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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.50.18

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

1.50.18

prajāpatisutas tv āsīt kuśo nāma mahīpatiḥ
kuśasya putro balavān kuśanābhaḥ sudhārmikaḥ

There was a lord of the earth named Kuśa, son of Prajāpati; Kuśa's son was the mighty, most righteous Kuśanābha.

Words: prajāpatisutas — son of Prajāpati; tv — and; āsīt — there was; kuśo — Kuśa; nāma — by name; mahīpatiḥ — lord of the earth; kuśasya — of Kuśa; putro — son; balavān — mighty; kuśanābhaḥ — Kuśanābha; sudhārmikaḥ — most righteous

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.