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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.65.9

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

1.65.9

dakṣayajñavadhe pūrvaṃ dhanur āyamya vīryavān
rudras tu tridaśān roṣāt salilam idam abravīt

Of old, at the destruction of Dakṣa's sacrifice, the mighty Rudra, bending this bow, spoke this to the gods in anger, mockingly:

Words: dakṣayajñavadhe — at the destruction of Dakṣa's sacrifice; pūrvaṃ — of old, formerly; dhanur — the bow; āyamya — having bent, drawn; vīryavān — the mighty one; rudras — Rudra; tu — and; tridaśān — to the gods (the thirty); roṣāt — out of anger; salilam — mockingly, in sport (=salīlam); idam — this; abravīt — said

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.