← 1.30.7 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 30: Departure for Mithilā and the camp beside the Śoṇā · 1.30.9 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.30.8

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 30: Departure for Mithilā and the camp beside the Śoṇā. The ṛṣis invite the princes to Janaka’s sacrifice and the bow no suitor has strung, a camp beside the Śoṇā prompts the region’s history

In the sequence: they explain that neither Devas, gandharvas, asuras and rākṣasas nor the Kings who tested it could string it → the maharṣis say Janaka obtained it from the Devas as a sacrificial reward

1.30.8

tad dhi pūrvaṃ naraśreṣṭha dattaṃ sadasi daivataiḥ
aprameyabalaṃ ghoraṃ makhe paramabhāsvaram

For that bow, O best of men, was given long ago by the gods in the assembly, at a sacrifice — of immeasurable power, terrible, exceedingly radiant.

Words: tad — that; dhi — for, indeed; pūrvaṃ — formerly, long ago; naraśreṣṭha — O best of men; dattaṃ — given; sadasi — in the assembly; daivataiḥ — by the gods; aprameyabalaṃ — of immeasurable power; ghoraṃ — terrible; makhe — at the sacrifice; paramabhāsvaram — exceedingly radiant

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. Sanskrit: The Vālmīki-Rāmāyaṇa: Critical Edition, Oriental Institute, Baroda, 1960–1975 (gen. eds. G. H. Bhatt, U. P. Shah); IAST from GRETIL (Göttingen). Translation and word glosses: Claude Opus 4.6–4.7; summaries and sequences: ChatGPT Astra (machine-made). Numbering follows the Critical Edition, not the vulgate (e.g. Gita Press, valmikiramayan.net), so sarga and verse numbers can differ from those editions.