← 1.14.2 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 14: Putrakāmeṣṭi and Viṣṇu’s promised human birth · 1.14.4 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.14.3

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: Ṛṣyaśṛṅga considers the request and announces the putrīyā iṣṭi (rite for sons, conventionally called putrakāmeṣṭi), using the prescribed Atharvaśiras mantras → he begins making offerings into the fire

1.14.3

tataḥ prākramad iṣṭiṃ tāṃ putrīyāṃ putra kāraṇāt
juhāva cāgnau tejasvī mantradṛṣṭena karmaṇā

Then he began that son-producing iṣṭi for the sake of a son, and the radiant one made offerings into the fire with a rite prescribed by the mantras.

Words: tataḥ — then; prākramad — began; iṣṭiṃ — the iṣṭi; tāṃ — that; putrīyāṃ — son-producing; putra — son; kāraṇāt — for the sake of; juhāva — offered (into fire); cāgnau — and into the fire; tejasvī — the radiant one; mantradṛṣṭena — prescribed by the mantras; karmaṇā — with a rite

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.