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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.41.17
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
1.41.17
yṛadi me bhagavān prīto yady asti tapasaḥ phalam
sagarasyātmajāḥ sarve mattaḥ salilam āpnuyuḥ
“If the venerable one is pleased with me, if there is any fruit of my austerity, may all the sons of Sagara obtain the water-offering from me.
Words: yṛadi — if; me — with me; bhagavān — the venerable one; prīto — pleased; yady — if; asti — there is; tapasaḥ — of austerity; phalam — fruit, reward; sagarasyātmajāḥ — the sons of Sagara; sarve — all; mattaḥ — from me; salilam — water; āpnuyuḥ — may they obtain
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.