter 30: Khara Destroyed
Text 3.30.28
स वृत्र इव वज्रेण फेनेन नमुचिर्यथा।
बलो वेन्द्राशनिहतो निपपात हतः खरः॥
sa vṛtra iva vajreṇa phenena namucir yathā
balo vendrāśani-hato nipapāta hataḥ kharaḥ
saḥ = he; vṛtraḥ = Vṛtra; iva = resembled; vajreṇa = [who was killed] by a thunderbolt; phenena = [who was killed] by foam; namuciḥ yathā = Namuci; balaḥ = Bala; vā = or; indra-aśani-hataḥ = who was killed by Indra’s lightning; nipapāta = fell; hataḥ = upon being killed by Rāma’s arrow; kharaḥ = Khara.
Khara fell upon being killed by Rāma’s arrow. He resembled Vṛtra [who was killed] by a thunderbolt, Namuci [who was killed] by foam or Bala who was killed by Indra’s lightning.
1 “Was presidedover by a capable [person]” means “was used by a capable warrior.”
The first of the three examples [here] is to inform us that Khara was killed by an infallible arrow. The second example is to inform us that he was easily killed. The third example is to inform us that [the weapon] was presided over by a capable [person].1
Namuci had obtained [a boon by which] he could not be killed by anything dry or wet; therefore he was killed by foam. All three, [that is, Vṛtra, Namuci and Bala,] were killed by Indra.