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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.65.11

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 65: Story of Sītā & Śiva’s bow: Birth, suitors and Janaka’s condition. Janaka recounts Sītā’s birth, Śiva’s bow and the suitors’ failure, offering her hand to Rāma if he can string it

In the sequence: Janaka explains its history: Rudra raised it during the destruction of Dakṣa's sacrifice, threatening the Suras for withholding his share → when they appeased him, he gave it to them → it was later entrusted to Janaka's ancestor Devarāta, sixth from Nimi. Janaka recounts finding Sītā while ploughing a field

1.65.11

tato vimanasaḥ sarve devā vai munipuṃgava
prasādayanti deveśaṃ teṣāṃ prīto 'bhavad bhavaḥ

Then all the gods, dejected, O bull among sages, propitiated the lord of gods (Śiva); and Bhava (Śiva) became pleased with them.

Words: tato — then; vimanasaḥ — dejected, downcast; sarve — all; devā — the gods; vai — indeed; munipuṃgava — O bull among sages; prasādayanti — propitiate; deveśaṃ — the lord of gods; teṣāṃ — with them; prīto — pleased; 'bhavad — became; bhavaḥ — Bhava (Śiva)

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki, the ādikavi of the ādikāvya: the first poet of the first poem. 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.