Verse 1
ततः क्रुद्धो महातेजा ब्रह्मदण्डमनुत्तमम् ।
वसिष्ठो भगवान् प्रादाद्विश्वामित्राय धीमते ॥
Then the greatly radiant and venerable Vasistha gave the wise Vishvamitra the supreme Brahma-danda, the staff of Brahman.
Verse 2
तद् ब्रह्मदण्डं महत् तेजो ज्वलितं सर्वतोमुखम् ।
नाशयामास तद् घोरमस्त्रं ब्रह्मर्षिसत्तमः ॥
That mighty Brahma-danda, blazing with radiance on every side, destroyed that terrible weapon. The excellent Brahmarshi Vasistha neutralized it.
Verse 3
ततः क्रुद्धो महातेजा विश्वामित्रो महामुनिः ।
ब्रह्मास्त्रम् अस्त्रविद् श्रेष्ठो मुमोच परमाद्भुतम् ॥
Then the greatly radiant great sage Vishvamitra, the foremost of those skilled in weapons, became angry and released the supremely wonderful Brahmastra.
Verse 4
तद् ब्रह्मास्त्रं महाघोरं ब्रह्मदण्डेन वारितम् ।
दृष्ट्वा विश्वामित्रो राजा विस्मयं परमं ययौ ॥
Seeing that extremely terrible Brahmastra restrained by the Brahma-danda, King Vishvamitra was filled with the greatest astonishment.
Verse 5
ततः क्रुद्धो महातेजा ब्रह्मदण्डं समाश्रितः ।
वसिष्ठो भगवान् वीर्याद् दधारास्त्रं महाबलः ॥
Then the greatly radiant and venerable Vasistha, relying upon the Brahma-danda, with his immense power held back the mighty weapon.
Verse 6
तदस्त्रं परमं घोरं ब्रह्मदण्डेन वारितम् ।
विश्वामित्रोऽथ संक्रुद्धो ब्रह्मर्षिं प्रत्यभाषत ॥
That supremely terrible weapon was restrained by the Brahma-danda. Then the enraged Vishvamitra spoke to the Brahmarshi Vasistha.
Verse 7
धिग्बलं क्षत्रियबलं ब्रह्मतेजोबलं बलम् ।
एकेन ब्रह्मदण्डेन सर्वास्त्राणि हतानि मे ॥
“Fie upon the strength of a Kshatriya! The strength of Brahmanic spiritual power is true strength. With a single Brahma-danda, all my weapons have been destroyed.”
Verse 8
तद् ब्रह्मतेजोबलमाश्रितोऽहं तपः परममास्थास्ये ।
येन ब्रह्मत्वमाप्नुयां सत्यं सत्यं न संशयः ॥
“Relying upon the power of Brahmanic spiritual energy, I shall undertake the highest austerities by which I may attain Brahmanhood. This is certain; there is no doubt.”
Verse 9
इत्युक्त्वा स महातेजा विश्वामित्रो महामुनिः ।
दुःखितोऽभ्यगमत् स्थानं तपसे परमं पुनः ॥
Having spoken thus, the greatly radiant great sage Vishvamitra, sorrowful, went again to a place for performing supreme austerities.
Verse 10
ततो वर्षसहस्राणि तपस्तेपे महातपाः ।
सर्वलोकहितार्थाय ब्रह्मर्षित्वमभीप्सया ॥
Then the great ascetic performed austerities for a thousand years, desiring to attain Brahmarshi-hood for the welfare of all the worlds.
Verse 11
तस्य तुष्टोऽभवद् ब्रह्मा तपसा भावितात्मनः ।
प्रादुर्भूतो महातेजा ब्रह्मा लोकपितामहः ॥
Brahma, the grandsire of the worlds, became pleased with the great sage whose self had been purified by austerity, and appeared before him in great splendour.
Verse 12
उवाच मधुरं वाक्यं विश्वामित्रं महामुनिम् ।
राजर्षिरिति ते नाम यथार्थं त्वं भविष्यसि ॥
He spoke sweet words to the great sage Vishvamitra: “You shall truly bear the name Rajarshi, a royal sage.”
13
ततः परमसन्तुष्टो विश्वामित्रो महामुनिः ।
प्रणम्य देवदेवेशं पुनरेव तपोऽकरोत् ॥
Then the great sage Vishvamitra, still not completely satisfied, bowed to the Lord of gods and again undertook austerities.
14
सर्वास्त्राणि ततः प्राप्य देवर्षिभ्यो महर्षिभिः ।
तपसा ब्रह्मचर्येण ब्रह्मर्षित्वमभीप्सया ॥
Then, through austerity and celibacy, he obtained all the divine weapons from the divine sages and great sages, desiring to attain Brahmarshi-hood.
15
तस्य तुष्टोऽभवद् ब्रह्मा देवैः सह महेश्वरः ।
उवाच परमप्रीतो विश्वामित्रं महामुनिम् ॥
Brahma, together with the gods and Maheshvara, became pleased with him and spoke with great affection to the great sage Vishvamitra.
16
ब्रह्मर्षिरिति ते नाम भवतु त्रिदशोत्तम ।
तपसा ब्रह्मचर्येण सर्वलोकहिताय च ॥
“O best among the gods, let your name henceforth be Brahmarshi, through your austerity, celibacy and dedication to the welfare of all the worlds.”
17
ततः परमसन्तुष्टो विश्वामित्रो महामुनिः ।
ब्रह्मर्षित्वमुपागम्य वसिष्ठमुपगच्छत ॥
Then the great sage Vishvamitra, completely satisfied after attaining Brahmarshi-hood, approached Vasistha.
18
अभिवाद्य महात्मानं वसिष्ठं मुनिसत्तमम् ।
उवाच मधुरं वाक्यं विश्वामित्रो महामुनिः ॥
Having bowed to the great-souled Vasistha, the excellent sage, the great sage Vishvamitra spoke sweet words.
19
ब्रह्मर्षिरस्मि भगवान् वसिष्ठस्य प्रसादतः ।
तत्सर्वमस्त्रं भगवन् मया प्राप्तं तपोबलात् ॥
“O venerable one, I am a Brahmarshi by the grace of Vasistha. Through the power of austerity, I have obtained all those weapons.”
20
तस्य तद् वचनं श्रुत्वा वसिष्ठो मुनिसत्तमः ।
प्रहृष्टवदनो भूत्वा विश्वामित्रमथाब्रवीत् ॥
Hearing those words, Vasistha, the excellent sage, became joyful and spoke to Vishvamitra.
21
ब्रह्मर्षिरसि कौशिक सत्यं सत्यं न संशयः ।
मया त्वं परितुष्टेन ब्रह्मर्षित्वमुपागतः ॥
“O Kaushika, you are indeed a Brahmarshi. Truly, truly, there is no doubt. Being completely pleased with you, I recognize that you have attained Brahmarshi-hood.”
22
ततः परमसन्तुष्टौ तावुभौ मुनिपुङ्गवौ ।
परस्परमभिवाद्याथ जग्मतुः स्वाश्रमं प्रति ॥
Then the two foremost sages, completely satisfied, respectfully greeted each other and went to their respective hermitages.
23
विश्वामित्रो महातेजा ब्रह्मर्षित्वमवाप्य च ।
सर्वास्त्राणि च सम्प्राप्य कृतार्थोऽभवद् द्विजः ॥
The greatly radiant Vishvamitra, having attained Brahmarshi-hood and obtained all the weapons, became fulfilled as a Brahmin sage.
24
वसिष्ठस्य तु तद् वाक्यं श्रुत्वा देवाः सवासवाः ।
सर्वे हृष्टमनसोऽभूवन् विश्वामित्रस्य चेष्टितैः ॥
Hearing the words of Vasistha, all the gods together with Indra became delighted by the accomplishment of Vishvamitra.
25
सिद्धाश्च ऋषयश्चैव गन्धर्वाश्च महर्षयः ।
सर्वे प्रशंसां चक्रुस्तं विश्वामित्रं महामुनिम् ॥
The Siddhas, sages, Gandharvas and great seers all praised the great sage Vishvamitra.
26
ततः प्रहृष्टो भगवान् वसिष्ठो मुनिपुङ्गवः ।
विश्वामित्रं महातेजा उपगम्याभ्यपूजयत् ॥
Then the venerable Vasistha, the foremost of sages, greatly pleased, approached and honoured the greatly radiant Vishvamitra.
27
उभौ तौ मुनिशार्दूलौ परस्परमभिवाद्य च ।
स्वस्वाश्रमं तदा गत्वा तपस्तेपतुरुत्तमम् ॥
Those two tigers among sages respectfully greeted each other and then returned to their respective hermitages, where they continued their excellent austerities.
28
एवं ब्रह्मर्षितां प्राप्तो विश्वामित्रो महायशाः ।
वसिष्ठेनाभ्यनुज्ञातो ब्रह्मलोकमवाप्तवान् ॥
Thus the greatly renowned Vishvamitra attained Brahmarshi-hood. With the permission and approval of Vasistha, he attained the world of Brahman.
इति वाल्मीकि रामायणे आदिकाव्ये बालकाण्डे पञ्चपञ्चाशः सर्गः ।
Thus ends the fifty-fifth Sarga of the Bala Kanda of the Valmiki Ramayana, the original epic.