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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.36.11
Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 36: Story of Gaṅgā & Umā: Kārttikeya’s birth and six nurses. Gaṅgā releases Agni’s unbearable embryo onto the mountain, its radiance produces minerals and six Kṛttikās nurse the child who becomes the Devas’ commander
In the sequence: the Devas honor Brahmā, go to Kailāsa, and instruct Agni to cast his energy into Gaṅgā
1.36.11
devakāryam idaṃ deva samādhatsva hutāśana
śailaputryāṃ mahātejo gaṅgāyāṃ teja utsṛja
“Accomplish this task of the gods, O god Agni; O one of great splendour, cast your energy into Gaṅgā, the mountain's daughter.”
Words: devakāryam — this task of the gods; idaṃ — this; deva — O god; samādhatsva — accomplish, bring about; hutāśana — O Agni; śailaputryāṃ — in the mountain's daughter; mahātejo — O one of great splendour; gaṅgāyāṃ — in Gaṅgā; teja — energy, seed; utsṛja — cast, discharge
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.