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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.60.17

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 60: Story of Viśvāmitra: Śunaḥśepa is bought for sacrifice. Indra steals Ambarīṣa’s sacrificial victim, the King purchases Śunaḥśepa after the boy’s parents reserve their eldest and youngest sons

In the sequence: Ṛcīka refuses to sell the eldest, and the mother insists on keeping the youngest, Śunaka

1.60.17

mamāpi dayitaṃ viddhi kaniṣṭhaṃ śunakaṃ nṛpa

'Know, O king, that the youngest, Śunaka, is dear to me too.'

Words: mamāpi — to me too; dayitaṃ — dear, beloved; viddhi — know; kaniṣṭhaṃ — the youngest; śunakaṃ — Śunaka; nṛpa — O king

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.