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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.62.23
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
1.62.23
dharme pañcatapā bhūtvā varṣāsv ākāśasaṃśrayaḥ
śiśire salilasthāyī rātryahāni tapodhanaḥ
In the hot season practicing the five-fire penance, in the rains exposed to the open sky, in winter standing in water day and night — that treasury of austerity (persevered).
Words: dharme — in the hot season (of summer); pañcatapā — practicing the five-fire penance; bhūtvā — having become; varṣāsv — in the rains; ākāśasaṃśrayaḥ — exposed to the open sky; śiśire — in the cold season, winter; salilasthāyī — standing in water; rātryahāni — by night and day; tapodhanaḥ — the treasury of austerity
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.