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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.39.14

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 39: Story of Sagara: Kapila’s anger and the sons’ destruction. The sons pass the elephants supporting the earth and find the horse beside Kapila, they accuse him of theft and his “huṃ” reduces them to ashes

In the sequence: descending again, they encounter Virūpākṣa, the eastern elephant supporting the earth, whose movements cause earthquakes → they honor and circle him

1.39.14

yadā parvaṇi kākutstha viśramārthaṃ mahāgajaḥ
khedāc cālayate śīrṣaṃ bhūmikampas tadhā bhavet

Whenever, O Kākutstha, at the turn (of the ages) the great elephant, from weariness, shakes his head for rest, then there comes an earthquake.

Words: yadā — whenever, when; parvaṇi — at the juncture/turn (loc.); kākutstha — O Kākutstha; viśramārthaṃ — for the sake of rest; mahāgajaḥ — the great elephant; khedāc — from weariness; cālayate — shakes, moves; śīrṣaṃ — the head; bhūmikampas — an earthquake; tadhā — then; bhavet — comes to be

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.