← 1.14.17 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 14: Putrakāmeṣṭi and Viṣṇu’s promised human birth · 1.14.19 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.14.18
Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 14: Putrakāmeṣṭi and Viṣṇu’s promised human birth. Ṛṣyaśṛṅga begins the putrīyā iṣṭi, the Devas ask Viṣṇu to take human birth because Rāvaṇa’s protection excludes humans
In the sequence: Viṣṇu arrives → the Suras ask him to divide himself fourfold and become sons through Daśaratha's three wives → in human form he must kill Rāvaṇa and free the worlds and tapasvins from fear.
1.14.18
rājño daśarathasya tvam ayodhyādhipater vibho
dharmajñasya vadānyasya maharṣisamatejasaḥ
tasya bhāryāsu tisṛṣu hrīśrīkīrtyupamāsu ca
viṣṇo putratvam āgaccha kṛtvātmānaṃ caturvidham
O mighty one, become the son of King Daśaratha, lord of Ayodhyā — righteous, munificent, of splendour equal to the great seers — in his three wives, who are like Modesty, Prosperity, and Fame; O Viṣṇu, enter into sonship, making yourself fourfold.
Words: rājño — of King; daśarathasya — Daśaratha; tvam — you; ayodhyādhipater — of the lord of Ayodhyā; vibho — O mighty one; dharmajñasya — of the knower of dharma; vadānyasya — of the munificent one; maharṣisamatejasaḥ — of splendour equal to the great seers; tasya — his; bhāryāsu — in the wives; tisṛṣu — three; hrīśrīkīrtyupamāsu — like Modesty, Prosperity, and Fame; ca — and; viṣṇo — O Viṣṇu; putratvam — sonship, the state of being a son; āgaccha — come to, enter into; kṛtvātmānaṃ — having made yourself; caturvidham — fourfold
Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. 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.