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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.61.17
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: he then prepares a protective charm and teaches Śunaḥśepa two divine verses to recite when bound at Viṣṇu's sacrificial post, wearing red garlands and unguents.
1.61.17
kṛtvā śāpasamāyuktān putrān munivaras tadā
śunaḥśepam uvācārtaṃ kṛtvā rakṣāṃ nirāmayām
Having subjected his sons to the curse, the best of sages then, having made a flawless protective charm, spoke to the distressed Śunaḥśepa:
Words: kṛtvā — having made; śāpasamāyuktān — subjected to the curse; putrān — his sons; munivaras — the best of sages; tadā — then; śunaḥśepam — to Śunaḥśepa; uvācārtaṃ — spoke to the distressed one; kṛtvā — having made; rakṣāṃ — a protective charm; nirāmayām — flawless, free from harm
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.