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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.53.15

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 53: Story of Viśvāmitra: Śabalā resists seizure. The King seizes Śabalā, she returns to Vasiṣṭha and, with his permission, produces armies to resist the royal forces

In the sequence: Śabalā insists that spiritual power is greater than royal force and asks permission to fight through his power

1.53.15

aprameyabalaṃ tubhyaṃ na tvayā balavattaraḥ
viśvāmitro mahāvīryas tejas tava durāsadam

'Yours is immeasurable strength; Viśvāmitra of great valour is not stronger than you; your energy is hard to withstand.'

Words: aprameyabalaṃ — immeasurable strength; tubhyaṃ — to you, yours; na — not; tvayā — than you; balavattaraḥ — stronger; viśvāmitro — Viśvāmitra; mahāvīryas — of great valour; tejas — energy, splendour; tava — your; durāsadam — hard to withstand

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.