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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.34.15

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: the Suras asked Himavat for Gaṅgā to serve the welfare of the three worlds → he gave her willingly, and they took her to heaven

1.34.15

atha jyeṣṭhāṃ surāḥ sarve devatārthacikīrṣayā
śailendraṃ varayām āsur gaṅgāṃ tripathagāṃ nadīm

Then all the gods, wishing to accomplish the purpose of the gods, entreated the lord of mountains for the elder daughter, Gaṅgā, the river that goes by three paths.

Words: atha — then; jyeṣṭhāṃ — the elder; surāḥ — the gods; sarve — all; devatārthacikīrṣayā — out of a wish to accomplish the gods' purpose; śailendraṃ — the lord of mountains; varayām āsur — they entreated, asked for (in marriage); gaṅgāṃ — Gaṅgā; tripathagāṃ — going by three paths; nadīm — the river

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.