तच्च राजन्धनुर्दिव्यं मध्ये भग्नं महात्मना।
रामेण हि महाबाहो महत्यां जनसंसदि॥
tac ca rājan dhanur divyaṁ madhye bhagnaṁ mahātmanā
rāmeṇa hi mahā-bāho mahatyāṁ jana-saṁsadi
tat ca = the; rājan = king; dhanuḥ divyam = divine bow [in my possession]; madhye = in the middle; bhagnam = has been broken; mahā-ātmanā = by the great soul; rāmeṇa hi = by Rāma; mahā-bāho = O mighty-armed; mahatyām = amidst a large; jana-saṁsadi = assembly of people.
O mighty-armed king, the divine bow [in my possession] has been broken in the middle by the great soul Rāma amidst a large assembly of people.
1 Only Lord Nārāyaṇa, the greatest soul (Paramātmā) and the eternal master of Lord Śiva, would be capable of breaking Lord Śiva’s bow. The sage Vālmīki alludes to this fact here.
Though it was Lord Śiva’s bow, it was factually broken, not that it appeared to be broken through a magical display. [How was it possible?] Mahātmanā: because Rāma was a great soul.1 And this happened amidst a large assembly of people. So King Janaka was not [just] being partial [towards Rāma and desirous of having Him as his son-in-law].