Valmiki Ramayana 1.37.21: Bala Kanda, Sarga 37, Shloka 21
कुमारसम्भवः · गङ्गायां तेजोनिक्षेपः
The Birth of Kumāra/Skanda and the Deposition of Śiva’s Energy through Gaṅgā
Spoken by Viśvāmitra to RamaSetting: A forest-clad mountain in the Himālaya zone connected with Skanda’s origin (implied)
निक्षिप्तमात्रे गर्भे तु तेजोभिरभिरञ्जितम् ।
सर्वं पर्वतसन्नद्धं सौवर्णमभवद्वनम् ॥२१॥
nikṣiptamātre garbhe tu tejobhir abhirañjitam |
sarvaṃ parvata-sannaddhaṃ sauvarṇam abhavad vanam ||21||
जैसे ही वो गर्भ वहाँ रखा गया, उसकी चमक फैल गई। पूरा पहाड़ जिस पर जंगल था, सोना बन गया। देखने में साफ सुनहरा लगने लगा।
Sandhi Notes
- निक्षिप्तमात्रे = निक्षिप्त + मात्रे
- तेजोभिरभिरञ्जितम् = तेजोभिः + अभिरञ्जितम्
- सौवर्णमभवत् = सौवर्णम् + अभवत्।
When the embryo was placed (in Ganga) it spread on all sides of the forest on the mountain. Irradiated with lustre the forest appeared golden.
The teaching
Where divine tejas abides, the environment itself becomes auspicious—outer transformation mirrors inner sanctity.
- Ethical theme
- Auspiciousness (maṅgala) / sacred ecology
For your practice
Supports dhyāna on tejas (inner light) as purifying and beautifying the mind-field.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder)
- Mood
- Radiant, transfigurative, marveling
Themes
- Dharma
- Satya
- Itihasa
- Sacred landscape
- Divine radiance
Brahman/tejas as the illuminator: when consciousness-power ‘touches’ prakṛti, the field appears transfigured—an allegory for inner illumination making the world ‘golden’.
Muṇḍaka’s imagery of luminous knowledge (jyotis) transforming perception; tejas as the principle that makes forms shine.
Deposit of the embryo suffused with tejas causing a golden transformation of the mountain-forest
Skanda Purāṇa: sacred geography where Skanda’s tejas sanctifies landscapes (general parallel); Mahābhārata: Skanda/Kārttikeya birth narratives with miraculous environmental signs (general parallel)
Vedic hiraṇya (gold) symbolism as splendor/tejas (general)
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.37.21–22: ‘Jātarūpa’ naming and all vegetation turning golden
Anuṣṭup (śloka)
Narrative (wonder-struck)
Tāra (high register)
FAQs
Dharma is depicted as a sanctifying force: contact with divine purpose “ennobles” the environment, suggesting that righteous power uplifts not only persons but also places.
The story describes the immediate effect of the embryo’s placement—its radiance transforms the surrounding mountain-forest into a golden-looking landscape.
The implied virtue is tejas governed by order—radiant power that manifests constructively rather than destructively.
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