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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.61.7

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: Viśvāmitra comforts him, then asks his own sons to substitute for the boy as the victim

1.61.7

tasya tadvacanaṃ śrutvā viśvāmitro mahātapāḥ
sāntvayitvā bahuvidhaṃ putrān idam uvāca ha

Having heard those words of his, Viśvāmitra of great austerity, having consoled (him) in many ways, spoke this to his sons:

Words: tasya — his; tadvacanaṃ — those words; śrutvā — having heard; viśvāmitro — Viśvāmitra; mahātapāḥ — of great austerity; sāntvayitvā — having consoled; bahuvidhaṃ — in many ways; putrān — to his sons; idam — this; uvāca — said; 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.