Valmiki Ramayana 1.9.3: Bala Kanda, Sarga 9, Shloka 3
ऋश्यशृङ्गानयनकथा · The Account of Bringing Ṛśyaśṛṅga
and the Remedy for Drought
Addressed to King Daśaratha
काश्यपस्यतु पुत्रोऽस्ति विभण्डक इति श्रुतः ।
ऋष्यशृङ्ग इति ख्यातस्तस्य पुत्रो भविष्यति ॥३॥
kāśyapasya tu putro 'sti vibhaṇḍaka iti śrutaḥ |
ṛṣyaśṛṅga iti khyātas tasya putro bhaviṣyati ||3||
कश्यप का बेटा है विभंडक। उसका बेटा होगा रिश्यशृंग। यह सब सुनने में आया है।
Sandhi Notes
- putro'sti → putraḥ asti
- khyātastasya → khyātaḥ tasya
Kasyapa has a famous son named Vibhandaka. It was prophesied that he would have a son named Rsyasringa.
The teaching
Spiritual potency and narrative authority are grounded in lineage; the story legitimizes Ṛṣyaśṛṅga’s later efficacy by establishing his ṛṣi-paramparā.
- Ethical theme
- Paramparā / āśrama-dharma
For your practice
Contemplate the role of lineage and disciplined transmission in preserving spiritual power; honor teachers and forebears.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder), with Shanta (peace)
- Mood
- Genealogical, fateful, measured
Themes
- Itihasa
- Lineage
- Satya
- Prophecy
- Dharma
The emphasis on ‘name’ and ‘fame’ points to nāma-rūpa as the manifest layer through which deeper being operates.
Genealogical anchoring resembles Upaniṣadic gotra/pravara consciousness that situates spiritual authority in lineage.
- Kashyapa and Vibhandaka
- Father–son (genealogical lineage) (neutral, reverent)
- Vibhandaka and Rishyasringa
- Father–son; prophecy of birth and fame (protective, pride, implied)
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.9 (Ṛṣyaśṛṅga’s parentage and fame); Purāṇic genealogies of Kāśyapa’s line (broad parallel motif)
Vedic/Brāhmaṇa concern with gotra and pravara as markers of ritual authority
Sets up Ṛṣyaśṛṅga’s role in rain-making and royal rites later in the episode.
Anuṣṭup (śloka)
Narrative
Madhyama (middle register)
FAQs
Dharma is sustained through righteous lineages and truthful remembrance of ancestral traditions; the verse frames sacred genealogy as meaningful, not merely biographical.
The story introduces Ṛśyaśṛṅga by placing him within a revered sage-line (Kāśyapa → Vibhaṇḍaka → Ṛśyaśṛṅga).
The implied virtue is Ṛśyaśṛṅga’s destined spiritual stature—his fame arises from ascetic merit and recognized sanctity.
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