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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.41.18

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

1.41.18

gaṅgāyāḥ salilaklinne bhasmany eṣāṃ mahātmanām
svargaṃ gaccheyur atyantaṃ sarve me prapitāmahāḥ

And when the ashes of these great-souled ones are moistened by the water of Gaṅgā, may all my forefathers go forever to heaven.

Words: gaṅgāyāḥ — of Gaṅgā; salilaklinne — moistened with water (loc.); bhasmany — in the ashes (loc.); eṣāṃ — of these; mahātmanām — of the great-souled; svargaṃ — to heaven; gaccheyur — may they go; atyantaṃ — forever, utterly; sarve — all; me — my; prapitāmahāḥ — forefathers, great-grandfathers

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.