पुरस्तादिह वातापिः परिभूय तपस्विनः।
उदरस्थो द्विजान्हन्ति स्वगर्भोऽश्वतरीमिव॥
purastād iha vātāpiḥ paribhūya tapasvinaḥ
udarastho dvijān hanti sva-garbho ’śvatarīm iva
purastāt = formerly; iha = here in Daṇḍakāraṇya; vātāpiḥ = Vātāpi; paribhūya = overpowered; tapasvinaḥ = ascetics; udarasthaḥ = after situating himself in their bellies; dvijān = the twice-born; hanti = he would kill; sva-garbhaḥ = an embryo in the womb; aśvatarīm = of a she-mule [kills] her; iva = just as.
Formerly Vātāpi overpowered ascetics here in Daṇḍakāraṇya. He would kill the twice-born after situating himself in their bellies just as an embryo in the womb of a she-mule [kills] her.
1 Lord Rāmacandra does not detail the entire history of Vātāpi here, but only alludes to a few incidents relevant to His purpose here.
2 Rāmāyaṇa-bhūṣaṇa: aśvataro nāma gardabhād aśvāyām utpanna iti vṛttikāraḥ. gokharo’śvataro mataḥ iti halāyudhaḥ. aśvatarī vṛścikety apy āhuḥ. Technical note: aśvatarī gardabhād aśvāyām utpanneti tīrthaḥ. aśvatarī karkaṭīti pare. vṛścika iti katakaḥ. atrādya-vyākhyaiva jyāyasī. tasyā garbhasyodara-pāṭanaṁ vinā na niḥsaraṇam iti sarva-jana-prasiddheḥ. The following remark is found in the Gita Press edition: “[T]he embryo of a she-mule causes the death of the she-mule (in that it does not emerge from its womb unless the belly of the mother is cut open).”
Though He has already described the history of Vātāpi, Lord Rāma uses him as an example with regards to Mārīca’s magical activities.1
In Śālihotra’s text [on horses], it is stated that mules produce rough sounds like donkeys, that they are rude and harsh by nature, and that they have harsh feet 9.2