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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.61.6
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
1.61.6
svargalokam upāśnīyāṃ tapas taptvā hy anuttamam
sa me nātho hy anāthasya bhava bhavyena cetasā
piteva putraṃ dharmātmaṃs trātum arhasi kilbiṣāt
May I enjoy the world of heaven, having practiced unsurpassed austerity. Be that protector of me who am without a protector, with a gracious mind; as a father his son, O righteous one, you ought to save me from harm.”
Words: svargalokam — the world of heaven; upāśnīyāṃ — may I enjoy, attain; tapas — austerity; taptvā — having practiced; hy — indeed; anuttamam — unsurpassed; sa — that (one), you; me — of me; nātho — protector; hy — indeed; anāthasya — of one without a protector; bhava — be; bhavyena — with a gracious, kindly; cetasā — mind; piteva — as a father; putraṃ — a son; dharmātmaṃs — O righteous one; trātum — to save; arhasi — you ought; kilbiṣāt — from harm, sin
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.