← 1.53.20 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 53: Story of Viśvāmitra: Śabalā resists seizure · 1.53.22 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.53.21

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: she produces Śakas and Yavanas, who attack with swords and spears → Viśvāmitra answers with his missiles.

1.53.21

tair āsīt saṃvṛtā bhūmiḥ śakair yavanamiśritaiḥ
prabhāvadbhir mahāvīryair hemakiñjalkasaṃnibhaiḥ

By those Śakas mingled with Yavanas—powerful, of great valour, gleaming like the golden filaments of a lotus—the earth was covered over.

Words: tair — by those; āsīt — was; saṃvṛtā — covered, filled; bhūmiḥ — the earth; śakair — by the Śakas; yavanamiśritaiḥ — mingled with Yavanas; prabhāvadbhir — powerful, mighty; mahāvīryair — of great valour; hemakiñjalkasaṃnibhaiḥ — resembling golden (lotus-)filaments

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.