← 1.74.27 · Bāla Kāṇḍa 74: Paraśurāma: The two divine bows and the challenge

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.74.28

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.

1.74.28

yojayasva dhanuḥ śreṣṭhe śaraṃ parapuraṃjayam
yadi śaknoṣi kākutstha dvandvaṃ dāsyāmi te tataḥ

Fit to this excellent bow the enemy-conquering arrow; if you are able, O Kākutstha, I shall then grant you single combat.

Words: yojayasva — fit, join, set; dhanuḥ śreṣṭhe — to the excellent bow (loc.); śaraṃ — the arrow; parapuraṃjayam — the conqueror of enemy cities; yadi — if; śaknoṣi — you are able; kākutstha — O Kākutstha; dvandvaṃ — single combat, a duel; dāsyāmi — I shall grant; te — to you; tataḥ — 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.