← 3.9.15 · Araṇya Kāṇḍa 9: Rāma’s promise to the ṛṣis · 3.9.17 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.9.16

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 9: Rāma’s promise to the ṛṣis. He explains their refusal to spend tapasvin power on curses and declares that protecting them binds him more strongly than his own life

In the sequence: Rāma says he has therefore promised protection and cannot take that promise back

3.9.16

mayā caitad vacaḥ śrutvā kārtsnyena paripālanam
ṛṣīṇāṃ daṇḍakāraṇye saṃśrutaṃ janakātmaje

And I, having heard this word, promised the sages in the Daṇḍaka forest their full protection, O daughter of Janaka.

Words: mayā — by me; caitad — and this; vacaḥ — word; śrutvā — having heard; kārtsnyena — completely, in full; paripālanam — protection, safeguarding; ṛṣīṇāṃ — of the seers; daṇḍakāraṇye — in the Daṇḍaka forest; saṃśrutaṃ — promised, pledged; janakātmaje — O daughter of Janaka

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.