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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.30.22

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 30: Departure for Mithilā and the camp beside the Śoṇā. The ṛṣis invite the princes to Janaka’s sacrifice and the bow no suitor has strung, a camp beside the Śoṇā prompts the region’s history

In the sequence: Rāma asks about the flourishing country around them → Viśvāmitra begins its history.

1.30.22

bhagavan ko nv ayaṃ deśaḥ samṛddhavanaśobhitaḥ
śrotum icchāmi bhadraṃ te vaktum arhasi tattvataḥ

“Venerable one, what is this region, adorned with flourishing woodland? I wish to hear of it — blessings on you — you should tell me truly.”

Words: bhagavan — O venerable one; ko — what; nv — then, pray; ayaṃ — this; deśaḥ — region, land; samṛddhavanaśobhitaḥ — adorned with flourishing woodland; śrotum — to hear; icchāmi — I wish; bhadraṃ — a blessing; te — to you; vaktum — to tell; arhasi — you ought; tattvataḥ — truly, in truth

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.