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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.44.18

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: Dhanvantari and the apsarases emerge → Viśvāmitra connects the apsarases' name to their birth from the waters and explains that, accepted by neither side as wives, they remain unattached to either

1.44.18

atha dhanvantarir nāma apsarāś ca suvarcasaḥ
apsu nirmathanād eva rasāt tasmād varastriyaḥ
utpetur manujaśreṣṭha tasmād apsaraso 'bhavan

Then (arose) one named Dhanvantari, and the Apsarases of great splendour: from the very churning in the waters, from that elixir, excellent women arose, O best of men; and because they arose from the waters (apsu), they became Apsarases.

Words: atha — then; dhanvantarir — Dhanvantari (physician of the gods); nāma — by name; apsarāś ca — and the Apsarases; suvarcasaḥ — of great splendour; apsu — in the waters; nirmathanād — from the churning; eva — very, indeed; rasāt — from the elixir; tasmād — from that; varastriyaḥ — excellent women; utpetur — arose, sprang up; manujaśreṣṭha — O best of men; tasmād — therefore, because of that; apsaraso — Apsarases; 'bhavan — they became

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.