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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.66.8

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

1.66.8

idaṃ dhanurvaraṃ brahmañ janakair abhipūjitam
rājabhiś ca mahāvīryair aśakyaṃ pūrituṃ tadā

“This excellent bow, O brahmin, worshipped by the Janakas and by kings of great valor, was then impossible to draw.

Words: idaṃ — this; dhanurvaraṃ — excellent bow; brahmañ — O brahmin; janakair — by the Janakas; abhipūjitam — worshipped, honored; rājabhiś ca — and by kings; mahāvīryair — of great valor; aśakyaṃ — impossible; pūrituṃ — to draw, to bend (and string); tadā — then

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.