← 1.14.5 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 14: Putrakāmeṣṭi and Viṣṇu’s promised human birth · 1.14.7 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.14.6
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: the Devas tell Brahmā that Rāvaṇa's boon prevents them from punishing him, although he terrorizes the worlds, obstructs holy people, and threatens Indra → even the sun, wind, and ocean refrain from troubling him
1.14.6
bhagavaṃs tvatprasādena rāvaṇo nāma rākṣasaḥ
sarvānno bādhate vīryāc chāsituṃ taṃ na śaknumaḥ
“Venerable one, by your grace a rākṣasa named Rāvaṇa oppresses us all with his might; we are not able to chastise him.
Words: bhagavaṃs — O venerable one; tvatprasādena — by your grace; rāvaṇo — Rāvaṇa; nāma — by name; rākṣasaḥ — a rākṣasa; sarvānno — all of us; bādhate — oppresses, harasses; vīryāc — through his might; chāsituṃ — to chastise; taṃ — him; na — not; śaknumaḥ — we are able
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.