← 1.12.33 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 12: Aśvamedha yajña: Construction, invitations and hospitality

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.12.34

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: on an auspicious day Daśaratha enters the sacrificial enclosure → the ṛtvijs begin with Ṛṣyaśṛṅga at their head.

1.12.34

tato vasiṣṭhapramukhāḥ sarva eva dvijottamāḥ
ṛṣyaśṛṅgaṃ puraskṛtya yajñakarmārabhaṃs tadā

Then all those best of brahmins, headed by Vasiṣṭha, placing Ṛṣyaśṛṅga at the fore, began the sacrificial rite.

Words: tato — then; vasiṣṭhapramukhāḥ — headed by Vasiṣṭha; sarva — all; eva — indeed; dvijottamāḥ — the best of brahmins; ṛṣyaśṛṅgaṃ — Ṛṣyaśṛṅga; puraskṛtya — having placed at the fore; yajñakarmārabhaṃs — began the sacrificial work; 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.