← 1.8.2 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 8: Daśaratha seeks sons: Sumantra’s prophecy · 1.8.4 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.8.3
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
1.8.3
sa niścitāṃ matiṃ kṛtvā yaṣṭavyam iti buddhimān
mantribhiḥ saha dharmātmā sarvair eva kṛtātmabhiḥ
Having firmly made up his mind that a sacrifice must be held, that wise and righteous one, together with all his ministers, every one accomplished in soul,
Words: sa — he; niścitāṃ — firm, resolved; matiṃ — mind, resolve; kṛtvā — having made; yaṣṭavyam — a sacrifice must be performed; iti — thus; buddhimān — the wise one; mantribhiḥ — with his ministers; saha — together with; dharmātmā — the righteous-souled; sarvair — with all; eva — indeed, every one; kṛtātmabhiḥ — accomplished in soul, disciplined
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.