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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.17.6
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: Kausalyā gives birth to Rāma, Kaikeyī to Bharata, and Sumitrā to Lakṣmaṇa and Śatrughna → all four are described as divine portions, virtuous and radiant
1.17.6
kausalyājanayad rāmaṃ divyalakṣaṇasaṃyutam
viṣṇor ardhaṃ mahābhāgaṃ putram ikṣvākunandanam
Kausalyā gave birth to Rāma, endowed with divine marks — the illustrious son, half of Viṣṇu, delight of the Ikṣvākus.
Words: kausalyājanayad — Kausalyā gave birth to; rāmaṃ — Rāma; divyalakṣaṇasaṃyutam — endowed with divine marks; viṣṇor — of Viṣṇu; ardhaṃ — half; mahābhāgaṃ — illustrious, of great fortune; putram — son; ikṣvākunandanam — delight of the Ikṣvākus
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.