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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.61.15

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 61: Story of Viśvāmitra: Two verses save Śunaḥśepa. Śunaḥśepa seeks protection, Viśvāmitra curses his sons for refusing substitution and teaches two verses that preserve the boy’s life and fulfil the sacrifice

In the sequence: furious at their refusal, he curses them to live on dogs' flesh on earth for a thousand years, like Vasiṣṭha's cursed sons

1.61.15

niḥsādhvasam idaṃ proktaṃ dharmād api vigarhitam
atikramya tu madvākyaṃ dāruṇaṃ romaharṣaṇam

“This that you have shamelessly spoken, transgressing my word, is condemned even by dharma — cruel and hair-raising.

Words: niḥsādhvasam — shamelessly, without misgiving; idaṃ — this; proktaṃ — spoken; dharmād api — even by dharma; vigarhitam — condemned, reprehensible; atikramya — having transgressed; tu — and, but; madvākyaṃ — my word; dāruṇaṃ — cruel, harsh; romaharṣaṇam — hair-raising

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.