← 1.65.2 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 65: Story of Sītā & Śiva’s bow: Birth, suitors and Janaka’s condition · 1.65.4 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.65.3
Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 65: Story of Sītā & Śiva’s bow: Birth, suitors and Janaka’s condition. Janaka recounts Sītā’s birth, Śiva’s bow and the suitors’ failure, offering her hand to Rāma if he can string it
In the sequence: The next morning Janaka summons and honors Viśvāmitra and the princes, asking what he can do for them
1.65.3
bhagavan svāgataṃ te 'stu kiṃ karomi tavānagha
bhavān ājñāpayatu mām ājñāpyo bhavatā hy aham
“Venerable one, welcome to you! What may I do for you, O sinless one? Let your honor command me, for I am one to be commanded by you.”
Words: bhagavan — O venerable one; svāgataṃ te 'stu — welcome to you; kiṃ — what; karomi — shall I do; tavānagha — for you, O sinless one; bhavān — your honor; ājñāpayatu — let (him) command; mām — me; ājñāpyo — to be commanded; bhavatā — by your honor; hy — indeed; aham — I
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.