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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.34.13

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

1.34.13

yā meruduhitā rāma tayor mātā sumadhyamā
nāmnā menā manojñā vai patnī himavataḥ priyā

Their mother, Rāma, slender-waisted, was the daughter of Meru — Menā by name, charming, the beloved wife of Himavat.

Words: yā — who; meruduhitā — the daughter of Meru; rāma — O Rāma; tayor — of the two, their; mātā — mother; sumadhyamā — slender-waisted, fair-waisted; nāmnā — by name; menā — Menā; manojñā — charming, pleasing to the mind; vai — indeed; patnī — wife; himavataḥ — of Himavat; priyā — beloved, dear

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.