← 1.32.6 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 32: Story of Kuśanābha: Brahmadatta restores the daughters · 1.32.8 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.32.7
Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 32: Story of Kuśanābha: Brahmadatta restores the daughters. Kuśanābha praises their restraint and arranges marriage to Brahmadatta, whose touch restores each sister as he takes her hand
In the sequence: Kuśanābha praises their united restraint, calling patience an ornament of both women and men and a foundation of dharma → he consults his ministers about suitable marriages. Viśvāmitra introduces the man they will marry through a second story: the maharṣi Cūlī, an ūrdhvaretas (one who restrains his generative energy) is served devotedly by Somadā, a gandharva woman and daughter of Ūrmilā
1.32.7
alaṃkāro hi nārīṇāṃ kṣamā tu puruṣasya vā
duṣkaraṃ tac ca vaḥ kṣāntaṃ tridaśeṣu viśeṣataḥ
For patience is the ornament of women, and of a man as well; and that forbearance of yours is hard to achieve, especially toward the gods.
Words: alaṃkāro — ornament; hi — for, indeed; nārīṇāṃ — of women; kṣamā — patience, forbearance; tu — and, indeed; puruṣasya — of a man; vā — or, as well; duṣkaraṃ — hard to do; tac — that; ca — and; vaḥ — your; kṣāntaṃ — forbearance, patience; tridaśeṣu — toward the gods (the Thirty); viśeṣataḥ — especially, in particular
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.