← 1.2.5 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 2: Grief becomes the first śloka · 1.2.7 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.2.6

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 2: Grief becomes the first śloka. A bird’s death moves Vālmīki to utter the first śloka, Brahmā asks him to compose Rāma’s life in that form

In the sequence: Vālmīki goes to the Tamasā near the Gaṅgā → he points out a clear, mud-free bathing place to his disciple Bharadvāja, comparing its water to a good person's mind, and asks for his bark garment

1.2.6

nyasyatāṃ kalaśas tāta dīyatāṃ valkalaṃ mama
idam evāvagāhiṣye tamasātīrtham uttamam

Set down the water-pot, my child, and give me my bark-garment; I shall bathe right here, in this excellent bathing-place of the Tamasā.”

Words: nyasyatāṃ — let it be set down; kalaśas — the water-pot, pitcher; tāta — my child, dear one; dīyatāṃ — let it be given; valkalaṃ — the bark-garment; mama — my, to me; idam — this very; evāvagāhiṣye — indeed I shall bathe in; tamasātīrtham — the bathing-place of the Tamasā; uttamam — excellent, best

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. 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.