Bala Kanda, Sarga 75

Meaning

“O Rāma, O valiant son of Daśaratha, your prowess is reported to be marvellous and your feat in the shape of breaking the bow of Lord Śiva has also been heard of by me in all its details. (1)

Meaning

“Breaking the bow in the way you have done is indeed marvellous and cannot even be conceived by others. Hearing of it, I have arrived here, taking another sacred bow. (2)

Meaning

“Therefore, fitting this great and terrible-looking bow, received by me from Jamadagni, my father, with an arrow, simply draw it to its full length and demonstrate your might thereby. (3)

Meaning

“Having witnessed that strength of yours in drawing this bow too at full length, I shall offer you a single combat which will bring credit to your valour.” (4)

Meaning

Hearing that challenge of Paraśurāma, King Daśaratha felt miserable and, pulling a long face, forthwith spoke with folded hands as follows : (5)

Meaning

“Having given up your anger towards the Kṣatriyas, you have since grown very calm and, being a Brāhmaṇa and a great ascetic too, you ought to give assurance of safety to my juvenile sons. (6)

Meaning

“Born in the line of the Bhārgavas (the scions of Bhṛgu), distinguished for their study of the Vedas and sacred vows, you have relinquished the arms, giving your word of honour in this behalf to Indra. (7)

Meaning

“As such you set your mind on piety and gave away the dominion of the earth to Sage Kaśyapa and, retiring to the woods, took up your abode on Mount Mahendra. (8)

Meaning

“For my total annihilation, however, you have appeared here, O great sage ! And we shall all cease to live even if Rāma alone is killed by you.” (9)

Meaning

Turning a deaf ear to his entreaty, however, even though Daśaratha prayed as aforesaid, the glorious Paraśurāma (son of Jamadagni) continued to address Śrī Rāma alone and said : (10)

Meaning

“These two excellent heavenly bows (one of which was broken by you the other day, the other being with me), strong, powerful and foremost as they are, were adored by the whole world and were skilfully manufactured by Viśwakarmā. (11)

Meaning

“One of them, which has been broken by you, O scion of Kakutstha, was handed over by the gods to Lord Śiva (the three-eyed divinity), eager to fight with the demon Tripura, and ultimately succeeded in killing him, O jewel among men ! (12)

Meaning

“This second one, hard to prevail against, was given by the foremost of the gods to Lord Viṣṇu. This, which you behold in my hand, is the same bow of Lord Viṣṇu, which is able to reduce the enemy’s stronghold, O Rāma ! (13)

Meaning

“It is in fact equal in strength to the bow of Rudra, which has already yielded to your strength, O scion of Kakutstha, as will appear from the following anecdote : “At that very time when the demon Tripura was killed by Lord Śiva, all the gods approached and put a question to Brahmā, the progenitor of the entire creation with a view to ascertaining the relative strength and weakness of Lords Śiva (whose neck is marked with a blue patch) and Viṣṇu. Reading the mind of the gods, Brahmā, the foremost of the votaries of truth, for his part sowed the seed of discord between the two divinities. As a sequel to that tension a terrible and thrilling combat actually ensued between Lords Śiva and Viṣṇu, who were eager to conquer each other. In the course of that combat, of course, the bow of Lord Śiva, possessed as it was of terrible strength, was rendered inoperative and the three-eyed Lord Mahādeva too struck motionless by the very roar of Lord Viṣṇu. The two foremost divinities came to terms on that occasion only when they were approached and entreated on that very spot by the gods, accompanied by hosts of Ṛṣis as well as by Cāraṇas (celestial bards), to compose their differences. “Seeing the celebrated bow of Lord Śiva rendered inoperative as aforesaid by the prowess of Lord Viṣṇu, the gods alongwith the hosts of Ṛṣis assembled there accounted Lord Viṣṇu superior to Lord Śiva. Feeling enraged, the most illustrious Lord Rudra (the god of destruction) thereupon delivered the bow together with the arrows into the hands of the royal sage Devarāta born in the line of the Videha kings. Lord Viṣṇu, on the other hand, O Rāma, made over this superb bow of His own, capable of subduing the enemy’s stronghold, as a trust to Ṛcīka, a scion of sage Bhṛgu. The highly glorious Ṛcīka in his turn bestowed the heavenly gift on his own son, the high-souled Jamadagni, my father, who was too good to retaliate a wrong and had therefore no use for it. Reckoning my father, who had given up the use of arms and was richly endowed with spiritual energy earned through his austerities, as a common man, Arjuna (more popularly known by the name of Sahasrabāhu because of his thousand arms) caused his death. Hearing of my father’s most cruel and unmerited death, I for my part uprooted more than once (as many as twenty-one times) out of indignation the Kṣatriyas even as they were born. (14—24)

Meaning

“Having acquired dominion over the entire globe in this way, I gifted it, O Rāma, to the high-souled sage Kaśyapa of meritorious deeds by way of sacrificial fee at the end of a sacrifice which I performed in atonement for the great bath of blood. (25)

Meaning

“Nay, having made the gift, I took up my abode on Mount Mahendra. Richly endowed with spiritual energy earned through austerities in the meantime, however, I expeditiously arrived here from that distant place on hearing of the breaking of the bow. (26)

Meaning

Placing above all else the noble duty of a Kṣatriya (which consists in accepting the challenge of a warrior to a duel in a righteous cause), O Rāma, take in your hand the celebrated and superb bow belonging to Lord Viṣṇu, inherited by me through my father from my grandfather. (27)

Meaning

“And fit the arrow, capable of reducing the stronghold of an enemy, to this foremost of bows provided you are equal to it, O scion of Kakutstha ! Then alone I shall offer a single combat to you.” (28)