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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.65.13

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

1.65.13

tad etad devadevasya dhanūratnaṃ mahātmanaḥ
nyāsabhūtaṃ tadā nyastam asmākaṃ pūrvake vibho

This is that jewel of a bow of the great god of gods; it was then deposited as a trust with our ancestor, O lord.

Words: tad etad — this very; devadevasya — of the god of gods; dhanūratnaṃ — the jewel of a bow; mahātmanaḥ — the great-souled; nyāsabhūtaṃ — being a trust; tadā — then; nyastam — deposited; asmākaṃ — our; pūrvake — with the ancestor, forefather; vibho — O lord

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.