Canto 1 - Boyhood
Bāla-kāṇḍa
Chapter 67: Lord Rāma Breaks Lord Śiva’s bow
Text 1.67.17
आरोपयित्वा धर्मात्मा पूरयामास तद्धनुः।
तद्बभञ्ज धनुर्मध्ये नरश्रेष्ठो महायशाः॥
āropayitvā dharmātmā pūrayām āsa tad dhanuḥ
tad babhañja dhanur madhye nara-śreṣṭho mahā-yaśāḥ
āropayitvā = having lifted it; dharmātmā = whose mind was devoted to dharma; pūrayām āsa tat dhanuḥ = strung the bow; tat = the; babhañja = then broke; dhanuḥ = bow; madhye = in the middle; nara-śreṣṭhaḥ = prince; mahā-yaśāḥ = that greatly famous.
Having lifted it, that greatly famous prince whose mind was devoted to dharma, strung the bow. Then the bow broke in the middle.
Lord Rāma strung the bow and pulled the [middle portion of the] string up to His ear [as one would to discharge an arrow].
One might object, “In accordance with the above description, the bow was extremely tall, and Rāma was a mere boy [in size]. Then how could He have strung it, since He would not have been able to [reach and] touch the upper portion of the bow?”
The answer is that Lord Rāma is of wonderful potency and so as soon as He touched the bow, it shrunk in size [suitable to be strung by Him].