← 1.18.19 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 18: Viśvāmitra’s request: Rāma’s protection of the sacrifice

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.18.20

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 18: Viśvāmitra’s request: Rāma’s protection of the sacrifice. Viśvāmitra asks for Rāma to protect his sacrifice from Mārīca & Subāhu, promising the prince’s safety and advancement

In the sequence: Viśvāmitra falls silent → frightened and deeply distressed, Daśaratha reels from his seat.

1.18.20

iti hṛdayamanovidāraṇaṃ munivacanaṃ tad atīva śuśruvān
narapatir agamad bhayaṃ mahad vyathitamanāḥ pracacāla cāsanāt

Having heard that speech of the sage, so exceedingly rending to heart and mind, the king fell into great fear and, his mind distressed, reeled up from his seat.

Words: iti — thus; hṛdayamanovidāraṇaṃ — rending to heart and mind; munivacanaṃ — the speech of the sage; tad — that; atīva — exceedingly; śuśruvān — having heard; narapatir — the king; agamad — went to, fell into; bhayaṃ — fear; mahad — great; vyathitamanāḥ — his mind distressed; pracacāla — reeled, staggered; cāsanāt — and from the seat

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.