बालकांड
त्रयोविंश सर्गः

प्रभातायां तु शर्वर्यां विश्वामित्रो महामुनिः ।
अभ्यभाषत काकुत्स्थौ शयानौ पर्णसंस्तरे ।।

In the early morning hours sage Viswamitra spoke to the two scions of Kakutstha line sleeping on that bed made of straw.

कौसल्या सुप्रजाराम पूर्वा संध्या प्रवर्तते ।
उत्तिष्ठ नरशार्दूल कर्तव्यं दैवमाह्निकम् ॥

'Oh Rama ! The blessed son of Kausalya, the morning twilight has set in. Oh Tiger among men ! Please get up to perform the daily rituals.'

तस्यर्षेः परमोदारं वचः श्रुत्वा नृपात्मजौ ।
स्नात्वा कृतोदकौ वीरौ जेपतुः परमं जपम् ॥
कृताह्निकौ महावीर्यौ विश्वामित्रं तपोधनम् ।
अभिवाद्यसंहृष्ठौ गमनायाभितस्थतुः ॥

Hearing those gentle words of the sage, the two heroes performed the ablutions. Thereafter having offered ritual waters they proceeded to meditate on the most sacred meditations. Thus having performed the daily rituals and offering obeisance to the sage Viswamitra , the two princes were ready to proceed further.

तौ प्रयातौ महावीर्यौ दिव्यां त्रिपथगां नदीम्।
ददृशाते ततस्तत्र सरय्वाः संगमे शुभे ॥
तत्राश्रम पदं पुण्यं ऋषीणामग्र्यतेजसाम् ।
बहुवर्षसहस्राणि तप्यतां परमं तपः ॥

Thus on the move the two valiant princes came to the point of confluece of the rivers Ganges and Sarayu . There they saw a hermitage. For thousands of years great Rishis were performing arduous penance in that hermitage.

तं दृष्ट्वा परमप्रीतौ राघवौ पुण्यमाश्रमम् ।
ऊचतुस्तं महात्मानं विश्वामित्रं इदं वचः ॥
कस्यायामाश्रमः पुण्यः कोन्वस्मिन् वसते पुमान् ।
भगवन् श्रोतुमिच्छावः परं कौतूहलं हि नौ ॥
तयोस्तद्वचनं श्रुत्वा प्रहस्य मुनिपुंगवः ।
अब्रवीच्छ्रूयतां राम यस्यायं पूर्व आश्रमः ॥

Seeing that hermitage the princes addressed the sage Viswamitra of noble mind. ' Oh Bhagavan ! Whose holy hermitage is this ? Who was that great person living here ? We are curious to hear about this'. Hearing their enquiries the sage with a smile replied .'Oh Rama! I will tell you the story of this hermitage , please listen'.

कंदर्पो मूर्तिमानासीत् काम इत्युच्यते बुधैः ।
तपस्यंतमिहस्थाणुं नियमेन समाहितम् ॥
कृतोद्वाहं तु देवेशं गच्छंतं समरुद्गणम् ।
धर्षयामास स दुर्मेधा हुंकृतश्छ महात्मना ॥
अवदग्धस्य रौद्रेण चक्षुसा रघुनंदना ।
व्यशीर्यंत शरीरात् स्वात् सर्वगात्राणि दुर्मतेः ॥

'Once there was a person by name 'Kandarpa' of beautiful form, who is other wise called as 'Kama' by the wise. Once the supreme Lord Siva himself was performing penance here and was in deep meditation. The evil minded 'Kama' disturbed his penance. Then the supreme Lord snubbed him with a roar. Oh Raghunandana ! The limbs of the evil minded 'Kama' were destroyed in a trice by the angry look of the supreme Lord'.

तस्य गात्रं हतं तत्र निर्दग्धस्य महात्मना ।
अशरीरं कृतः कामः क्रोधाद्देवेश्वरेण हि ॥
अनंग इति विख्यातः तदा प्रभृति राघव ।
स चांगविषयः श्रीमान् यंत्रांगं प्रमुमोच ह ॥
तस्यायमाश्रमः पुण्यः तस्यमे मुनयः पुरा ।
शिष्या धर्म परा नित्यं तेषां पापं न विद्यते ॥

'Thus with his limbs and body being burnt in the fire of anger , 'Kama' became one without limbs or body . From that time he is known as 'Ananga" the one without limbs. The rich lands of that place are known as the land of 'Anga'. Because Lord Siva performed penance here this hermitage is considered holy. The hermits here are all his disciples and no sin is attached to them'.

इहाद्य रजनीं राम वसेम शुभदर्शन ।
पुण्ययोः सरितोर्मद्ये श्वस्तरिष्यामहे वयम् ॥
अभिगच्छामहे सर्वे शुचयः पुण्यमाश्रमम् ।
स्नाताश्च कृतजप्याश्च हुतहव्या नरोत्तम ॥

'Oh Rama we will spend the night here in between the two holy rivers. Let us complete our bath as well as all other purificatory rituals and then enter the holy hermitage'.

तेषां संवदतां तत्र तपोदीर्घेणचक्षुसा ।
विज्ञाय परमप्रीता मुनयो हर्षमागमन् ॥
अर्घ्यां पाद्यं तथातिथ्यं निवेद्य कुशिकात्मजे ।
रामलक्ष्मणयोः पश्चात् अकुर्वन्नतिथिक्रियाम् ॥
सत्कारं समनुप्राप्य कथाभिरभिरंजयन् ।
यथार्ह मजपन् संध्यां ऋषयस्ते समाहिताः ॥

Even as they were talking thus, the Rishis of that hermitage having known of their arrival because of the power of their penance , came there with delight. Those sages offered the ritual welcome by offering ritual waters. There after they extended their welcome to Rama and Lakshmana too. Having received due attention from Viswamitra the sages regaled them with stories.

तत्र वासिभिरानीता मुनिभि स्सुव्रतैः सह ।
न्यवसन् सुसुखं तत्र कामाश्रम पदे तदा ॥

Taken in by the hospitality of the people as well as those holy sages living on vows, Viswamitra along with Rama and Lakshmana spent the night in the hermitage known by name 'Kama'.

कथाभि रभिरामाभिः अभिरामौ नृपात्मजौ ।
रमयामास धर्मात्मा कौशिको पुनिपुंगवः ||

Then the pious Viswamitra regaled the charmimg princes Rama and Lakshmana with enchanting stories.

इत्यार्षे श्रीमद्रामायने वाल्मीकीये आदिकाव्ये
बालकांडे त्रयोविंश स्सर्गः॥
समाप्तं ॥

Thus ends chapter twenty three of Balakanda in Valmiki Ramayana
|| om tat sat ||

|| om tat sat ||