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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.50.19

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

1.50.19

kuśanābhasutas tv āsīd gādhir ity eva viśrutaḥ
gādheḥ putro mahātejā viśvāmitro mahāmuniḥ

Kuśanābha's son was famed as Gādhi; Gādhi's son was the mighty great sage Viśvāmitra.

Words: kuśanābhasutas — son of Kuśanābha; tv — and; āsīd — there was; gādhir — Gādhi; ity eva — thus indeed; viśrutaḥ — famed; gādheḥ — of Gādhi; putro — son; mahātejā — of great splendour; viśvāmitro — Viśvāmitra; mahāmuniḥ — the great sage

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.