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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.66.23

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: the crack sounds like thunder and the earth shakes → everyone falls stunned except Viśvāmitra, Janaka, Rāma, and Lakṣmaṇa. When the gathering recovers, Janaka declares that this extraordinary feat has fulfilled his vow and that Sītā will marry Rāma

1.66.23

mama satyā pratijñā ca vīryaśulketi kauśika
sītā prāṇair bahumatā deyā rāmāya me sutā

And my vow, O Kauśika, that valor is the bride-price, has come true; Sītā, my daughter, dearer to me than life, is to be given to Rāma.

Words: mama — my; satyā — true; pratijñā — vow, promise; ca — and; vīryaśulketi — '(that) valor is the bride-price'; kauśika — O Kauśika; sītā — Sītā; prāṇair — than (my) life-breaths; bahumatā — highly esteemed, dearer; deyā — to be given; rāmāya — to Rāma; me — my; sutā — daughter

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.