← 1.37.12 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 37: Story of Sagara: One heir and sixty thousand sons · 1.37.14 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.37.13

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

1.37.13

munes tu vacanaṃ śrutvā keśinī raghunandana
putraṃ vaṃśakaraṃ rāma jagrāha nṛpasaṃnidhau

Hearing the sage's word, O joy of the Raghus, Keśinī chose the son who would continue the line, O Rāma, in the king's presence.

Words: munes — of the sage; tu — and, but; vacanaṃ — word; śrutvā — having heard; keśinī — Keśinī; raghunandana — O joy of the Raghus; putraṃ — the son; vaṃśakaraṃ — line-continuing; rāma — O Rāma; jagrāha — chose, took; nṛpasaṃnidhau — in the king's presence

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.