← 1.37.11 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 37: Story of Sagara: One heir and sixty thousand sons · 1.37.13 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.37.12

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 37: Story of Sagara: One heir and sixty thousand sons. Sagara’s wives choose one dynastic heir or sixty thousand sons, the many grow in ghee-filled pots while Asamañja is banished for killing children

In the sequence: when the Queens ask which will receive which, he leaves the choice to them → Keśinī chooses the dynastic heir, while Sumati, Garuḍa's sister, chooses the sixty thousand

1.37.12

eko vaṃśakaro vāstu bahavo vā mahābalāḥ
kīrtimanto mahotsāhāḥ kā vā kaṃ varam icchati

Let it be either one to continue the line, or the many — mighty, glorious, full of great energy: which of you desires which boon?”

Words: eko — one; vaṃśakaro — line-continuer; vāstu — or let there be; bahavo — the many; vā — or; mahābalāḥ — of great strength; kīrtimanto — glorious, famous; mahotsāhāḥ — of great energy; kā — which (fem.); vā — or; kaṃ — which (boon); varam — boon; icchati — desires

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.