← 1.47.13 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 47: Story of Indra & Ahalyā: Indra’s disguise and Gautama’s curses · 1.47.15 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.47.14

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 47: Story of Indra & Ahalyā: Indra’s disguise and Gautama’s curses. Indra takes Gautama’s form and unites with Ahalyā, Gautama curses him to lose his testicles and her to remain invisible until Rāma’s arrival

In the sequence: Viśvāmitra identifies it as Gautama's former home with Ahalyā and begins their story. During Gautama's absence, Indra takes his appearance and asks Ahalyā for union, saying that desire does not wait for the fertile season

1.47.14

hanta te kathayiṣyāmi śṛṇu tattvena rāghava
yasyaitad āśramapadaṃ śaptaṃ kopān mahātmanā

“Come, I shall tell you; listen truly, Rāghava, to whom this hermitage-ground belonged — cursed in wrath by that great soul.

Words: hanta — come!, well!; te — to you; kathayiṣyāmi — I shall tell; śṛṇu — listen, hear; tattvena — truly, in truth; rāghava — O Rāghava; yasyaitad — whose (was) this; āśramapadaṃ — hermitage-ground; śaptaṃ — cursed; kopān — out of wrath; mahātmanā — by the great-souled one

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.