Sacred Learning
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Bāla-kāṇḍa 1.1 (vulgate)
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Bāla-kāṇḍa 1.1 (vulgate)
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Bāla-kāṇḍa 1.1 (vulgate)
Canonical source text
तपःस्वाध्यायनिरतं तपस्वी वाग्विदां वरम् । नारदं परिपप्रच्छ वाल्मीकिर्मुनिपुङ्गवम् ॥
IAST transliteration
tapaḥsvādhyāyanirataṃ tapasvī vāgvidāṃ varam | nāradaṃ paripapraccha vālmīkir munipuṅgavam ||
Close translation
The ascetic Vālmīki asked Nārada, best of speakers, a bull among sages, who is devoted to tapas and study.
Reader-friendly meaning
The poem begins as a question from a sage to a sage. The Baroda Critical Edition may number this opening differently; this card uses the vulgate 1.1.
Meenananda editorial explanation
Before Rāma’s story is sung, a seeker asks. That is how this Ashram also begins: with a question brought to a living teacher.
Word meanings
- वाल्मीकिः — Vālmīki
- नारदम् — Nārada
- परिपप्रच्छ — asked fully
Vulgate Bāla-kāṇḍa 1.1 (tapaḥsvādhyāyanirataṃ…). Baroda CE numbering is not silently substituted. Sanskrit: public domain. Foundation translations: CC BY-SA 4.0.