Canto 1 - Boyhood
Bāla-kāṇḍa
Chapter 15: The Demigods Appeal to the Lord for Protection
Text 1.15.1
मेधावी तु ततो ध्यात्वा स किञ्चिदिदमुत्तरम्।
लब्धसंज्ञस्ततस्तं तु वेदज्ञो नृपमब्रवीत्॥
medhāvī tu tato dhyātvā sa kiñcid idam uttaram
labdha-saṁjñas tatas taṁ tu veda-jño nṛpam abravīt
medhāvī tu = Ṛśyaśṛṅga of retentive intelligence; tataḥ = then; dhyātvā = and thought; saḥ = that; kiñcit = for a moment thought; idam = as follows; uttaram = in reply; labdha-saṁjñaḥ tataḥ = remembered; tam tu = to the; vedajñaḥ = a knower of the Atharva Veda; nṛpam = king; abravīt = spoke and.
Then, that Ṛśyaśṛṅga of retentive intelligence, a knower of the Atharva Veda, thought for a moment, remembered and replied to the king as follows.
Using Daśaratha’s worship as a pretext, the Supreme Personality of Godhead desired to incarnate on earth in order to protect His saintly devotees. Incidentally, the demigods humbly prayed to Him to destroy the miscreants. This is described in the fifteenth chapter.
Ṛśyaśṛṅga thought for a moment, “Which ritual is appropriate for this purpose?” Then, due to his retentive intelligence, at the very next moment, he remembered which ritual he had to perform.