← 1.41.19 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 41: Story of Sagara: Bhagīratha takes up the ancestral task · 1.41.21 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.41.20

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: Brahmā agrees but explains that the earth cannot withstand Gaṅgā's fall → only Śiva can receive her force → after speaking to the King and Gaṅgā, Brahmā departs.

1.41.20

uktavākyaṃ tu rājānaṃ sarvalokapitāmahaḥ
pratyuvāca śubhāṃ vāṇīṃ madhurāṃ madhurākṣarām

To the king who had thus spoken, the Grandsire of all the worlds replied in an auspicious, sweet voice, with honeyed syllables:

Words: uktavākyaṃ — who had spoken (his) word; tu — and, but; rājānaṃ — to the king; sarvalokapitāmahaḥ — the Grandsire of all worlds; pratyuvāca — replied; śubhāṃ — auspicious; vāṇīṃ — voice, speech; madhurāṃ — sweet; madhurākṣarām — with honeyed syllables

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.