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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.42.4

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: she descends from heaven in an immense, irresistible torrent → caught within his matted hair, she can find no exit and wanders there for years

1.42.4

tato haimavatī jyeṣṭhā sarvalokanamaskṛtā
tadā sātimahad rūpaṃ kṛtvā vegaṃ ca duḥsaham
ākāśād apatad rāma śive śivaśirasy uta

Then the Himālayan eldest one (Gaṅgā), honoured by all the worlds, assuming a huge form and an unbearable rushing force, fell from the sky, O Rāma, upon the auspicious head of the holy Śiva.

Words: tato — then; haimavatī — the Himālayan (daughter of Himavat); jyeṣṭhā — the eldest; sarvalokanamaskṛtā — honoured by all the worlds; tadā — then; sātimahad — she, an exceedingly great (form); rūpaṃ — form; kṛtvā — having assumed, made; vegaṃ — force, rushing speed; ca — and; duḥsaham — unbearable, hard to withstand; ākāśād — from the sky; apatad — fell; rāma — O Rāma; śive — on the holy one / auspicious (loc.); śivaśirasy — on Śiva's head; uta — and, indeed

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.