← 1.19.19 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 19: Daśaratha’s resistance: The army offered in Rāma’s place · 1.19.21 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.19.20

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 19: Daśaratha’s resistance: The army offered in Rāma’s place. Daśaratha resists sending the young Rāma, offers himself and his army instead and renews his refusal on hearing of Rāvaṇa’s power

In the sequence: Daśaratha admits he cannot face Rāvaṇa, whose power cannot be withstood by Devas, dānavas, gandharvas, yakṣas, patagas or pannagas, and again refuses to send Rāma → he nevertheless offers to fight Mārīca or Subāhu with his companions.

1.19.20

sa tvaṃ prasādaṃ dharmajña kuruṣva mama putrake
devadānavagandharvā yakṣāḥ pataga pannagāḥ

So do you, O knower of dharma, show favour to me regarding my dear son. Gods, dānavas, gandharvas, yakṣas, birds and serpents —

Words: sa — that (very); tvaṃ — you; prasādaṃ — favour, grace; dharmajña — O knower of dharma; kuruṣva — show, do; mama — my; putrake — regarding (my) dear son; devadānavagandharvā — gods, dānavas and gandharvas; yakṣāḥ — yakṣas; pataga — birds; pannagāḥ — serpents

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.