← 1.61.22 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 61: Story of Viśvāmitra: Two verses save Śunaḥśepa · 1.61.24 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.61.23

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: at the enclosure, with the priests' assent, the King prepares the boy with the prescribed markings and red clothing and binds him to the post

1.61.23

sadasyānumate rājā pavitrakṛtalakṣaṇam
paśuṃ raktāmbaraṃ kṛtvā yūpe taṃ samabandhayat

With the assent of the officiating priests, the king, having made the victim marked with purificatory signs and clad in red garments, bound him to the post.

Words: sadasyānumate — with the assent of the officiants; rājā — the king; pavitrakṛtalakṣaṇam — marked with purificatory signs; paśuṃ — the sacrificial victim; raktāmbaraṃ — clad in red garments; kṛtvā — having made; yūpe — to the post; taṃ — him; samabandhayat — bound

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. 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.