HomeRamayanaBala KandaSarga 55Shloka 1.55.17
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Shloka 1.55.17

कामधेनुसैन्यप्रादुर्भावः — Kamadhenu’s Forces, Visvamitra’s Austerities, and Vasishta’s Wrath

यानि देवेषु चास्त्राणि दानवेषु महर्षिषु।गन्धर्वयक्षरक्षस्सु प्रतिभान्तु ममानघ।।1.55.17।।

yāni deveṣu cāstrāṇi dānaveṣu maharṣiṣu | gandharvayakṣarakṣassu pratibhāntu mamānagha || 1.55.17 ||

“And whatever weapons are known among the gods, dānavas, great seers, gandharvas, yakṣas, and rākṣasas—O blameless one—may they all arise clearly within my understanding.”

O Irreproachable one! whatever weapons are known to devatas, danavas, maharshis, gandharvas, yakshas, rakshasas, be revealed to me.

V
Viśvāmitra
M
Mahādeva (Śiva)
D
Deva
D
Dānava
M
Maharṣi
G
Gandharva
Y
Yakṣa
R
Rākṣasa

The verse raises the dharmic question of how power is held: seeking universal weapon-knowledge implies that moral maturity must match capability, otherwise knowledge becomes a cause of harm.

Viśvāmitra expands his request, asking that all classes of supernatural and human weapon-knowledge become available to him.

Intensity of striving for knowledge; implicitly, the need for self-control to govern such knowledge.