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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.61.5

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

1.61.5

trātā tvaṃ hi muniśreṣṭha sarveṣāṃ tvaṃ hi bhāvanaḥ
rājā ca kṛtakāryaḥ syād ahaṃ dīrghāyur avyayaḥ

For you are a protector, O best of sages; you are the fosterer of all. Let the king have his purpose accomplished, and let me be long-lived and undecaying.

Words: trātā — a protector; tvaṃ — you; hi — for, indeed; muniśreṣṭha — O best of sages; sarveṣāṃ — of all; tvaṃ — you; hi — indeed; bhāvanaḥ — the fosterer, well-wisher; rājā — the king; ca — and; kṛtakāryaḥ — with his purpose accomplished; syād — may be; ahaṃ — I; dīrghāyur — long-lived; avyayaḥ — undecaying, imperishable

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.