HomeRamayanaBala KandaSarga 59Shloka 18
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Ramayana — Bala Kanda, Sarga 59, Shloka 18

विश्वामित्रस्य शरणागति-प्रशंसा तथा वासिष्ठपुत्र-शापः

Visvamitra grants refuge; the curse upon Vasishta’s sons

अद्य ते कालपाशेन नीता वैवस्वतक्षयम्।सप्तजातिशतान्येव मृतपस्सन्तु सर्वश:।।1.59.18।।

adya te kāla-pāśena nītā vaivasvata-kṣayam | sapta-jāti-śatāny eva mṛta-pāḥ santu sarvaśaḥ || 1.59.18 ||

आज तुम काल के पाश से बँधकर वैवस्वत (यम) के धाम को ले जाए जाओ। और सात सौ जन्मों तक तुम सब प्रकार से मरे हुए का भक्षण करने वाले बनो।

adyatoday
adya:
Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootadya (अव्यय)
FormKāla-avyaya (Temporal adverb/कालवाचक)
tethey
te:
Karta (कर्ता/Subject of santu; also of nītāḥ in passive sense)
TypeNoun
Roottad (प्रातिपदिक)
FormPuṃliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana; sarvanāma
kāla-pāśenaby the noose of Death/Time
kāla-pāśena:
Karaṇa (करण/Instrument)
TypeNoun
Rootkāla (प्रातिपदिक) + pāśa (प्रातिपदिक)
FormTatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष; kālasya pāśaḥ), Puṃliṅga, Tṛtīyā (Instrumental), Ekavacana
nītāḥled/brought
nītāḥ:
Karta (कर्ता/Subject complement; ‘having been led’)
TypeVerb
Rootnī (नी धातु)
FormKta (क्त) past passive participle, Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana; karmavācya (passive)
vaivasvata-kṣayamto Yama’s abode
vaivasvata-kṣayam:
Karma (कर्म/Goal with nītāḥ)
TypeNoun
Rootvaivasvata (प्रातिपदिक) + kṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)
FormTatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष; vaivasvatasya kṣayaḥ = Yama’s abode), Puṃliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana
sapta-jāti-śatāniseven hundred births
sapta-jāti-śatāni:
Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण/Extent: ‘for seven hundred births’)
TypeNoun
Rootsapta (प्रातिपदिक) + jāti (प्रातिपदिक) + śata (प्रातिपदिक)
FormDvigu-samāsa (द्विगु; numerical compound), Napuṃsakaliṅga, Prathamā/Dvitīyā, Bahuvacana (here as measure/extent)
evaindeed/only
eva:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Emphasis)
TypeIndeclinable
Rooteva (अव्यय)
FormAvadhāraṇa-avyaya (Emphatic particle/अवधारण)
mṛta-paḥcorpse-eaters
mṛta-paḥ:
Karta (कर्ता/Predicate noun with santu)
TypeNoun
Rootmṛta (प्रातिपदिक) + pa (पा/प धातु-निष्पन्न प्रातिपदिक)
FormTatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष; mṛtān pāti/‘feeds on the dead’), Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana (collective sense with te)
santulet them be
santu:
Kriyā (क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Rootas (अस् धातु)
FormLoṭ-lakāra (Imperative/लोट्; benedictive/command sense), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd), Bahuvacana, Parasmaipada
sarvaśaḥin every way/entirely
sarvaśaḥ:
Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootsarvaśas (अव्यय)
FormPrakāra-avyaya (Manner adverb/प्रकारवाचक)

Reborn as the merciless race of mushtikas, feeding on the flesh of dogs, hideous and deformed, they shall wander in these worlds.

K
Kāla (Death/Time)
V
Vaivasvata (Yama)
V
Vasiṣṭha’s sons

FAQs

Actions and speech generate consequences (karma); the verse also cautions that punitive power, when driven by anger, risks becoming ethically excessive.

Viśvāmitra utters a curse specifying death and prolonged degraded rebirths for the offenders.

The narrative highlights the fearful efficacy of ascetic speech (vāg-bala), indirectly teaching that such power should be governed by dharma.