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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.48.16

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 48: Indra’s restoration; Ahalyā released by Rāma. Viśvāmitra recounts the pitṛdevas ’ transfer of a ram’s testicles to Indra, then Rāma enters the hermitage and Ahalyā’s hospitality ends her curse

In the sequence: the brothers follow him inside → Rāma sees her radiance, strengthened by austerity, like fire through smoke, moonlight through mist, or sunlight amid water → Gautama's curse had kept her concealed until this arrival

1.48.16

sa hi gautamavākyena durnirīkṣyā babhūva ha
trayāṇām api lokānāṃ yāvad rāmasya darśanam

For by Gautama's word she had become hard to look upon, even for the three worlds, until the coming of Rāma.

Words: sa — she; hi — for, indeed; gautamavākyena — by Gautama's word; durnirīkṣyā — hard to look upon; babhūva — had become; ha — indeed; trayāṇām — for the three; api — even; lokānāṃ — of the worlds; yāvad — until; rāmasya — of Rāma; darśanam — the sight, appearance

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.