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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.60.19

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: the middle son, Śunaḥśepa, concludes that he has effectively been selected and tells the King to take him

1.60.19

uktavākye munau tasmin munipatnyāṃ tathaiva ca
śunaḥśepaḥ svayaṃ rāma madhyamo vākyam abravīt

When that sage had spoken, and likewise the sage's wife, Śunaḥśepa, the middle son, himself spoke, O Rāma:

Words: uktavākye munau tasmin — when that sage had spoken (loc. abs.); munipatnyāṃ — the sage's wife (loc.); tathaiva ca — and likewise too; śunaḥśepaḥ — Śunaḥśepa; svayaṃ — himself; rāma — O Rāma; madhyamo — the middle one; vākyam — word; abravīt — spoke

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.