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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.41.19

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

1.41.19

deyā ca saṃtator deva nāvasīdet kulaṃ ca naḥ
ikṣvākūṇāṃ kule deva eṣa me 'stu varaḥ paraḥ

And, O god, may posterity be granted, so that our line may not perish; O god, in the line of the Ikṣvākus, let this be my highest boon.”

Words: deyā — to be granted, given; ca — and; saṃtator — posterity, continuation of the line; deva — O god; nāvasīdet — may it not sink/perish; kulaṃ — the family, line; ca — and; naḥ — our; ikṣvākūṇāṃ — of the Ikṣvākus; kule — in the line, family (loc.); deva — O god; eṣa — this; me — my, to me; 'stu — let it be; varaḥ — boon; paraḥ — highest, supreme

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.