THE VALMIKI RAMAYANA

BALA KANDA

  A¾¢æO|S: sgI:       Canto 38

sgraámEDaEp@m:      King   Sagara   commences  Aswamedha   sacrifice

ta|   kTa|   kaW¢SkaE   ramE   ¢nvEï   mD¤raXram¯   .
p¤nrEvapr|   vaÀy|   kakt¯ÞT¢mdmb#v£t¯   ¡ 1¡ 
ta|        that
kTa|        story
kaW¢Sk:        Kausika
ramE        to Sri Rama
¢nvEï        narrated
mD¤raXram¯        couched in pleasing words and metre
p¤n:        then
ev        likewise
Apr|        another
vaÀy|        recital
kakt¯ÞT|        to Kakutstha
id|        as under
Ab#v£t¯        said
    

Having   narrated   to   Rama   that   episode   strung   in   sweet   words,
the   son   of   Kusika,   again   spoke   to   the   scion   of   Kakutstha
clan,   about   another,   as   follows   (1).  
AyaEÒya¢Dp¢t:   S¥r:   p¥vImas£°ra¢Dp:   .
sgraE   nam   DmaIÏma   p#jakam:   s   cap#ja:   ¡ 2¡
AyaEÒya¢Dp¢t:        the Lord of Ayodhya
S¥r:        valiant
p¥vI|        once upon a time
Aas£t¯        was
nra¢Dp:        the king of men
sgr:        Sagara
nam        named
DmaIÏma        noble soul
p#jakam:        desirous of begetting a son
s:        he
c        even though
Ap#ja:        sonless

`Long,   long   ago,   there   was   a   king   and   the   Lord   of   Ayodhya,
by name   Sagara,   who   was   valiant   and   the   very   soul   of
righteousness.   Though   desirous   of   a   son,   he   was
without   one   (2).
 
vWdBIѤ¢hta   ram   kE¢Sn£   nam   namt:   .
ÇyE¿a     sgrpÏn£   sa   D¢mI¿a   sÏyva¢dn£   ¡ 3¡
vWdBIѤ¢hta        the daughter of the king of Vidharbha
ram        O! Rama!
kE¢Sn£        Kesini
nam        named
namt:        known as
ÇyE¿a        the seniormost wife
sgrpÏn£        the wife of Sagara
sa        she
D¢mI¿a        rooted in righteousness
sÏyva¢dn£        always speaking the truth

O!   Rama!   Sagara's   chief   queen   was   by   name Kesini, daughter of
the   king   of   Vidharbha,   established   in   right conduct and truthful  (3).
 
A¢r¾nE¢mѤ¢hta   ãpENap#¢tma   B¤¢v   .
¢¹t£ya   sgrÞyas£ÏpÏn£   s¤m¢ts|¢Mta   ¡ 4¡
A¢r¾nE¢mѤ¢hta        the daughter of Arishtanemi (Kashyapa)
ãpEN        in beauty
Ap#¢tma        unequalled
B¤¢v        in the world
¢¹t£ya        second
sgrÞy        of Sagara
Aas£t¯        was
pÏn£        wife
s¤m¢ts|¢Mta        was known as Sumati

The   daughter   of   Aristanemi,   Sumati   by   name   and   unmatched
in   beauty   in   the   world,   was   the   second   wife   of   Sagara   (4).  
ta×ya|   sh   tTa   raja   pÏn£×ya|   tçOva|Þtp:   .
¢hmvÓt|   sma¢½Ïy   B¦g¤p#*vNE   ¢graW   ¡ 5¡
ta×ya|        with those two
sh        in company
tTa        then
raja        the king
pÏn£×ya|        with wives
tçOvan¯        performed
tp:        penance
¢hmvÓt|        the Himalayas
sma¢½Ïy        reaching
B¦g¤p#*vNE        in Bhriguprasravana
¢graW        mountain

While   so,   that   king,   along   with   those   two   wives,   having   gone
to   the   Himalayan   ranges,   engaged   in   penance   in   the   mountain
Bhriguprasravana   (5).
 
AT   vxIStE   p¥NI   tpsa{{ra¢DtaE   m¤¢n:   .
sgrÞy   vr|   p#adaë¦g¤:   sÏypra@m:   ¡ 6¡
AT        then
vxIStE        a hundred years
p¥NI        on completion
tpsa        by penance
Aara¢Dt:        worshipped
m¤¢n:        sage
sgrÞy        to Sagara
vr|        boon
p#adat¯        bestowed
B¦g¤:        Bhrighu
sÏypra@m:        of true valour

In   that   manner,   when   a   hundred   years   were  completed,  the truly
realised   seer   Bhrigu,   who   was   propitiated   by   penance,   bestowed
boons   on   Sagara   (6).
 
ApÏylaB:   s¤mhan¯   B¢vÝy¢t   tvanG   .
k£¢tI|   cap#¢tma|   laEkE   p#ap¯ÞysE   p¤âxxIB   ¡ 7¡
ApÏylaB:        gift of a son
s¤mhan¯        many
B¢vÝy¢t        will be bestowed
tv        to you
AnG        O! Sinless one!
k£¢tI|        fame
c        and
Ap#¢tma|        unequalled
laEkE        in the world
p#ap¯ÞysE        will achieve
p¤âxxIB        O! Noblest amng men!
 
`O!   Sinless   one!   You   are   going   to   obtain many  sons. O! Bull
among men!  You  will  also  attain  unparalleled fame  in  the  world  (7).  
eka   jn¢yta   tat   p¤æO|   v|Skr|     tv   .
x¢¾|   p¤æOsh*a¢N   Apra   jn¢yÝy¢t   ¡ 8¡ 
eka        one
jn¢yta        will bring forth
tat        O! Child!
p¤æO|        a son
v|Skr|        who will hold aloft the lineage
tv        to you
x¢¾|        sixty
p¤æOsh*a¢N        thousand sons
Apra        another
jn¢yÝy¢t        will beget
 
O!   Dear   one!   One   of   your   consorts   will   bring forth a son who
will   keep   the   flag   of   your   family   fluttering   aloft.   The   other
one   will   give   birth   to   sixty-thousand   sons   (8).  
BaxmaN|   mhaÏman|   rajp¤æyaW   p#saï   tm¯   .
Uct¤:   prmp#£tE   k]ta¸¢lp¤zE   tda   ¡ 9¡
BaxmaN|        speaking thus
mhaÏman|        the highsouled one
rajp¤æyaW        the two princesses (queens)
p#saï        having worshipped
tm¯        that
Uct¤:        spoke
prmp#£tE        highly pleased
k]ta¸¢lp¤zE        with palms folded in reverence
tda        then
 
The   two   queens,   extremely   happy   and   with   folded   hands,
honouring that   high-souled   one,   who   was   speaking   in   this
strain,   then spoke   thus   (9).
 
ek:   kÞyaÞs¤taE   b#'n¯   ka   bh\n¯   jn¢yÝy¢t   .
½aEt¤¢mÅCavhE   b#'n¯   sÏymÞt¤   vcÞtv   ¡ 10¡
ek:        one
kÞya:        to whom
s¤t:        son
b#'n¯        O! Realised one!
ka        who
bh\n¯        many
jn¢yÝy¢t        will be born
½aEt¤|        to hear
iÅCavhE        curious to know
b#'n¯        O! Realised one!
sÏy|        true
AÞt¤        may it come
vc:        words
tv        your

O!   Realised   one!   Who   will   bring   forth   one   son?   Who   will
beget   many   sons?   O!   Realised   One!   We  are desirous to know
these.   May   your   words   come   true'   (10).
 
PROCEED TO   NEXT SLOKAS
RETURN TO PREVIOUS SLOKAS
RETURN TO INDEX OF BALA KANDA