← 1.1.51 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 1: Nārada recounts Rāma’s life · 1.1.53 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.1.52

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 1: Nārada recounts Rāma’s life. Vālmīki asks whether anyone possesses all the virtues he names, Nārada identifies Rāma and recounts his story

In the sequence: to overcome Sugrīva's doubts, Rāma throws Dundubhi's carcass ten yojanas with his toe and pierces seven sāla trees, a mountain, and the underworld with one arrow

1.1.52

bibheda ca punaḥ sālān saptaikena maheṣuṇā
giriṃ rasātalaṃ caiva janayan pratyayaṃ tadā

And again, with a single great arrow he pierced seven sāla-trees, a mountain, and the netherworld, inspiring confidence then.

Words: bibheda ca — and he pierced; punaḥ — again; sālān — the sāla trees; saptaikena — seven with a single; maheṣuṇā — great arrow; giriṃ — a mountain; rasātalaṃ caiva — and the netherworld; janayan — producing, generating; pratyayaṃ — confidence, conviction; tadā — then

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki, the ādikavi of the ādikāvya: the first poet of the first poem. Sanskrit: The Vālmīki-Rāmāyaṇa: Critical Edition, Oriental Institute, Baroda, 1960–1975 (gen. eds. G. H. Bhatt, U. P. Shah); IAST from GRETIL (Göttingen). Translation and word glosses: Claude Opus 4.6–4.7; summaries and sequences: ChatGPT Astra (machine-made). Numbering follows the Critical Edition, not the vulgate (e.g. Gita Press, valmikiramayan.net), so sarga and verse numbers can differ from those editions.