Verse 1
विश्वामित्रवचः श्रुत्वा हर्षितो मुनिपुङ्गवः ।
शतानन्दो महातेजा रामं वचनमब्रवीत् ॥
Hearing the words of Vishvamitra, the great sage Shatananda, greatly radiant and filled with joy, spoke to Rama.
Verse 2
अहो ते कथितं सर्वं यथावृत्तं महात्मना ।
विश्वामित्रेण काकुत्स्थ वसिष्ठस्य च धीमतः ॥
“O Kakutstha, the great-souled Vishvamitra has narrated everything exactly as it happened, concerning himself and the wise Vasistha.”
Verse 3
राजर्षिरभवद्राजा विश्वामित्रो महाबलः ।
तस्याश्रमं समागम्य वसिष्ठो मुनिसत्तमः ॥
“Vishvamitra was a royal sage and a mighty king. The excellent sage Vasistha came to his hermitage.”
Verse 4
तौ तत्र समवेतौ तु मुनिराजर्षिसत्तमौ ।
परस्परमभिवाद्याथ कुशलं पर्यपृच्छताम् ॥
The two excellent sages, the great royal sage and the great sage, met there. They respectfully greeted each other and enquired about each other’s welfare.
Verse 5
अथ राजा महातेजा विश्वामित्रो महामुनिम् ।
उवाच मधुरं वाक्यं वसिष्ठं मुनिपुङ्गवम् ॥
Then the greatly radiant King Vishvamitra spoke sweet words to Vasistha, the foremost of sages.
Verse 6
स्वागतं ते मुनिश्रेष्ठ कच्चित्ते कुशलं वने ।
तपस्यसि महाभाग कुशलं चाश्रमे तव ॥
“O foremost of sages, welcome to you. I hope you are well in the forest. O greatly fortunate one, I hope your austerities are progressing well and everything is well in your hermitage.”
Verse 7
वसिष्ठस्तु तदा राजन् प्रत्युवाच महातपाः ।
कुशलं ते महाबाहो कुशलं चाश्रमे मम ॥
Then Vasistha, the great ascetic, replied to the king, “O mighty-armed one, I am well, and everything is well in my hermitage.”
Verse 8
ततः परमसत्कारं कृतवान् मुनिसत्तमः ।
विश्वामित्राय धर्मात्मा वसिष्ठो मुनिपुङ्गवः ॥
Then the righteous Vasistha, the foremost of sages, offered the greatest hospitality to Vishvamitra, the excellent sage.
Verse 9
अर्घ्यं पाद्यं च गां चैव मधुपर्कं तथैव च ।
निवेदयामास विधिवद्विश्वामित्राय धीमते ॥
He duly offered the wise Vishvamitra arghya, water for washing the feet, a cow and madhuparka.
Verse 10
प्रतिगृह्य तु तां पूजां विश्वामित्रो महामुनिः ।
कृतार्थोऽभून्महातेजा वसिष्ठेन महात्मना ॥
Having accepted that honour, the great and greatly radiant sage Vishvamitra felt fulfilled by the hospitality of the great-souled Vasistha.
Verse 11
ततः कुशलमव्यग्रं वसिष्ठो मुनिपुङ्गवः ।
पप्रच्छ मधुरं वाक्यं विश्वामित्रं महामुनिम् ॥
Then Vasistha, the foremost of sages, calmly enquired about the welfare of the great sage Vishvamitra in sweet words.
Verse 12
कच्चित्ते कुशलं राजन् राज्ये च बले च ते ।
मित्रेषु च सुहृच्चैव कच्चित्सुखमवाप्स्यसि ॥
“O king, I hope you are well, and that your kingdom and army are also well. I hope your friends and well-wishers are well and that you are living happily.”
Verse 13
कच्चित्ते कुशलं राम सर्वत्र च नरेश्वर ।
कच्चिद्भृत्याः प्रसन्नास्ते कच्चित्तेऽस्ति धनागमः ॥
“O Rama, I hope everything is well with you everywhere, O lord of men. I hope your servants are content and that wealth is coming to you.”
Verse 14
तस्य तद्वचनं श्रुत्वा विश्वामित्रो महामुनिः ।
उवाच मधुरं वाक्यं वसिष्ठं मुनिसत्तमम् ॥
Hearing those words, the great sage Vishvamitra spoke sweetly to the excellent sage Vasistha.
Verse 15
कुशलं मे महाभाग सर्वत्र कुशलं मम ।
राज्यं च कुशलं सर्वं बलं च कुशलं तथा ॥
“O greatly fortunate one, I am well, and everything is well with me. My kingdom is prosperous and my army too is in good condition.”
Verse 16
मित्राणि च सुहृच्चैव भृत्याश्च कुशलाः सदा ।
धनागमश्च मे ब्रह्मन् कुशलं च यथातथम् ॥
“My friends and well-wishers are well, and my servants are also always well. O Brahman, wealth is coming to me, and everything is as it should be.”
Verse 17
एवमुक्त्वा महातेजा विश्वामित्रो महामुनिः ।
वसिष्ठं मुनिशार्दूलं पुनरेवाभ्यभाषत ॥
Having spoken thus, the greatly radiant great sage Vishvamitra again addressed Vasistha, the tiger among sages.
Verse 18
इमौ कुमारौ भद्रं ते देवतुल्यपराक्रमौ ।
रामो दशरथस्यायं लक्ष्मणश्चापि वीर्यवान् ॥
“These two princes possess prowess equal to that of the gods. May you be blessed. This is Rama, the son of Dasharatha, and this is the mighty Lakshmana.”
Verse 19
इमौ मुनिवरश्रेष्ठं मां शुश्रूषापरायणौ ।
आगतौ सहिता वीरौ यज्ञस्य परिरक्षणे ॥
“These two heroic princes have come with me, devoted to serving me and protecting my sacrifice.”
Verse 20
अहं वेद्मि महात्मानौ रामलक्ष्मणयोर्बलम् ।
न वेत्ति हि भवान् सर्वं तयोर्वीर्यं महामुने ॥
“O great sage, I know the strength of these two great-souled princes, Rama and Lakshmana. You do not yet know the full extent of their valour.”
Verse 21
ततः शतानन्दवचः श्रुत्वा रामो महायशाः ।
उवाच मधुरं वाक्यं विश्वामित्रं महामुनिम् ॥
Then Rama, greatly renowned, hearing the words of Shatananda, spoke sweetly to the great sage Vishvamitra.
Verse 22
भगवन् कौशिकश्रेष्ठ वसिष्ठस्य महात्मनः ।
चरितं श्रोतुमिच्छामि विश्वामित्रस्य धीमतः ॥
“O Bhagavan, O foremost among the descendants of Kusha, I wish to hear the history of the wise Vishvamitra and the great-souled Vasistha.”
Verse 23
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 24
महर्षेस्तस्य काकुत्स्थ कौशिकस्य महात्मनः ।
यथावृत्तं पुरावृत्तं कथयिष्यामि विस्तरात् ॥
“O Kakutstha, I shall narrate in detail the ancient history of that great sage Kaushika exactly as it happened.”
Verse 25
कुशिकस्य च दायादो गाधिर्नाम महायशाः ।
गाधेः पुत्रो महातेजा विश्वामित्रो महामुनिः ॥
“Gadhi, greatly renowned, was the descendant of Kushika. The greatly radiant Vishvamitra, the great sage, was the son of Gadhi.”
इति वाल्मीकि रामायणे आदिकाव्ये बालकाण्डे त्रिपञ्चाशः सर्गः ।
Thus ends the fifty-third Sarga of the Bala Kanda of the Valmiki Ramayana, the original epic.