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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.50.13

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 50: Story of Viśvāmitra: Śatānanda introduces the former King. Śatānanda confirms Ahalyā’s release, then recounts how King Viśvāmitra’s travels with his army brought him to Vasiṣṭha’s hermitage

In the sequence: Śatānanda welcomes Rāma and tells him how fortunate he is to have Viśvāmitra as protector → he offers to explain Viśvāmitra's power and the austerities by which he attained it. Śatānanda now begins a long account of Viśvāmitra's past: descended through Kuśa, Kuśanābha, and Gādhi, Viśvāmitra was once a learned, righteous King who ruled for thousands of years

1.50.13

svāgataṃ te naraśreṣṭha diṣṭyā prāpto 'si rāghava
viśvāmitraṃ puraskṛtya maharṣim aparājitam

“Welcome to you, O best of men! By good fortune you have come, O Rāghava, placing before you the invincible great sage Viśvāmitra.

Words: svāgataṃ — welcome; te — to you; naraśreṣṭha — O best of men; diṣṭyā — by good fortune, luckily; prāpto — arrived, come; 'si — you are; rāghava — O Rāghava; viśvāmitraṃ — Viśvāmitra; puraskṛtya — placing in front; maharṣim — the great sage; aparājitam — invincible, unconquered

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.