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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.21.10

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 21: Departure with Viśvāmitra: Rāma receives Balā & Atibalā. Daśaratha releases Rāma with Lakṣmaṇa, they follow Viśvāmitra along the Sarayū and Rāma receives the protective Balā & Atibalā teachings

In the sequence: after a yojana and a half, on the Sarayū's southern bank, Viśvāmitra asks Rāma to touch water and receive Balā and Atibalā. Viśvāmitra explains that these teachings protect against fatigue, fever, bodily deterioration, and attacks while asleep or unguarded

1.21.10

gṛhāṇa vatsa salilaṃ mā bhūt kālasya paryayaḥ
mantragrāmaṃ gṛhāṇa tvaṃ balām atibalāṃ tathā

“Take up water, my child; let there be no lapse of the (proper) time; and receive you the group of mantras — Balā and likewise Atibalā.

Words: gṛhāṇa — take up; vatsa — my child; salilaṃ — water; mā — let not; bhūt — there be; kālasya — of the time; paryayaḥ — lapse, passing; mantragrāmaṃ — the collection of mantras; gṛhāṇa — receive, take; tvaṃ — you; balām — Balā (the science); atibalāṃ — Atibalā (the science); tathā — likewise

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.