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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.42.17
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
1.42.17
tatrarṣigaṇagandharvā vasudhātalavāsinaḥ
bhavāṅgapatitaṃ toyaṃ pavitram iti paspṛśuḥ
There, hosts of seers and gandharvas, dwellers on the surface of the earth, touched the water fallen from the body of Bhava (Śiva), (saying) “It is sacred.”
Words: tatrarṣigaṇagandharvā — there, the hosts of seers and gandharvas; vasudhātalavāsinaḥ — dwellers on the earth's surface; bhavāṅgapatitaṃ — fallen from the body of Bhava (Śiva); toyaṃ — the water; pavitram — sacred, purifying; iti — thus (saying); paspṛśuḥ — touched
Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. 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.