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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.42.16

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 42: Story of Sagara: Gaṅgā’s descent through Śiva’s hair. Śiva catches the falling river in his matted hair, Bhagīratha wins her release and leads the purifying waters across the earth

In the sequence: purified by contact with Śiva, the water is honored as sacred → beings cast down to earth by curses bathe, regain purity, and return to their heavenly homes → the world rejoices and is refreshed

1.42.16

tac chaṃkaraśirobhraṣṭaṃ bhraṣṭaṃ bhūmitale punaḥ
vyarocata tadā toyaṃ nirmalaṃ gatakalmaṣam

That water, fallen from Śaṃkara's head, and fallen again onto the surface of the earth, then shone spotless and free of all impurity.

Words: tac — that; chaṃkaraśirobhraṣṭaṃ — fallen from Śaṃkara's head; bhraṣṭaṃ — fallen; bhūmitale — on the surface of the earth (loc.); punaḥ — again; vyarocata — shone, gleamed; tadā — then; toyaṃ — water; nirmalaṃ — spotless, pure; gatakalmaṣam — free of impurity/sin

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.