← 1.23.19 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 23: Story of Tāṭakā’s forest: Indra’s cleansing and the ruined country · 1.23.21 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.23.20

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 recounts how Indra incurred the guilt of brāhmaṇa-killing after slaying Vṛtra and was afflicted with impurity and hunger → the Devas and ṛṣis bathed him with pitchers, depositing his bodily impurities, mala and karūṣa, on this land → relieved and grateful, Indra granted the lands a boon: they would become renowned as Malada and Karūṣa for having borne his bodily impurity → the Devas acclaim Indra’s honoring of the land → the regions flourish for many years, prosperous in wealth and grain

1.23.20

nirmalo niṣkarūṣaś ca śucir indro yadābhavat
dadau deśasya suprīto varaṃ prabhur anuttamam

When Indra became free of impurity, free of karūṣa, and pure, the lord, well pleased, granted the region an unsurpassed boon:

Words: nirmalo — free of impurity; niṣkarūṣaś — free of karūṣa; ca — and; śucir — pure; indro — Indra; yadābhavat — when he became; dadau — gave, granted; deśasya — to the region; suprīto — well pleased; varaṃ — a boon; prabhur — the lord; anuttamam — unsurpassed

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.