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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.62.22

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: Viśvāmitra stands with raised arms, lives on air, endures five fires in summer, stays exposed to the rains, and stands in water day and night through winter

1.62.22

viprasthiteṣu deveṣu viśvāmitro mahāmuniḥ
ūrdhvabāhur nirālambo vāyubhakṣas tapaś caran

When the gods had departed, the great sage Viśvāmitra, with arms upraised, without support, feeding on air, practiced austerity —

Words: viprasthiteṣu deveṣu — when the gods had departed; viśvāmitro — Viśvāmitra; mahāmuniḥ — the great sage; ūrdhvabāhur — with arms upraised; nirālambo — without support; vāyubhakṣas — feeding on air; tapaś — austerity; caran — practicing

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.