← 1.24.5 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 24: Story of Tāṭakā: Birth, marriage and Agastya’s curse · 1.24.7 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.24.6
Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 24: Story of Tāṭakā: Birth, marriage and Agastya’s curse. Brahmā grants Suketu a powerful daughter, Tāṭakā marries Sunda and bears Mārīca, their attack on Agastya brings his transforming curses
In the sequence: Viśvāmitra explains that the childless yakṣa Suketu performed austerities → pleased, Brahmā gave him a daughter, Tāṭakā → he also gave her the strength of a thousand elephants, but gave Suketu no son
1.24.6
dadau nāgasahasrasya balaṃ cāsyāḥ pitāmahaḥ
na tv eva putraṃ yakṣāya dadau brahmā mahāyaśāḥ
And the Grandsire gave her the strength of a thousand elephants; yet the greatly renowned Brahmā gave no son to that yakṣa.
Words: dadau — gave; nāgasahasrasya — of a thousand elephants; balaṃ — the strength; cāsyāḥ — and to her; pitāmahaḥ — the Grandsire; na — not; tv — but; eva — indeed; putraṃ — a son; yakṣāya — to the yakṣa; dadau — gave; brahmā — Brahmā; mahāyaśāḥ — greatly renowned
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.