← 1.53.1 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 53: Story of Viśvāmitra: Śabalā resists seizure · 1.53.3 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.53.2

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: distressed, she wonders whether Vasiṣṭha has abandoned her and what wrong she has done

1.53.2

nīyamānā tu śabalā rāma rājñā mahātmanā
duḥkhitā cintayām āsa rudantī śokakarśitā

But as Śabalā was being led away by the great king, O Rāma, distressed, weeping, and wasted with grief, she reflected:

Words: nīyamānā — being led away; tu — but; śabalā — Śabalā; rāma — O Rāma; rājñā — by the king; mahātmanā — the great-souled; duḥkhitā — distressed; cintayām āsa — reflected, thought; rudantī — weeping; śokakarśitā — wasted with grief

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.