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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.52.10

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 52: Story of Viśvāmitra: Śabalā’s feast and the rejected purchase. Śabalā feeds the entire company, Viśvāmitra offers escalating wealth to purchase her and Vasiṣṭha refuses to surrender the source of his ritual sustenance

In the sequence: Vasiṣṭha refuses any price, explaining that she sustains his life, havya (offerings to Devas), kavya (offerings to pitṛs), agnihotra, bali, homa and sacred learning

1.52.10

evam uktas tu bhagavān vasiṣṭho munisattamaḥ
viśvāmitreṇa dharmātmā pratyuvāca mahīpatim

Thus addressed by Viśvāmitra, the venerable, righteous-souled Vasiṣṭha, the best of sages, replied to the king:

Words: evam uktas — thus addressed; tu — but, and; bhagavān — the venerable one; vasiṣṭho — Vasiṣṭha; munisattamaḥ — the best of sages; viśvāmitreṇa — by Viśvāmitra; dharmātmā — the righteous-souled; pratyuvāca — replied; mahīpatim — to the king, lord of the earth

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.