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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.58.23

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 58: Story of Viśvāmitra: Triśaṅku’s sacrifice and the priests’ refusal. Viśvāmitra promises Triśaṅku bodily ascent and summons priests, then curses Vasiṣṭha’s sons & Mahodaya for rejecting the sacrifice

In the sequence: he curses Mahodaya to a long, miserable existence as a Niṣāda hunter → having pronounced the curses, he falls silent.

1.58.23

etāvad uktvā vacanaṃ viśvāmitro mahātapāḥ
virarāma mahātejā ṛṣimadhye mahāmuniḥ

Having spoken just this word, Viśvāmitra, the great ascetic of great splendour, the great sage, fell silent in the midst of the seers.

Words: etāvad — just this much; uktvā — having spoken; vacanaṃ — word; viśvāmitro — Viśvāmitra; mahātapāḥ — the great ascetic; virarāma — ceased, fell silent; mahātejā — of great splendour; ṛṣimadhye — in the midst of the seers; mahāmuniḥ — the great sage

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.