← 1.69.15 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 69: Vivāha: Kuśadhvaja’s arrival and the Ikṣvāku lineage · 1.69.17 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.69.16

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 69: Vivāha: Kuśadhvaja’s arrival and the Ikṣvāku lineage. Kuśadhvaja joins the assembly, Vasiṣṭha recounts the Ikṣvāku lineage and asks for Janaka’s two daughters for Rāma & Lakṣmaṇa

In the sequence: the brothers send their minister Sudāman to invite Daśaratha with his sons, advisers, and priests → Daśaratha joins the assembly and identifies Vasiṣṭha as his family’s spokesman in all undertakings → with Viśvāmitra’s leave and the other ṛṣis present, Vasiṣṭha addresses Janaka and his priest to declare Daśaratha’s lineage.

1.69.16

tūṣṇīṃbhūte daśarathe vasiṣṭho bhagavān ṛṣiḥ
uvāca vākyaṃ vākyajño vaidehaṃ sapurohitam

When Daśaratha had fallen silent, the venerable seer Vasiṣṭha, skilled in speech, spoke to the Videha king together with his priest:

Words: tūṣṇīṃbhūte — having become silent (loc. abs.); daśarathe — Daśaratha (loc. abs.); vasiṣṭho — Vasiṣṭha; bhagavān — the venerable; ṛṣiḥ — seer; uvāca — spoke; vākyaṃ — words; vākyajño — skilled in speech; vaidehaṃ — to the Videha king; sapurohitam — together with his priest

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.