← 1.23.7 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 23: Story of Tāṭakā’s forest: Indra’s cleansing and the ruined country · 1.23.9 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.23.8
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
1.23.8
tasmāt susrāva sarasaḥ sāyodhyām upagūhate
saraḥpravṛttā sarayūḥ puṇyā brahmasaraścyutā
From that lake it flowed forth, and it embraces Ayodhyā — the holy Sarayū, issuing from the lake, fallen from Brahmā's lake.
Words: tasmāt — from that; susrāva — flowed forth; sarasaḥ — from the lake; sāyodhyām — and it, Ayodhyā; upagūhate — embraces, encircles; saraḥpravṛttā — proceeding from the lake; sarayūḥ — the Sarayū; puṇyā — holy; brahmasaraścyutā — fallen from Brahmā's lake
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.