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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.23.14
Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 23: Story of Tāṭakā’s forest: Indra’s cleansing and the ruined country. The Sarayū’s origin and confluence are explained, Indra’s cleansing gives Malada & Karūṣa their names and Tāṭakā’s devastation makes the region impassable
In the sequence: Viśvāmitra explains that Brahmā created Lake Mānasa on Kailāsa through his mind, and that the Sarayū flows from it past Ayodhyā → the roar arises from the churning and agitation of the waters as the Sarayū meets the Gaṅgā → the brothers salute both rivers, land on the southern bank, and continue. Entering a dense, frightening forest full of predators and harsh animal cries, Rāma asks about it
1.23.14
dhavāśvakarṇakakubhair bilvatindukapāṭalaiḥ
saṃkīrṇaṃ badarībhiś ca kiṃ nv idaṃ dāruṇaṃ vanam
thick with dhava, aśvakarṇa, and kakubha trees, with bilva, tinduka, and pāṭala, and with jujubes — what, then, is this dreadful forest?”
Words: dhavāśvakarṇakakubhair — with dhava, aśvakarṇa and kakubha trees; bilvatindukapāṭalaiḥ — with bilva, tinduka and pāṭala trees; saṃkīrṇaṃ — crowded, dense; badarībhiś — with jujube trees; ca — and; kiṃ — what; nv — then, indeed; idaṃ — this; dāruṇaṃ — dreadful; vanam — forest
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.