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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.54.14

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 54: Story of Viśvāmitra: Defeat, Śiva’s weapons and retaliation. His army and sons are destroyed, Viśvāmitra wins Śiva’s weapons through austerity and returns to burn Vasiṣṭha’s hermitage

In the sequence: Śiva appears and offers a boon → Viśvāmitra asks for Dhanurveda (the science of archery), with its subsidiary disciplines and secrets, and the astras of Devas, dānavas, maharṣis, gandharvas, yakṣas and rākṣasas → Śiva grants the request and departs

1.54.14

kimarthaṃ tapyase rājan brūhi yat te vivakṣitam
varado 'smi varo yas te kāṅkṣitaḥ so 'bhidhīyatām

'For what purpose do you practise austerity, O king? Tell me what you wish to say. I am a giver of boons; let whatever boon you desire be named.'

Words: kimarthaṃ — for what purpose; tapyase — you practise austerity; rājan — O king; brūhi — tell, speak; yat — what; te — by you; vivakṣitam — what is desired to be said; varado 'smi — I am a giver of boons; varo — the boon; yas — which; te — by you; kāṅkṣitaḥ — desired; so 'bhidhīyatām — let it be named

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.