← 1.37.23 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 37: Story of Sagara: One heir and sixty thousand sons

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.37.24

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: after a long time Sagara resolves to perform a sacrifice and begins the preparations with his priests.

1.37.24

sa kṛtvā niścayaṃ rājā sopādhyāyagaṇas tadā
yajñakarmaṇi vedajño yaṣṭuṃ samupacakrame

Having made his decision, the king, versed in the Veda, together with his company of priestly teachers, then set about performing the sacrificial rite.

Words: sa — he; kṛtvā — having made; niścayaṃ — decision, resolve; rājā — the king; sopādhyāyagaṇas — together with the company of teachers; tadā — then; yajñakarmaṇi — in the sacrificial rite; vedajño — knower of the Veda; yaṣṭuṃ — to sacrifice; samupacakrame — set about, undertook

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.