When the fierce battle raged on, Rāma, the elder brother of Lakṣmaṇa, stood alone amidst the field, his valor unmatched. All the remaining rākṣasas, formidable and mighty, fell before him, slain in the heat of combat. Witnessing his powerful army decimated by Rāma’s strength, Khara, the dreaded leader of the rākṣasas, advanced toward Rāma in his grand chariot, his presence as imposing as Indra wielding the thunderbolt. As Khara drew near, his commander Triśiras, a rākṣasa renowned for his courage, halted him and spoke with conviction. “Let me, who am valiant, take up this challenge; withdraw from this reckless pursuit. Behold, I shall strike down Rāma in battle. I pledge this truth to you, and with arms raised, I promise to slay Rāma, who is the death of our kind. Either I shall bring death upon him, or he upon me. Pause your eagerness for combat and witness the outcome. If Rāma falls, you will return joyfully to Janasthāna; if I am slain, you may then face him yourself.” Khara, persuaded by Triśiras—driven by a desire for battle and perhaps his own fate—granted permission: “Go, fight.” Triśiras mounted a radiant chariot drawn by swift horses and rushed toward Rāma, like a towering mountain with three peaks charging forth. He unleashed torrents of arrows, their sound like thunderous drums soaked in rain. Seeing Triśiras approach, Rāma readied his bow and welcomed him, shaking forth sharp arrows. A tumultuous clash ensued between the two mighty warriors, reminiscent of a lion and an elephant locked in combat. Triśiras struck Rāma’s forehead with three arrows, provoking Rāma’s fury. Enraged, Rāma exclaimed, “Ah, what strength this valorous rākṣasa possesses! His arrows wound my forehead as gently as flowers.” Driven by wrath, Rāma seized arrows as deadly as serpents and, with fourteen, struck Triśiras on the chest. Four more arrows felled his horses, and eight brought down the charioteer. Rāma then cut down Triśiras’s banner with a well-aimed arrow. As Triśiras leapt from his ruined chariot, Rāma’s arrows pierced his heart, rendering him senseless. Without pause, Rāma furiously struck the rākṣasa with more shafts, and with three swift arrows, he severed Triśiras’s three heads. Smoke and blood streamed as Triśiras fell, tormented by Rāma’s might. Seeing their commander slain, the remaining rākṣasas, routed and defeated, fled to Khara, terrified like deer before a tiger. Khara, enraged at their retreat, turned them back and himself charged at Rāma, swift and relentless, like Rāhu rushing at the moon. Now, with Dūṣaṇa and Triśiras fallen, even Khara was struck with fear at the sight of Rāma’s valor. He saw his vast and mighty rākṣasa army destroyed by Rāma alone. Disheartened, yet determined, Khara advanced upon Rāma, much as Namuci once confronted Indra. Drawing his formidable bow, Khara unleashed barbed, bloodthirsty arrows at Rāma, like venomous serpents in rage. Displaying his skill, Khara moved through the battle in his shining chariot, loosing arrows with unerring precision. The quarters and directions filled with arrows, so dense that the sky seemed to vanish, as if a rainstorm had swept away all space. The sharp arrows loosed by Khara and Rāma crowded the heavens, leaving no open space. The sun itself was obscured, its light hidden by the multitude of arrows as both warriors fought fiercely, intent on each other’s destruction. Khara struck Rāma with nalikas, narachas, and vikarni arrows, sharp-tipped and relentless, as an elephant is goaded. All beings beheld Khara, standing in his chariot, bow in hand, surrounded on all sides, resembling Death itself holding a noose. Khara saw Rāma, steadfast and mighty, as if exhausted. Yet Rāma, bold as a lion and moving with a lion’s stride, felt no fear, just as a lion does not fear a small animal. Khara, his chariot shining like the sun, advanced upon Rāma, much like a moth drawn to fire. With skillful hands, Khara cut Rāma’s bow and arrow at the grip in the midst of battle. But Rāma, undaunted, seized seven more arrows, blazing like Indra’s thunderbolt, and, enraged, struck Khara in his vital points, continuing the fierce battle with unwavering determination.