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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.40.20

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 40: Story of Sagara: Aṃśumat retrieves the horse. Aṃśumat recovers the horse and finds his uncles’ ashes, Garuḍa says only Gaṅgā can redeem them, Sagara completes the sacrifice but cannot bring her down

In the sequence: he explains that Kapila burned them and that ordinary water will not suffice → only Gaṅgā can purify their ashes and lead the sixty thousand to heaven

1.40.20

tayā klinnam idaṃ bhasma gaṅgayā lokakāntayā
ṣaṣṭiṃ putrasahasrāṇi svargalokaṃ nayiṣyati

When these ashes are moistened by her, by Gaṅgā, the world's beloved, she will lead the sixty thousand sons to the world of heaven.

Words: tayā — by her; klinnam — moistened, wetted; idaṃ — this; bhasma — ashes; gaṅgayā — by Gaṅgā; lokakāntayā — beloved of the world; ṣaṣṭiṃ — sixty; putrasahasrāṇi — thousands of sons; svargalokaṃ — to the world of heaven; nayiṣyati — will lead, take

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.