← 1.31.16 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 31: Story of Kuśanābha: Vāyu disfigures the hundred daughters · 1.31.18 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.31.17
Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 31: Story of Kuśanābha: Vāyu disfigures the hundred daughters. Vāyu proposes marriage, the sisters insist on their father’s consent and Vāyu enters their limbs and leaves them hunchbacked
In the sequence: they acknowledge his power but reject his approach → they say they could curse him but will preserve their austerity, and insist that he respect their father → they say they await a svayaṃvara and will accept the husband their father gives them
1.31.17
kuśanābhasutāḥ sarvāḥ samarthās tvāṃ surottama
sthānāc cyāvayituṃ devaṃ rakṣāmas tu tapo vayam
We, all the daughters of Kuśanābha, are able, O best of gods, to hurl you, a god, from your station; but we keep guard over our austerity.
Words: kuśanābhasutāḥ — the daughters of Kuśanābha; sarvāḥ — all; samarthās — able, capable; tvāṃ — you; surottama — O best of gods; sthānāc — from (your) station; cyāvayituṃ — to cause to fall, dislodge; devaṃ — the god; rakṣāmas — we protect, guard; tu — but; tapo — austerity; vayam — we
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.