← 1.55.23 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 55: Story of Viśvāmitra: Vasiṣṭha’s staff absorbs the weapons

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.55.24

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 55: Story of Viśvāmitra: Vasiṣṭha’s staff absorbs the weapons. Vasiṣṭha’s staff absorbs every missile, including the Brahmāstra, Viśvāmitra recognizes the superiority of spiritual power and resolves to attain brāhmaṇa status

In the sequence: humbled, Viśvāmitra declares that all his warrior power has been defeated by a single staff → he resolves to undertake austerity that will make him a brāhmaṇa.

1.55.24

tad etat samavekṣyāhaṃ prasannendriyamānasaḥ
tapo mahat samāsthāsye yad vai brahmatvakārakam

'Reflecting on this, I, with senses and mind made serene, shall undertake a great austerity that will make me a brahmin.'

Words: tad etat — this very (thing); samavekṣyāhaṃ — having reflected, I; prasannendriyamānasaḥ — with senses and mind serene; tapo — austerity; mahat — great; samāsthāsye — I shall undertake; yad — which; vai — indeed; brahmatvakārakam — productive of brahminhood

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.