Canto 1: Bāla-kāṇḍa (Boyhood)Chapter 75: The History of the Bows of Lord Śiva and Lord ViṣṇuText 1.75.32
Canto 1 - Boyhood
Bāla-kāṇḍa
Chapter 75: The History of the Bows of Lord Śiva and Lord Viṣṇu
Text 1.75.32
तदिदं वैष्णवं राम पितृपैतामहं महत्।
क्षत्रधर्मं पुरस्कृत्य गृह्णीष्व धनुरुत्तमम्॥
tad idaṁ vaiṣṇavaṁ rāma pitṛ-paitāmahaṁ mahat
kṣatra-dharmaṁ puraskṛtya gṛhṇīṣva dhanur uttamam
tat idam = here is that; vaiṣṇavam = of Lord Viṣṇu; rāma = O Rāma; pitṛ-paitāmaham = that has come to me from my grandfather and father; mahat = great bow; kṣatra-dharmam puraskṛtya = accepting the duty of a kṣatriya; gṛhṇīṣva = take; dhanuḥ uttamam = this unslackened bow.
O Rāma, here is that great bow of Lord Viṣṇu that has come to me from my grandfather and father. Accepting the duty of a kṣatriya, take this unslackened bow.1
1 “Unslackened bow” means “bow unstretched by anyone.”
Kṣatra-dharmam indicates that Lord Rāma, as a kṣatriya, should not refuse to accept the bow saying, “I cannot do this.”