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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.21.3

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: Reassured, Daśaratha summons Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa → Rāma receives blessings from his parents and Vasiṣṭha → Daśaratha kisses Rāma's head and entrusts him to Viśvāmitra

1.21.3

sa putraṃ mūrdhny upāghrāya rājā daśarathaḥ priyam
dadau kuśikaputrāya suprītenāntarātmanā

King Daśaratha, kissing his dear son upon the head, gave him to the son of Kuśika with a well-pleased heart.

Words: sa — he; putraṃ — the son; mūrdhny — on the head; upāghrāya — having kissed (lit. smelled); rājā — the king; daśarathaḥ — Daśaratha; priyam — dear; dadau — gave; kuśikaputrāya — to the son of Kuśika; suprītenāntarātmanā — with a well-pleased inner heart

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.