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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.29.24

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 29: Rāma’s gifts and Trijaṭa’s staff. Rāma & Sītā distribute wealth, the poor Trijaṭa receives the cattle encompassed by his staff’s throw

In the sequence: Trijaṭa, a poor brāhmaṇa supporting many children by gathering food in the forest, asks for help → Rāma playfully offers him as many cows as the distance of his staff-throw will encompass

2.29.24

tam uvāca tato rāmaḥ parihāsasamanvitam
gavāṃ sahasram apy ekaṃ na tu viśrāṇitaṃ mayā
parikṣipasi daṇḍena yāvat tāvad avāpsyasi

Then Rāma said to him playfully: “Even one herd of a thousand cows has not yet been given away by me; as far as you can hurl your staff, so much shall you obtain.”

Words: tam — to him; uvāca — said; tato — then; rāmaḥ — Rāma; parihāsasamanvitam — in a jesting manner; gavāṃ — of cows; sahasram — a thousand; apy ekaṃ — even one; na tu — but not; viśrāṇitaṃ — given away, distributed; mayā — by me; parikṣipasi — you hurl, cast around; daṇḍena — with a staff; yāvat — as far as; tāvad — so much; avāpsyasi — you will obtain

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.