← 1.61.1 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 61: Story of Viśvāmitra: Two verses save Śunaḥśepa · 1.61.3 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.61.2

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: thirsty and exhausted, Śunaḥśepa sees Viśvāmitra and falls into his lap → feeling abandoned by his family, he begs the muni to save him while allowing the King's sacrifice to succeed

1.61.2

tasya viśramamāṇasya śunaḥśepo mahāyaśāḥ
puṣkaraṃ śreṣṭham āgamya viśvāmitraṃ dadarśa ha

While he was resting, the glorious Śunaḥśepa, coming to the excellent Puṣkara, saw Viśvāmitra.

Words: tasya viśramamāṇasya — while he was resting; śunaḥśepo — Śunaḥśepa; mahāyaśāḥ — the glorious; puṣkaraṃ — to Puṣkara; śreṣṭham — the excellent; āgamya — having come; viśvāmitraṃ — Viśvāmitra; dadarśa — saw; ha — indeed

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.