← 1.15.27 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 15: Daśaratha receives and divides the divine pāyasa
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.15.28
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.
1.15.28
tās tv etat pāyasaṃ prāpya narendrasyottamāḥ striyaḥ
saṃmānaṃ menire sarvāḥ praharṣoditacetasaḥ
And those excellent wives of the king, having received this pāyasa, all regarded it as a mark of honour, their hearts uplifted with great joy.
Words: tās — those; tv — and; etat — this; pāyasaṃ — pāyasa; prāpya — having received; narendrasyottamāḥ — the excellent (wives) of the king; striyaḥ — women, wives; saṃmānaṃ — a mark of honour, distinction; menire — regarded, considered; sarvāḥ — all; praharṣoditacetasaḥ — their hearts uplifted with joy
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.