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{{short description|Part of Ramayana describing Rama's childhood}}
{{Infobox religious text
| image = Vishwamitra.jpg
| caption = Vishwamitra asking Dasharatha for Help and
| religion = [[Hinduism]]
| language = [[Sanskrit]]
}}
{{Hinduism}}

'''''Bala Kanda''''' ({{lang-sa|बालकाण्ड}}; [[IAST]]: {{IAST|bālakāṇḍa}}', {{lit|Incident of childhood}}) is the first book of the [[Valmiki]] ''[[Ramayana]]'', which is one of the two great epics of [[India]] (the other being the ''[[Mahabharata]]''). There has been debate as to whether ''Bala Kanda'' was composed by the original author Valmiki or a later addition.{{efn|This fact is reaffirmed by the absence of BalaKānda in the oldest available manuscript.<ref name="Dasa Griba Rakshash Charitram Vadha">{{cite news|last1=Mukherjee Pandey|first1=Jhimli|title=6th-century Ramayana found in Kolkata, stuns scholars|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/6th-century-Ramayana-found-in-Kolkata-stuns-scholars/articleshow/50227724.cms|access-date=20 December 2015|agency=TNN|newspaper=timesofindia.indiatimes.com|date=18 Dec 2015  }}</ref>}}

==Structure==

The book consists of seventy-six ''sargas'' (sometimes translated as ''chapters'' or "cantos") of Sanskrit verse.

==Bāla Kānda==

The Bāla Kānda begins with the [[ascetic]] Valmiki questioning the famous sage [[Narada]] if there is any man who is truly virtuous. Narada replies that there is such a man and that his name is [[Rama]]. He then goes on to briefly describe Rama's physical characteristics and to briefly summarize the story of the Ramayana. (Sarga [http://www.valmikiramayan.net/utf8/baala/sarga1/bala_1_frame.htm 1]) Next, the book describes how Valmiki wrote the Ramayana and taught it to Lava and Kusha (Sargas [http://www.valmikiramayan.net/utf8/baala/sarga2/bala_2_frame.htm 2], [http://www.valmikiramayan.net/utf8/baala/sarga3/bala_3_frame.htm 3] and [http://www.valmikiramayan.net/utf8/baala/sarga4/bala_4_frame.htm 4]) who soon enough launch into the full story:

{{cquote|The glorious [[Dasharatha]], king of the equally glorious [[Ayodhya]], cannot conceive a son with his three wives [[Kaushalya]], [[Kaikeyi]] or [[Sumitra]]. His minister and Guru Sage [[Vasishta]] advises him of a solution: ask the sage [[Rishyasringa]] to perform a son-getting ceremony. (Sargas [http://www.valmikiramayan.net/bala/sarga6/bala_6_frame.htm 6], [http://www.valmikiramayan.net/bala/sarga7/bala_7_frame.htm 7], [http://www.valmikiramayan.net/bala/sarga8/bala_8_frame.htm 8] and [http://www.valmikiramayan.net/bala/sarga9/bala_9_frame.htm 9])
}}

The king gets [[Rishyasringa]] (Sarga [http://www.valmikiramayan.net/bala/sarga11/bala_11_frame.htm 11]), who performs the ceremony. The ceremony goes off very gloriously and well.(Sargas [http://www.valmikiramayan.net/bala/sarga12/bala_12_frame.htm 12],[http://www.valmikiramayan.net/bala/sarga13/bala_13_frame.htm 13] and [http://www.valmikiramayan.net/bala/sarga14/bala_14_frame.htm 14])

Meanwhile, the gods are having a problem. The [[Rakshasa]] (demon) known as [[Ravana]] was causing a huge problem because, due to a boon he had received from [[Brahma]], he was invincible to gods, [[Nāga|celestial snakes]] and devils. The gods ask [[Narayana]] ([[Vishnu]]) what to do and he decides to incarnate himself on earth as a man - when Ravana had asked for his boon, the foolish demon had forgotten to mention protection from men. Vishnu thereupon incarnates himself as celestial porridge and has himself handed to Dasharatha by a red coloured being who appeared out of Rishyasringa's sacrificial fire. The being (usually taken to be [[Agni]], the god of Fire) tells Dasharatha to give the porridge to his wives. Dasharatha gives the porridge to his three queens and they give birth to four sons between the three of them: Queen Kaushalya gives birth to baby Rama, Queen Kaikeyi gives birth to baby [[Bharata (Ramayana)|Bharata]] and Queen Sumitra gives birth to twins: baby [[Shatrughna]] and baby [[Lakshmana]].

The book details the miraculous birth of Rama and his brothers Lakshmana, Bharata and Shatrughna, their early life in [[Ayodhya]] and education with Rishi Vasishtha. Also included are Rama's slaying of the demoness [[Tataka]] of the forest, his slaying of the demon [[Subahu]] and his hordes who defile the yajnas of [[Vishvamitra]], his deliverance of [[Ahalya]] and his wedding with [[Sita]].
[[File:Four Sons of Dasaratha.jpg|thumb|Pictorial depiction of the birth of the four sons of [[Dasharatha]].]]

==Natal Chart Of Rama==

One of important pieces of information in this book is the [[Natal chart]] of Rama, which is embedded in the Chapter (Sarga) 18, Verse 8 to 11:

{{cquote|"ततो यज्ञे समाप्ते तु ऋतूनाम् षट् समत्ययुः । 
ततः च द्वादशे मासे चैत्रे नावमिके तिथौ ॥१-१८-८॥ 
नक्क्षत्रे अदिति दैवत्ये स्व उच्छ संस्थेषु पंचसु । 
ग्रहेषु कर्कटे लग्ने वाक्पता इंदुना सह ॥१-१८-९॥ 
प्रोद्यमाने जगन्नाथम् सर्व लोक नमस्कृतम् । 
कौसल्या अजनयत् रामम् सर्व लक्षण संयुतम् ॥१-१८-१०॥ 
विष्णोः अर्धम् महाभागम् पुत्रम् ऐक्ष्वाकु नंदनम् । 
लोहिताक्षम् महाबाहुम् रक्त ओष्टम् दुंदुभि स्वनम् ॥१-१८-११॥

On completion of the ritual six seasons have passed by and then in the twelfth month, on the ninth day of [[Chaitra]] month [April–May,] when the presiding deity of ruling star of the day is Aditi, where the ruling star of day is [[Punarvasu]] ([[Nakshatra]]), the asterism is in the ascendant and when five of the nine planets viz., Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Venus are at their highest position, when Jupiter with Moon is [[ascendant]] in Cancer and when day is advancing, then Queen [[Kausalya]] gave birth to a son with all the divine attributes like lotus-red eyes, lengthy arms, roseate lips, voice like drumbeat and who took birth to delight the [[Ikshwaku]] dynasty, who is adored by all the worlds and who is the greatly blessed epitome of [[Vishnu]], namely Rama. — ''Book I : Bala Kanda, Ramayana by Valmiki, Chapter (Sarga) 18, Verse 8, 9, 10 and 11''|30px|30px
}}

This day is celebrated as [[Ramanavami]] festival throughout India.

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==

{{wikisource|Ramayana}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081210202240/http://wikisource.org/wiki/%E0%A4%AC%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B2%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A3%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A1 Baal Kaand (बालकाण्ड) रामायण] at [[WikiSource]].
* [http://www.valmikiramayan.net/bala/sarga1/bala_1_frame.htm E-text of Baal Kaand]

{{Ramayana}}

[[Category:Ramayana]]

Balakanda - Revision history

>SilkTork at 11:28, 3 July 2021