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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.41.16

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 41: Story of Sagara: Bhagīratha takes up the ancestral task. Aṃśumat & Dilīpa leave the ancestral task unfinished, Bhagīratha wins permission for Gaṅgā’s descent and learns that Śiva must receive her

In the sequence: Bhagīratha asks for Gaṅgā's water to purify Sagara's sons and for descendants to preserve his own line

1.41.16

tam uvāca mahātejāḥ sarvalokapitāmaham
bhagīratho mahābhāgaḥ kṛtāñjalir avasthitaḥ

The mighty and illustrious Bhagīratha, standing with palms joined, said to him, the Grandsire of all the worlds:

Words: tam — him; uvāca — said; mahātejāḥ — mighty, of great splendour; sarvalokapitāmaham — the Grandsire of all worlds; bhagīratho — Bhagīratha; mahābhāgaḥ — the illustrious; kṛtāñjalir — with palms joined; avasthitaḥ — standing, positioned

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.