← 1.71.23 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 71: Vivāha: Four matches, śrāddha and godāna

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.71.24

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 71: Vivāha: Four matches, śrāddha and godāna. Two additional matches unite all four brothers with brides, Janaka affirms shared ownership and the munis’ authority, Daśaratha performs śrāddha and godāna

In the sequence: on behalf of each son he gives a hundred thousand cows, four hundred thousand in all, each with gilded horns, a calf, and a bronze milk pail → he adds other gifts and stands among his prepared sons like Prajāpati among the guardians of the world.

1.71.24

sa sutaiḥ kṛtagodānair vṛtaś ca nṛpatis tadā
lokapālair ivābhāti vṛtaḥ saumyaḥ prajāpatiḥ

Surrounded by his sons for whom the cow-gift rite had been performed, that king then shone like the gentle Prajāpati surrounded by the guardians of the worlds.

Words: sa — he; sutaiḥ — by his sons; kṛtagodānair — for whom the cow-gift had been done; vṛtaś — surrounded; ca — and; nṛpatis — the king; tadā — then; lokapālair — by the guardians of the worlds; ivābhāti — shines like; vṛtaḥ — surrounded; saumyaḥ — gentle, benign; prajāpatiḥ — Prajāpati, lord of creatures

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.