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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.8.14

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 8: Daśaratha seeks sons: Sumantra’s prophecy. Daśaratha proposes a sacrifice for sons, Sumantra recalls Sanatkumāra’s prophecy and the story of Ṛṣyaśṛṅga’s arrival in drought-stricken Aṅga

In the sequence: a transgression by Romapāda, King of Aṅga, brings a terrible drought → the distressed King asks learned brāhmaṇas how to make amends

1.8.14

bhavantaḥ śrutadharmāṇo loke cāritravedinaḥ
samādiśantu niyamaṃ prāyaścittaṃ yathā bhavet

“You who know the revealed law and are versed in right conduct in the world, ordain some rite of restraint, so that an expiation may be made.”

Words: bhavantaḥ — you (honoured ones); śrutadharmāṇo — knowers of the revealed law; loke — in the world; cāritravedinaḥ — versed in right conduct; samādiśantu — let them ordain, prescribe; niyamaṃ — a rite of restraint, observance; prāyaścittaṃ — expiation, atonement; yathā — so that; bhavet — may be, may come about

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. 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.