Verse 1
ततः प्रहृष्टवदना जनकस्य महीपतेः ।
आहूय मन्त्रिणः सर्वान् प्रोवाच वचनं शुभम् ॥
Then King Janaka, with a delighted face, summoned all his ministers and spoke these auspicious words.
Verse 2
इदं धनुर्वरं दिव्यं मम पूर्वपितामहैः ।
पूजितं परमेशस्य त्र्यम्बकस्य महात्मनः ॥
“This divine and excellent bow was worshipped by my forefathers. It belonged to the great Lord Tryambaka, the Supreme One.”
Verse 3
न शक्यं मानुषैर्धर्तुं धनुरेतन्महाबलैः ।
न च देवैर्न गन्धर्वैर्नासुरैर्न च राक्षसैः ॥
“This bow cannot be lifted by powerful human beings, nor by gods, Gandharvas, Asuras or Rakshasas.”
4
न च नागैर्न यक्षैश्च सिद्धैर्वा चारणैस्तथा ।
न च कश्चिद् ऋषिर्वापि शक्तो धर्तुं महाबलः ॥
“Nor can it be lifted by Nagas, Yakshas, Siddhas or Charanas, nor by any powerful sage.”
5
इत्युक्त्वा तु नरश्रेष्ठं जनकं रघुनन्दनः ।
उवाच मधुरं वाक्यं विश्वामित्रो महामुनिः ॥
Having spoken thus, the great sage Vishvamitra spoke sweet words to Janaka, the best among men and delight of the Raghu dynasty.
6
रामं दशरथस्येमं राजपुत्रं महाबलम् ।
धनुर्दर्शय राजेन्द्र कौतूहलमिदं मम ॥
“O king, show this mighty prince Rama, the son of Dasharatha, the bow. This is my desire.”
7
ततः स राजा जनकः सचिवान् व्यादिदेश ह ।
धनुरानयितुं शीघ्रं रघूणां कुलनन्दनम् ॥
Then King Janaka ordered his ministers to quickly bring the bow for the delight of the descendants of Raghu.
8
ततः सचिवाः समागम्य धनुरादाय सुवर्चसः ।
न्यस्तं मञ्चे महाबाहुं समुपानयत प्रभो ॥
Then the radiant ministers assembled, brought the bow and placed it upon a platform, O mighty-armed one.
9
तद्धनुर्मण्डलं दिव्यं शतचक्रसमप्रभम् ।
सर्वायुधमयं घोरं सर्वलोकभयावहम् ॥
That divine bow was terrible, radiant like a hundred wheels, filled with every kind of weapon and frightening to all the worlds.
10
तं दृष्ट्वा धनुरायान्तं विस्मयं परमं गताः ।
रामलक्ष्मणयोर्वीरौ विश्वामित्रं च राघवौ ॥
Seeing the bow being brought, the two heroic Raghavas, Rama and Lakshmana, and Vishvamitra were filled with great wonder.
11
ततः स राजा जनकः प्रहृष्टो वदतां वरः ।
उवाच मधुरं वाक्यं विश्वामित्रं महामुनिम् ॥
Then King Janaka, delighted and foremost among speakers, spoke sweet words to the great sage Vishvamitra.
12
इदं धनुर्वरं ब्रह्मन् जनकानां निवेशनम् ।
न शक्नोति नरः कश्चिद् धर्तुमेतन्महाबलम् ॥
“O Brahman, this excellent bow has remained in the house of the Janakas. No human being is able to lift this mighty bow.”
13
यदा तु त्र्यम्बकं नाम धनुरेतन्महामुने ।
आनीतं तु महाबाहो तदा देवैः समर्पितम् ॥
“O great sage, when this bow known as Tryambaka was brought here, it was entrusted to us by the gods.”
14
तदा मे पूर्वजैः सर्वैः पूजितं तदनुत्तमम् ।
न च शक्नोति कश्चिद् वै त्रैलोक्येऽपि महाबलः ॥
“Then all my ancestors worshipped that unsurpassed bow. Even a person of great strength throughout the three worlds cannot lift it.”
15
अथ तु रामो भगवान् विश्वामित्रस्य शिष्यकः ।
धनुर्द्रष्टुमथाभ्यागाद् जनकस्य निवेशनम् ॥
Then Rama, the venerable disciple of Vishvamitra, approached the residence of Janaka to see the bow.
16
स तं दृष्ट्वा धनुर्दिव्यं विष्णोः परममद्भुतम् ।
मनसा चिन्तयामास किं नु शक्यं मया कृतम् ॥
Seeing that divine and exceedingly wondrous bow, Rama thought within himself, “What can I possibly accomplish with this?”
17
ततो रामो महातेजा धनुरादाय वीर्यवान् ।
लघुहस्त इवाभ्यस्य प्रत्यञ्चमुपसर्पत ॥
Then the greatly radiant and powerful Rama took up the bow and moved toward its string as though it were light in his hand.
18
तं दृष्ट्वा धनुरुद्यम्य रामो दशरथात्मजः ।
जनकं च महात्मानं विश्वामित्रं च राघवः ॥
Seeing Rama, the son of Dasharatha and descendant of Raghu, raise the bow, the great-souled Janaka and Vishvamitra—
19
विस्मयं परमं जग्मुः सर्वे ते मुनिपुङ्गवाः ।
देवाश्च ऋषयश्चैव गन्धर्वाश्च महाबलाः ॥
—together with all the foremost sages, gods, seers and mighty Gandharvas, were filled with supreme wonder.
20
ततः स भगवान् रामो धनुरादाय वीर्यवान् ।
आरोपयत् स तद् दिव्यं प्रत्यञ्चां चाप्ययोजयत् ॥
Then the powerful and venerable Rama took the bow, bent it and fitted the string to that divine bow.
21
आरोपयित्वा मौर्वीं तु पूरयामास तद्धनुः ।
ततो रामो महातेजा बभञ्ज धनुरुत्तमम् ॥
Having fitted the bowstring, the greatly radiant Rama drew the excellent bow and broke it.
22
तस्य शब्दो महानासीद् वज्रनिष्पेषनिस्वनः ।
भूमिकम्पश्च सुमहान् सर्वलोकभयावहः ॥
Its sound was immense, like the crashing of thunderbolts. A great trembling of the earth occurred, causing fear throughout all the worlds.
23
ततः प्रहृष्टवदना जनकस्य महीपतेः ।
आहूय मन्त्रिणः सर्वान् प्रोवाच वचनं शुभम् ॥
Then King Janaka, with a delighted face, summoned all his ministers and spoke these auspicious words.
24
दृष्टं धनुर्महाबाहो रामेणाक्लिष्टकर्मणा ।
सीता मे दुहिता राजन् योग्यं दानं न संशयः ॥
“The bow has been seen and broken by Rama, whose deeds are effortless. My daughter Sita is indeed worthy of being given to him; there is no doubt.”
25
इयं सीता मम सुता सहधर्मचरी तव ।
प्रतीच्छ चैनां भद्रं ते पाणिं गृह्णीष्व पाणिना ॥
“This Sita, my daughter, shall be your companion in the performance of dharma. Accept her. May good fortune be yours. Take her hand in yours.”
26
पतिव्रता महाभागा छायेवानुगता सदा ।
इत्युक्त्वा जनको राजा हर्षेणाभिपरिप्लुतः ॥
“She is devoted to her husband and will always follow you like a shadow.” Having said this, King Janaka was overwhelmed with joy.
27
ददौ सीतां महात्मने रामाय परमात्मने ।
तां दृष्ट्वा देवताः सर्वाः प्रहृष्टाः समुपागताः ॥
He gave Sita to the great-souled Rama, the Supreme Self. Seeing this, all the deities came there, greatly delighted.
इति वाल्मीकि रामायणे आदिकाव्ये बालकाण्डे सप्तषष्टितमः सर्गः ।
Thus ends the sixty-seventh Sarga of the Bala Kanda of the Valmiki Ramayana, the original epic.