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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.36.23

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 appoint the six Kṛttikās to nurse the newborn → they agree that he is the son of them all

1.36.23

taṃ kumāraṃ tato jātaṃ sendrāḥ sahamarudgaṇāḥ
kṣīrasaṃbhāvanārthāya kṛttikāḥ samayojayan

Then, to nurture with milk that boy who had been born, the gods with Indra and the host of Maruts appointed the Kṛttikās (Pleiades).

Words: taṃ — that; kumāraṃ — boy, prince; tato — then; jātaṃ — born; sendrāḥ — together with Indra; sahamarudgaṇāḥ — together with the host of Maruts; kṣīrasaṃbhāvanārthāya — for the purpose of nurturing with milk; kṛttikāḥ — the Kṛttikās (Pleiades); samayojayan — appointed, engaged

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.