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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.34.11

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 34: Story of Gaṅgā & Umā: Himavat’s two daughters. Himavat gives Gaṅgā to the Devas for the worlds’ welfare, while Umā undertakes austerity and marries Śiva

In the sequence: Rāma asks how Gaṅgā came to travel through the three worlds. Viśvāmitra explains that Himavat and Menā, daughter of Meru, had two daughters: Gaṅgā the elder and Umā the younger

1.34.11

codito rāma vākyena viśvāmitro mahāmuniḥ
vṛddhiṃ janma ca gaṅgāyā vaktum evopacakrame

Urged by Rāma's words, the great sage Viśvāmitra began to tell the birth and growth of Gaṅgā:

Words: codito — urged, prompted; rāma — of Rāma; vākyena — by the words; viśvāmitro — Viśvāmitra; mahāmuniḥ — the great sage; vṛddhiṃ — the growth, increase; janma — the birth; ca — and; gaṅgāyā — of Gaṅgā; vaktum — to tell; evopacakrame — then began

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.