← 1.65.6 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 65: Story of Sītā & Śiva’s bow: Birth, suitors and Janaka’s condition · 1.65.8 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.65.7
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
1.65.7
evam uktas tu janakaḥ pratyuvāca mahāmunim
śrūyatām asya dhanuṣo yad artham iha tiṣṭhati
Thus addressed, Janaka replied to the great sage: “Let it be heard for what purpose this bow abides here.
Words: evam uktas — thus addressed; tu — and; janakaḥ — Janaka; pratyuvāca — replied; mahāmunim — to the great sage; śrūyatām — let it be heard; asya dhanuṣo — of this bow; yad artham — for what purpose; iha — here; tiṣṭhati — abides, stands
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.