Verse 1
विश्वामित्रवचः श्रुत्वा हृष्टरोमा च राघवः ।
उवाच परमप्रीतो विश्वामित्रं महामुनिम् ॥
Hearing the words of Vishvamitra, Rama was filled with delight and spoke with great pleasure to the great sage.
Verse 2
भगवन् श्रोतुमिच्छामि गङ्गायाः सलिलं शुभम् ।
यथा त्रिपथगा जाता कथं च पतिता भुवि ॥
“O Bhagavan, I wish to hear how the sacred waters of Ganga became Tripathaga and how she descended upon the earth.”
Verse 3
तस्य तद्वचनं श्रुत्वा विश्वामित्रो महामुनिः ।
उवाच मधुरं वाक्यं रामं रघुकुलोद्वहम् ॥
Hearing those words, the great sage Vishvamitra spoke sweetly to Rama, the descendant of the Raghu dynasty.
Verse 4
शृणु राम महाभाग गङ्गायाः सलिलं शुभम् ।
यथा त्रिपथगा जाता कथं च पतिता भुवि ॥
“O greatly fortunate Rama, listen to the account of the sacred waters of Ganga, how she became Tripathaga and how she descended upon the earth.”
Verse 5
पूर्वं कृतयुगे राम सगरो नाम पार्थिवः ।
धर्मात्मा सत्यसन्धश्च प्रजाकामो महाबलः ॥
“O Rama, in the ancient Krita Yuga there was a powerful king named Sagara. He was righteous, truthful in his resolve, and desirous of having children.”
Verse 6
स राजा सगरः पुत्रान् यष्टुमैच्छत पार्थिवः ।
तस्य भार्ये बभूवाते द्वे रूपेणानुपमे शुभे ॥
King Sagara desired to obtain sons. He had two wives, both auspicious and incomparable in beauty.
Verse 7
केशिनी नाम या ज्येष्ठा सुमतिश्चापरा शुभा ।
ताभ्यां सह नृपश्रेष्ठः सगरो धर्ममाचरत् ॥
The elder was named Keshini and the other auspicious wife was Sumati. O best of kings, Sagara lived according to righteousness with both of them.
Verse 8
ताभ्यां तु तपसा तुष्टो भगवान् परमेश्वरः ।
वरं प्रादाद् यथाकामं पुत्रार्थं नृपसत्तम ॥
The supreme Lord became pleased with their austerities and granted the excellent king a boon according to his desire concerning sons.
Verse 9
एका जनयिता पुत्रमेकं वंशधरं शुभम् ।
षष्टिं पुत्रसहस्राणि द्वितीया जनयिष्यति ॥
“One of you shall give birth to one auspicious son who will continue the lineage, while the other shall give birth to sixty thousand sons.”
Verse 10
तत्र ज्येष्ठा तु केशिनी पुत्रमेकमयाचत ।
सुमतिस्तु वरं वव्रे पुत्राणां षष्टिमुत्तमम् ॥
There, the elder Keshini asked for one son, while Sumati chose the boon of sixty thousand excellent sons.
Verse 11
तयोस्तु वचनं श्रुत्वा भगवान् परमेश्वरः ।
एवमस्त्विति तान् प्राह तदा सगरमब्रवीत् ॥
Hearing their words, the supreme Lord said, “Let it be so,” and then addressed Sagara.
Verse 12
ततः कालेन महता केशिनी सुषुवे सुतम् ।
असमान्जमिति ख्यातं ज्येष्ठं पुत्रं नराधिपम् ॥
After a long period of time, Keshini gave birth to a son named Asamanja, the eldest son of the king.
Verse 13
सुमतिस्तु महाभागा षष्टिं पुत्रसहस्रकम् ।
तुष्टाव पुत्रकामाय भगवान् परमेश्वरम् ॥
The greatly fortunate Sumati, desiring sons, worshipped the supreme Lord, who granted her sixty thousand sons.
Verse 14
ते सर्वे बलसम्पन्ना महाबलपराक्रमाः ।
पितुर्वचनमादाय दिग्विजयाय निर्ययुः ॥
All of them were powerful and possessed great strength and valour. Obeying their father’s command, they set out to conquer the directions.
Verse 15
ततः कालेन महता सगरस्य महात्मनः ।
यज्ञोऽभवत् महातेजा यष्टुमिच्छन् महीपतिः ॥
After a long time, the great-souled and greatly radiant King Sagara desired to perform a sacrifice.
Verse 16
स राजा यष्टुमारेभे वाजिमेधेन वीर्यवान् ।
तस्य यज्ञस्य विघ्नार्थं देवराजः शचीपतिः ॥
The powerful king began the Ashvamedha sacrifice. Indra, the lord of Shachi, sought to obstruct that sacrifice.
Verse 17
हयमस्यापहृत्याशु सागरस्य महात्मनः ।
पातालं प्रविवेशाथ कपिलस्य महात्मनः ॥
He quickly seized the sacrificial horse of the great-souled Sagara and entered the subterranean region where the great-souled Kapila was present.
Verse 18
सगरस्य तु पुत्रास्ते हयमन्वेषणाय वै ।
दिशो दश महाभागा विचेरुर्वसुधातले ॥
The sixty thousand sons of Sagara, O greatly fortunate one, searched for the horse and wandered through the earth in all ten directions.
Verse 19
तेषां तु खनतां भूमिं समुद्रः समपद्यत ।
तेनासीत् सागरः ख्यातो लोकेऽस्मिन् सागरात्मजैः ॥
As they dug through the earth, the great ocean came into being. Because of the sons of Sagara, it became known in this world as Sagara.
Verse 20
ततः सगरपुत्रास्तु कपिलं पुरुषोत्तमम् ।
ददृशुस्तत्र महात्मानं तेजोराशिमिव स्थितम् ॥
Then the sons of Sagara saw the great-souled Kapila, the supreme person, standing there like a mass of splendour.
Verse 21
ते तमूचुर्महात्मानं कपिलं पुरुषोत्तमम् ।
अश्वं त्वं हरसे देव यज्ञियं नृपतेः प्रभो ॥
They addressed that great-souled Kapila, the supreme person: “O Lord, you have taken away the sacrificial horse belonging to our king.”
Verse 22
एवमुक्तस्तु कपिलः क्रोधसंरक्तलोचनः ।
हुङ्कारं तान् सुतान् कृत्वा भस्मराशीकृतान् प्रभुः ॥
Thus addressed, Kapila, his eyes reddened with anger, uttered a roar, and those sons were reduced to a heap of ashes.
Verse 23
सगरस्तु महात्मा वै पुत्रशोकसमन्वितः ।
अंशुमन्तं महात्मानं पौत्रं वचनमब्रवीत् ॥
The great-souled Sagara, overcome with grief for his sons, spoke to his great-souled grandson Anshuman.
Verse 24
गच्छ त्वं पुत्रशार्दूल कपिलं पुरुषोत्तमम् ।
गत्वा तं तुष्टय विभो हयमानीय चागतम् ॥
“O tiger among sons, go to Kapila, the supreme person. Approach and please that mighty being, and bring back the sacrificial horse.”
Verse 25
अंशुमान् तु महातेजाः कपिलं पुरुषोत्तमम् ।
प्रणम्य वाक्यमुवाच विनयेन समन्वितः ॥
The greatly radiant Anshuman bowed before Kapila, the supreme person, and respectfully spoke these words.
Verse 26
भगवन् देवदेवेश सर्वलोकनमस्कृत ।
सगरस्यास्मि पौत्रोऽहं हयस्याहरणाय वै ॥
“O Bhagavan, Lord of the gods, revered by all the worlds, I am the grandson of Sagara. I have come to recover the sacrificial horse.”
इति वाल्मीकि रामायणे आदि काव्ये बाल काण्डे एकचत्वारिंशः सर्गः ।
Thus ends the forty-first Sarga of the Bala Kanda of the Valmiki Ramayana, the original epic.