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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.52.15

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

1.52.15

sarva svam etat satyena mama tuṣṭikarī sadā
kāraṇair bahubhī rājan na dāsye śabalāṃ tava

'Truly this is my whole wealth; she is always my giver of contentment. For many reasons, O king, I will not give you Śabalā.'

Words: sarva svam — (my) whole property, my all; etat — this; satyena — truly, in truth; mama — my, to me; tuṣṭikarī — the giver of contentment; sadā — always; kāraṇair — for reasons; bahubhī — for many; rājan — O king; na — not; dāsye — I shall give; śabalāṃ — Śabalā; tava — to you

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.