← 1.22.7 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 22: Story of Kāma: The loss of his body · 1.22.9 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.22.8

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 22: Story of Kāma: The loss of his body. At the Sarayū–Gaṅgā confluence, Viśvāmitra recounts how Śiva’s fiery gaze destroyed Kāma’s body, the travellers stay at the hermitage

In the sequence: at the meeting of the Sarayū and Gaṅgā they see an ancient hermitage and ask whose it is

1.22.8

kasyāyam āśramaḥ puṇyaḥ ko nv asmin vasate pumān
bhagavañ śrotum icchāvaḥ paraṃ kautūhalaṃ hi nau

“Whose is this holy hermitage, and what man dwells in it? O venerable one, we two wish to hear, for great is our curiosity.”

Words: kasyāyam — whose (is) this; āśramaḥ — hermitage; puṇyaḥ — holy; ko — what; nv — then, indeed; asmin — in it; vasate — dwells; pumān — man; bhagavañ — O venerable one; śrotum — to hear; icchāvaḥ — we two wish; paraṃ — great, extreme; kautūhalaṃ — curiosity; hi — for; nau — of us two

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.