← 1.17.32 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 17: Birth and upbringing of the princes; Viśvāmitra’s arrival · 1.17.34 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.17.33
Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 17: Birth and upbringing of the princes; Viśvāmitra’s arrival. Daśaratha’s four sons are born and grow devoted in pairs, Viśvāmitra arrives and receives the King’s promise to fulfil his request
In the sequence: Daśaratha compares the visit to rain after drought, a son for the childless, and the recovery of something lost
1.17.33
yathāmṛtasya saṃprāptir yathā varṣam anūdake
yathā sadṛśadāreṣu putrajanmāprajasya ca
pranaṣṭasya yathā lābho yathā harṣo mahodaye
tathaivāgamanaṃ manye svāgataṃ te mahāmune
As the obtaining of nectar, as rain upon a drought-stricken land, as the birth of a son from a suitable wife to a childless man, as the recovery of something lost, as joy at a great festivity — even so do I regard your coming: welcome to you, O great sage!
Words: yathāmṛtasya — as of nectar; saṃprāptir — the obtaining; yathā — as; varṣam — rain; anūdake — upon a waterless (land); yathā — as; sadṛśadāreṣu — in a suitable wife; putrajanmāprajasya — the birth of a son to a childless man; ca — and; pranaṣṭasya — of something lost; yathā — as; lābho — the recovery, gain; yathā — as; harṣo — joy; mahodaye — at a great event / festivity; tathaivāgamanaṃ — even so (your) coming; manye — I regard, think; svāgataṃ — welcome; te — to you; mahāmune — O great sage
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.