← 1.15.25 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 15: Daśaratha receives and divides the divine pāyasa · 1.15.27 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.15.26

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 15: Daśaratha receives and divides the divine pāyasa. Viṣṇu chooses Daśaratha as his father, a being emerges from the fire with divine pāyasa and the King distributes it among his wives

In the sequence: he halves the remaining quarter, giving Kaikeyī one eighth (1/8) → after reflection, he gives the last eighth to Sumitrā, bringing her total to three eighths (1/4 + 1/8 = 3/8) → the three Queens receive their shares with joy and a sense of being honored.

1.15.26

kaikeyyai cāvaśiṣṭārdhaṃ dadau putrārthakāraṇāt
pradadau cāvaśiṣṭārdhaṃ pāyasasyāmṛtopamam

And he gave the remaining half to Kaikeyī, for the sake of a son; and he gave once more the remaining half of the pāyasa, which was like nectar —

Words: kaikeyyai — to Kaikeyī; cāvaśiṣṭārdhaṃ — and the remaining half; dadau — gave; putrārthakāraṇāt — for the sake of a son; pradadau — gave; cāvaśiṣṭārdhaṃ — and the remaining half; pāyasasyāmṛtopamam — of the pāyasa, like nectar

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.