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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.23.6

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: from midstream, Rāma asks about the tumultuous roar of the water breaking against itself

1.23.6

rāghavasya vacaḥ śrutvā kautūhala samanvitam
kathayām āsa dharmātmā tasya śabdasya niścayam

Hearing Rāghava's speech, filled with curiosity, the righteous one explained the cause of that sound.

Words: rāghavasya — of Rāghava; vacaḥ — speech; śrutvā — having heard; kautūhala — curiosity; samanvitam — filled with, accompanied by; kathayām āsa — related, explained; dharmātmā — the righteous one; tasya — of that; śabdasya — of the sound; niścayam — the ascertainment, cause

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.