अक्षय्यं मधुहन्तारं जानामि त्वां सुरेश्वरम्। धनुषोऽस्य परामर्शात् स्वस्ति तेऽस्तु परंतप।
Meaning
'By your drawing of this bow I know you to be the imperishable Vishnu, slayer of Madhu and lord of the gods — farewell, tormentor of foes.'
Word-by-word (pada-artha)
| Word | Devanagari | Meaning | Grammatical role |
|---|---|---|---|
| akṣayyam | अक्षय्यम् | imperishable | accusative adjective |
| madhuhantāram | मधुहन्तारम् | slayer of the demon Madhu | accusative |
| jānāmi | जानामि | I know | verb, present |
| tvām | त्वाम् | you | accusative |
| sureśvaram | सुरेश्वरम् | the lord of the gods | accusative |
| dhanuṣa: | धनुषः | of the bow | genitive |
| asya | अस्य | of this | genitive |
| parāmarśāt | परामर्शात् | from the touch/handling | ablative |
| svasti | स्वस्ति | well-being | accusative/exclamation |
| te | ते | to you | dative |
| astu | अस्तु | may it be | verb, imperative |
| paraṃtapa | परंतप | O scorcher of foes | vocative |
Scholar commentary
valmikiramayan.net Prose Commentary
Desiraju Hanumanta Rao's prose rendering with embedded explanatory notes
The source cross-references the Mahabharata's Anushasanika Parva, chapter 89, which records that Rama displayed his cosmic, universal form to Parashurama at this very moment -- paralleling Krishna's famous display of his cosmic form to Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita. It notes this episode is not found in Valmiki's own text and has not been amplified elsewhere for unclear reasons, but is preserved in that other epic's account.
1 of 16 traditions have commentary on this shloka. Traditions without a verse-specific commentary here are omitted rather than filled in.
Reference: 1.76.17 · Bāla Kāṇḍa