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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.12.17

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 12: Aśvamedha yajña: Construction, invitations and hospitality. Vasiṣṭha organizes construction, food and lodging, Sumantra invites the guests and Daśaratha enters the enclosure to begin the rites

In the sequence: Vasiṣṭha directs Sumantra to invite Kings and people from every region

1.12.17

nimantrayasya nṛpatīn pṛthivyāṃ ye ca dhārmikāḥ
brāhmaṇān kṣatriyān vaiśyāñ śūdrāṃś caiva sahasraśaḥ

“Invite the kings on earth who are righteous, and the brahmins, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, and śūdras too, by the thousands.

Words: nimantrayasya — invite; nṛpatīn — the kings; pṛthivyāṃ — on earth; ye — who; ca — and; dhārmikāḥ — righteous; brāhmaṇān — brahmins; kṣatriyān — kṣatriyas (the warrior class); vaiśyāñ — vaiśyas (the merchant class); śūdrāṃś — śūdras (the servant class); caiva — and; sahasraśaḥ — by the thousands

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.