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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.74.27

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 74: Paraśurāma: The two divine bows and the challenge. Paraśurāma ignores Daśaratha’s plea, recounts the rival divine bows and his vengeance, and challenges Rāma to string Viṣṇu’s bow

In the sequence: while living on Mahendra he heard of Rāma's feat and came → he again demands that Rāma take up Viṣṇu's bow, fit the arrow, and prove himself.

1.74.27

tad idaṃ vaiṣṇavaṃ rāma pitṛpaitāmahaṃ mahat
kṣatradharmaṃ puraskṛtya gṛhṇīṣva dhanuruttamam

So take up this great bow of Viṣṇu, O Rāma, handed down from my father and forefathers; setting the warrior's duty foremost, grasp this excellent bow.

Words: tad idaṃ — this here; vaiṣṇavaṃ — of Viṣṇu; rāma — O Rāma; pitṛpaitāmahaṃ — (handed down) from father and grandfather; mahat — great; kṣatradharmaṃ — the warrior's duty; puraskṛtya — setting foremost, honouring; gṛhṇīṣva — take, grasp; dhanuruttamam — the excellent bow

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.