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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.62.11

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 62: Story of Viśvāmitra: Menakā and the unfinished mastery of desire. Menakā interrupts his austerity for ten years, renewed effort wins the rank of maharṣi, but Brahmā withholds brahmarṣi until his senses are mastered

In the sequence: realizing how much time he has lost, he becomes ashamed and interprets the interruption as the Suras' design against his austerity

1.62.11

ahorātrāpadeśena gatāḥ saṃvatsarā daśa
kāmamohābhibhūtasya vighno 'yaṃ pratyupasthitaḥ

Under the guise of days and nights, ten years have gone by; this obstacle has befallen me, overcome by the delusion of desire.

Words: ahorātrāpadeśena — under the guise of day and night; gatāḥ — gone; saṃvatsarā — years; daśa — ten; kāmamohābhibhūtasya — of one overcome by the delusion of desire; vighno — obstacle; 'yaṃ — this; pratyupasthitaḥ — has presented itself, befallen

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.