← 1.44.19 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 44: Story of Indra: Ocean churning and the struggle for nectar · 1.44.21 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.44.20

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

1.44.20

na tāḥ sma pratigṛhṇanti sarve te devadānavāḥ
apratigrahaṇāc caiva tena sādhāraṇāḥ smṛtāḥ

All those gods and demons did not accept them (as wives); and precisely because of that non-acceptance they are remembered as common to all.

Words: na — not; tāḥ — them; sma — (particle, past sense); pratigṛhṇanti — accept, receive; sarve — all; te — those; devadānavāḥ — gods and demons; apratigrahaṇāc — because of non-acceptance; caiva — and indeed; tena — by that, for that reason; sādhāraṇāḥ — common (to all); smṛtāḥ — are remembered, called

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.