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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.44.12

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 44: Story of Indra: Ocean churning and the struggle for nectar. The Devas and asuras churn the ocean for freedom from death, contend over its gifts and fight for the nectar, Indra’s side gains sovereignty

In the sequence: Rāma asks about its dynasty → Viśvāmitra begins with what happened in this region in ancient times. In the Kṛta age, the sons of Diti and Aditi seek freedom from death, aging, and disease

1.44.12

tasya tad vacanaṃ śrutvā rāmasya munipuṃgavaḥ
ākhyātuṃ tat samārebhe viśālasya purātanam

Hearing that speech of Rāma, the bull among sages began to recount the ancient (history) of Viśālā:

Words: tasya — that, his; tad vacanaṃ — that speech; śrutvā — having heard; rāmasya — of Rāma; munipuṃgavaḥ — the bull among sages; ākhyātuṃ — to recount, tell; tat — that; samārebhe — began; viśālasya — of Viśālā; purātanam — the ancient (story)

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.