← 1.8.1 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 8: Daśaratha seeks sons: Sumantra’s prophecy · 1.8.3 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.8.2

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: Despite his power and prosperity, Daśaratha has no son to continue his line → he decides to undertake a horse-sacrifice for offspring and tells Sumantra to summon the teachers and priests

1.8.2

cintayānasya tasyaivaṃ buddhir āsīn mahātmanaḥ
sutārthaṃ vājimedhena kimarthaṃ na yajāmy aham

As that great-souled one pondered thus, a thought came to him: “Why do I not sacrifice with a horse-sacrifice for the sake of a son?”

Words: cintayānasya — of one pondering; tasyaivaṃ — of him thus; buddhir — a thought; āsīn — arose, was; mahātmanaḥ — of the great-souled one; sutārthaṃ — for the sake of a son; vājimedhena — with a horse-sacrifice; kimarthaṃ — for what reason, why; na — not; yajāmy — do I sacrifice; 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.