← 1.20.5 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 20: Vasiṣṭha’s intervention: The promise and Viśvāmitra’s powers · 1.20.7 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.20.6

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 20: Vasiṣṭha’s intervention: The promise and Viśvāmitra’s powers. Viśvāmitra threatens to leave, Vasiṣṭha urges Daśaratha to honour his promise and assures him of the ṛṣi’s power to protect Rāma

In the sequence: Vasiṣṭha intervenes, reminding Daśaratha of his duty and warning that a broken promise would destroy the merit of his sacrifices and good works

1.20.6

ikṣvākūṇāṃ kule jātaḥ sākṣād dharma ivāparaḥ
dhṛtimānsuvrataḥ śrīmān na dharmaṃ hātum arhasi

Born in the line of the Ikṣvākus, like a second Dharma made manifest — resolute, of good vows, illustrious — you ought not to abandon dharma.

Words: ikṣvākūṇāṃ — of the Ikṣvākus; kule — in the line; jātaḥ — born; sākṣād — manifest, in person; dharma — Dharma; ivāparaḥ — like a second; dhṛtimānsuvrataḥ — resolute and of good vows; śrīmān — illustrious; na — not; dharmaṃ — dharma; hātum — to abandon; arhasi — you should

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.