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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.8.21
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: they devise another means: courtesans bring Ṛṣyaśṛṅga, rain falls, and Śāntā becomes his wife
1.8.21
evam aṅgādhipenaiva gaṇikābhir ṛṣeḥ sutaḥ
ānīto 'varṣayad devaḥ śāntā cāsmai pradīyate
Thus by the very lord of the Aṅgas, through courtesans, the seer's son was brought; the god rained, and Śāntā was given to him.
Words: evam — thus; aṅgādhipenaiva — by the very lord of the Aṅgas; gaṇikābhir — through courtesans; ṛṣeḥ — of the seer; sutaḥ — the son; ānīto — was brought; 'varṣayad — (the god) sent rain; devaḥ — the god (the rain-god); śāntā — Śāntā; cāsmai — and to him; pradīyate — was given
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.