# Bāla Kāṇḍa 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* Portion: The encounter with Paraśurāma · Verses: 28 · Ref format: 1.74. ## Sequence - Paraśurāma says he has heard of Rāma's extraordinary breaking of the bow and has brought another → he challenges Rāma to draw it with an arrow, after which he will offer single combat (74.1–4) - Daśaratha begs him to spare his sons, reminding him that he had laid down arms, given the earth to Kaśyapa, and retired to Mahendra → he says none of the family can live if Rāma is killed (74.5–9) - ignoring the appeal, Paraśurāma speaks to Rāma alone (74.10). - He explains that Viśvakarman made two great divine bows, one for Śiva and the other for Viṣṇu (74.11–13) - in an earlier contest, Brahmā set the two Devas against each other to test their strength → Viṣṇu’s “huṃ” sound rendered Śiva motionless and slackened his bow → the Devas restored peace and judged Viṣṇu the stronger (74.14–19) - Śiva entrusted his bow to Devarāta → Viṣṇu entrusted the other to Ṛcīka, who passed it to Jamadagni, Paraśurāma's father (74.20–22) - Paraśurāma recounts that Arjuna brought about the death of his father after he had laid down his weapons → in vengeance he repeatedly destroyed the kṣatriyas, conquered the earth, and gave it to Kaśyapa as a sacrificial fee (74.23–25) - 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 (74.26–28). ## Verses **1.74.1** rāma dāśarathe vīra vīryaṃ te śrūyate 'dhutam dhanuṣo bhedanaṃ caiva nikhilena mayā śrutam “O heroic Rāma, son of Daśaratha, your valour is heard to be wondrous, and the breaking of the bow too I have heard of in full. **1.74.2** tad adbhutam acintyaṃ ca bhedanaṃ dhanuṣas tvayā tac chrutvāham anuprāpto dhanur gṛhyāparaṃ śubham That breaking of the bow by you was wondrous and inconceivable; hearing of it I have come, taking up another fine bow. **1.74.3** tad idaṃ ghorasaṃkāśaṃ jāmadagnyaṃ mahad dhanuḥ pūrayasva śareṇaiva svabalaṃ darśayasva ca This great bow of Jamadagni's line, of fearsome aspect — draw it to the full with an arrow, and display your strength. **1.74.4** tad ahaṃ te balaṃ dṛṣṭvā dhanuṣo 'sya prapūraṇe dvandvayuddhaṃ pradāsyāmi vīryaślāghyam idaṃ tava Then, having seen your strength in the drawing of this bow, I shall grant you single combat — a thing praiseworthy for your valour. **1.74.5** tasya tadvacanaṃ śrutvā rājā daśarataḥs tadā viṣaṇṇavadano dīnaḥ prāñjalir vākyam abravīt Hearing that speech of his, King Daśaratha then, his face fallen and himself wretched, with palms joined, spoke these words: **1.74.6** kṣatraroṣāt praśāntas tvaṃ brāhmaṇasya mahāyaśāḥ bālānāṃ mama putrāṇām abhayaṃ dātum arhasi “O greatly renowned one, you, being a brahmin, have been appeased of your wrath against the warrior-race; you ought to grant safety to my young sons. **1.74.7** bhārgavāṇāṃ kule jātaḥ svādhyāyavrataśālinām sahasrākṣe pratijñāya śastraṃ nikṣiptavān asi Born in the line of the Bhārgavas, devoted to Vedic study and vows, you laid down your weapons, having so promised to the thousand-eyed (Indra). **1.74.8** sa tvaṃ dharmaparo bhūtvā kāśyapāya vasuṃdharām dattvā vanam upāgamya mahendrakṛtaketanaḥ You, having become devoted to dharma, gave the earth to Kāśyapa, and retiring to the forest, made your dwelling on Mount Mahendra — **1.74.9** mama sarvavināśāya saṃprāptas tvaṃ mahāmune na caikasmin hate rāme sarve jīvāmahe vayam You have come, O great sage, for my utter destruction; and if Rāma alone be slain, not one of us shall live. **1.74.10** bruvaty evaṃ daśarathe jāmadagnyaḥ pratāpavān anādṛtyaiva tad vākyaṃ rāmam evābhyabhāṣata As Daśaratha spoke thus, the mighty son of Jamadagni, disregarding those words entirely, addressed Rāma alone: **1.74.11** ime dve dhanuṣī śreṣṭhe divye lokābhiviśrute dṛḍhe balavatī mukhye sukṛte viśvakarmaṇā These two are the finest of bows, divine and renowned throughout the worlds — firm, powerful, foremost, and well-wrought by Viśvakarman; **1.74.12** atisṛṣṭaṃ surair ekaṃ tryambakāya yuyutsave tripuraghnaṃ naraśreṣṭha bhagnaṃ kākutsha yat tvayā one was bestowed by the gods on Tryambaka (Śiva) eager for battle — the destroyer of the Triple City, O best of men, the very one that was broken by you, O Kākutstha; **1.74.13** idaṃ dvitīyaṃ durdharṣaṃ viṣṇor dattaṃ surottamaiḥ samānasāraṃ kākutstha raudreṇa dhanuṣā tv idam this second, unassailable one was given to Viṣṇu by the chief gods; and this one, O Kākutstha, is equal in power to the bow of Rudra. **1.74.14** tadā tu devatāḥ sarvāḥ pṛcchanti sma pitāmaham śitikaṇṭhasya viṣṇoś ca balābalanirīkṣayā Now once, all the gods asked the Grandsire (Brahmā), out of a wish to test the relative strength of the blue-throated one (Śiva) and of Viṣṇu: **1.74.15** abhiprāyaṃ tu vijñāya devatānāṃ pitāmahaḥ virodhaṃ janayām āsa tayoḥ satyavatāṃ varaḥ Understanding the gods' intent, the Grandsire, best of the truthful, created enmity between the two. **1.74.16** virodhe ca mahad yuddham abhavad romaharṣaṇam śitikaṇṭhasya viṣṇoś ca parasparajayaiṣiṇoḥ And in that enmity there took place a great, hair-raising battle between the blue-throated one and Viṣṇu, each seeking to conquer the other. **1.74.17** tadā taj jṛmbhitaṃ śaivaṃ dhanur bhīmaparākramam huṃkāreṇa mahādevaḥ stambhito 'tha trilocanaḥ Then that bow of Śiva, of fearsome might, was made to slacken; and by a “huṃ” (of Viṣṇu) the Great God, the three-eyed one, was thereupon rendered rigid. **1.74.18** devais tadā samāgamya sarṣisaṃghaiḥ sacāraṇaiḥ yācitau praśamaṃ tatra jagmatus tau surottamau Then the gods, coming together with the hosts of seers and the cāraṇas, entreated them; and there those two chief gods were brought to peace. **1.74.19** jṛmbhitaṃ tad dhanur dṛṣṭvā śaivaṃ viṣṇuparākramaiḥ adhikaṃ menire viṣṇuṃ devāḥ sarṣigaṇās tadā Seeing that bow of Śiva made to slacken by Viṣṇu's feats of might, the gods, with the hosts of seers, then reckoned Viṣṇu the greater. **1.74.20** dhanū rudras tu saṃkruddho videheṣu mahāyaśāḥ devarātasya rājarṣer dadau haste sasāyakam But Rudra, greatly renowned and angered, gave his bow, together with its arrow, into the hand of the royal seer Devarāta among the Videhas. **1.74.21** idaṃ ca viṣṇavaṃ rāma dhanuḥ parapuraṃjayam ṛcīke bhārgave prādād viṣṇuḥ sa nyāsam uttamam And this bow of Viṣṇu, O Rāma, conqueror of enemy cities — Viṣṇu gave it to Ṛcīka the Bhārgava as a precious deposit. **1.74.22** ṛcīkas tu mahātejāḥ putrasyāpratikarmaṇaḥ pitur mama dadau divyaṃ jamadagner mahātmanaḥ And Ṛcīka of great splendour gave that divine (bow) to his son of matchless deeds, my father, the great-souled Jamadagni. **1.74.23** nyastaśastre pitari me tapobalasamanvite arjuno vidadhe mṛtyuṃ prākṛtāṃ buddhim āsthitaḥ When my father, endowed with the power of austerity, had laid down his weapons, Arjuna (Kārtavīrya), stooping to a base mind, brought about his death. **1.74.24** vadham apratirūpaṃ tu pituḥ śrutvā sudāruṇam kṣatram utsādayaṃ roṣāj jātaṃ jātam anekaśaḥ Hearing of my father's most cruel and unparalleled slaying, in fury I exterminated the kṣatriyas as they were born, again and again. **1.74.25** pṛthivīṃ cākhilāṃ prāpya kāśyapāya mahātmane yajñasyānte tadā rāma dakṣiṇāṃ puṇyakarmaṇe And having won the entire earth, I gave it, O Rāma, at the end of a sacrifice, to the great-souled Kāśyapa of holy deeds, as his sacrificial fee — **1.74.26** dattvā mahendranilayas tapobalasamanvitaḥ śrutavān dhanuṣo bhedaṃ tato 'haṃ drutam āgataḥ having given it away, dwelling on Mahendra and endowed with the power of austerity, I heard of the breaking of the bow, and thereupon came here swiftly. **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. **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.