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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.8.17

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: the King and ministers consider how to fetch him, but the proposed envoys fear Ṛṣyaśṛṅga and initially refuse

1.8.17

teṣāṃ tu vacanaṃ śrutvā rājā cintāṃ prapatsyate
kenopāyena vai śakyam ihānetuṃ sa vīryavān

Hearing their words, the king will fall to pondering: “By what means indeed can that heroic one be brought here?”

Words: teṣāṃ — their; tu — and; vacanaṃ — words; śrutvā — having heard; rājā — the king; cintāṃ — worry, deliberation; prapatsyate — will fall into; kenopāyena — by what means; vai — indeed; śakyam — it is possible; ihānetuṃ — to bring here; sa — he, that; vīryavān — heroic, valorous

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.