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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.66.10

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 66: Rāma breaks Śiva’s bow: Janaka confirms the marriage. Rāma lifts, strings and breaks the bow, Janaka declares his marriage condition fulfilled and sends envoys to seek Daśaratha’s consent

In the sequence: Janaka repeats that Suras, asuras, rākṣasas, gandharvas, yakṣas, kiṃnaras and mahoragas could not draw it, much less ordinary men lift or string it

1.66.10

kva gatir mānuṣāṇāṃ ca dhanuṣo 'sya prapūraṇe
āropaṇe samāyoge vepane tolane 'pi vā

How then could there be any recourse for men in the drawing of this bow — in stringing it, in fitting (an arrow), in flexing it, or even in lifting it?

Words: kva — where, how; gatir — recourse, means; mānuṣāṇāṃ — of men; ca — and; dhanuṣo — of the bow; 'sya — this; prapūraṇe — in the drawing, bending; āropaṇe — in stringing; samāyoge — in fitting (an arrow), joining; vepane — in flexing, making tremble; tolane — in lifting; 'pi vā — or even

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.