← 1.51.22 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 51: Story of Viśvāmitra: Vasiṣṭha’s hospitality

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.51.23

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 51: Story of Viśvāmitra: Vasiṣṭha’s hospitality. Vasiṣṭha insists on hosting the whole army and asks Śabalā to provide a feast satisfying every guest’s tastes

In the sequence: Vasiṣṭha summons his dappled wish-yielding cow, Śabalā → he asks her to provide a magnificent feast with whatever each guest desires among all six tastes, including food, drink, and delicacies.

1.51.23

rasenānnena pānena lehyacoṣyeṇa saṃyutam
annānāṃ nicayaṃ sarvaṃ sṛjasva śabale tvara

'Produce a whole heap of foods furnished with savoury dishes, with drink, and with what is to be licked and sucked; make haste, Śabalā!'

Words: rasenānnena — with juice and food; pānena — with drink; lehyacoṣyeṇa — with what is to be licked and sucked; saṃyutam — furnished with, provided with; annānāṃ — of foods; nicayaṃ — a heap, collection; sarvaṃ — whole, all; sṛjasva — produce, bring forth; śabale — O Śabalā; tvara — make haste

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.