← 1.44.3 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 44: Story of Indra: Ocean churning and the struggle for nectar · 1.44.5 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.44.4

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: The brothers marvel at Gaṅgā's descent and the filling of the ocean → they spend the night reflecting on the story, which makes the hours seem brief

1.44.4

tataḥ prabhāte vimale viśvāmitraṃ mahāmunim
uvāca rāghavo vākyaṃ kṛtāhnikam ariṃdamaḥ

Then at clear daybreak, Rāghava the destroyer of foes, his morning rites performed, spoke these words to the great sage Viśvāmitra:

Words: tataḥ — then; prabhāte — at daybreak, dawn; vimale — clear, spotless; viśvāmitraṃ — to Viśvāmitra; mahāmunim — the great sage; uvāca — said, spoke; rāghavo — Rāghava (Rāma); vākyaṃ — words, speech; kṛtāhnikam — having performed the morning rites; ariṃdamaḥ — destroyer of foes

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.