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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.54.20

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: filled with renewed pride, Viśvāmitra considers Vasiṣṭha already defeated

1.54.20

vivardhamāno vīryeṇa samudra iva parvaṇi
hatam eva tadā mene vasiṣṭham ṛṣisattamam

Swelling with power like the sea at the full moon, he then thought Vasiṣṭha, the best of seers, as good as slain.

Words: vivardhamāno — swelling, increasing; vīryeṇa — with power, might; samudra — the sea, ocean; iva — like; parvaṇi — at the (full/new-moon) parvan; hatam eva — as good as slain; tadā — then; mene — thought, considered; vasiṣṭham — Vasiṣṭha; ṛṣisattamam — the best of seers

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.