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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.9.12
Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 9: Story of Ṛṣyaśṛṅga: Courtesans, rain and marriage. Courtesans lure Ṛṣyaśṛṅga from his father’s forest hermitage, rain ends Aṅga’s drought and Romapāda gives him Śāntā in marriage
In the sequence: Ṛṣyaśṛṅga normally stays close to his father, but one day encounters them → singing sweetly, they approach and ask his identity and way of life
1.9.12
kas tvaṃ kiṃ vartase brahmañ jñātum icchāmahe vayam
ekas tvaṃ vijane ghore vane carasi śaṃsa naḥ
“Who are you? What is your way of life, O brahmin? We wish to know. Alone you wander in this desolate and dreadful forest — tell us.”
Words: kas — who; tvaṃ — you; kiṃ — what; vartase — do you do, occupy yourself with; brahmañ — O brahmin; jñātum — to know; icchāmahe — we wish; vayam — we; ekas — alone; tvaṃ — you; vijane — in a solitary place; ghore — dreadful; vane — forest; carasi — you wander; śaṃsa — tell; naḥ — us
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.