Week 3 Story: Rama, Lakshmana, and Sita

After shooting an arrow through the throat of Thataka, ending her reign, and disposing of her sons, killing one and sending the other out to sea, the trio made their way to the city of Mithila. Mithila is home to King Janaka, a close ally to the kingdom of Kosala. Viswamitra has come to let King Janaka know about the removal of the demon who has been affecting the cities trade routes.

Upon entering the city, Rama brushes by a slab of stone, which turns into a woman. Vishwamitra then explains the story of Ahalya.

As the three made their way to King Janaka's castle, the princes noticed a young woman in one of the castle towers. At the same time, she noticed them as well. Although they did not know it, the woman they were starring at was King Janaka's daughter, Sita. Sita was regarded as the most beautiful woman in all the land.

Rama and Laskshmana made their way to their guest chambers while Vishwamitra went to speak with King Janaka. The recent events had begun to take their toll on the boys as they started to talk about the beautiful woman they had seen. Lakshmana seemed especially stricken by her beauty, and Rama noticed.

Sita had also fallen ill by the sight of Dasaratha's sons. Not only was she sure that she would never see them again, but she also fought with herself over which she wanted to see more if given the chance. This internal dilemma had noticeable effects on her mood and actions, causing her maids to work overtime in an effort to comfort her.

After Vishwamitra's had explained to King Janaka that the issues with his trade routes had been resolved, King Janaka presented Vishwamitra with another problem. Due to Sita's exorbitant beauty, she held many, many suitors. Fearing that he would choose the wrong one, King Janaka issued a challenge to all who pursued Sita as a wife. The first to complete the challenge would be given Sita's hand in marriage. In King Janaka's possession was the great bow of Shiva. After Shiva retired the bow, he had given it to King Janaka as a present. The bow was so large and heavy that it could not be carried by a man and had to be transported by a large wagon. The challenge was to snap the bow. To this point, no one had come close to breaking the bow, and King Janaka was afraid that no one ever would, depriving his daughter the right to get married.

Rama loosens the bow for Lakshmana

Image Author: Balasaheb Pandit Pant Pratinidhi

Image Source: Tamil and Vedas

Upon hearing this, Vishwamitra suggested that Rama should have a try at the bow, and King Janaka had the bow wheeled into the area. As Rama begins to pull on the bow, he starts to feel it weaken. He knows that he can easily snap the bow, and at this point, he knows that doing so would mean taking the woman that he saw in the tower as a wife. He also knows that this could destroy his brother, Lakshmana. As the bow is about to snap, he relents. The bow stands in tact, and King Janaka is sure that his daughter will never marry. Rama then suggests that Lakshmana be given a chance, to which King Janaka obliges, although he holds no hope that Lakshmana will be successful.

Lakshmana approaches the bow and begins to pull with all his might. Slowly, the bow starts to splinter at its middle, and eventually, a loud SNAP is heard all throughout the city. Sita, knowing what the sound meant, runs downstairs to meet her soon-to-be husband. She is overcome with joy when she realizes that it is one of the men she saw earlier that day.

Within hours, messengers were sent to Ayodhya to inform Dasaratha. While many were confused that Lakshmana was able to break the bow, but Rama couldn't, it was quickly forgotten and wedding preparations were soon made.

Author's Note
In the original story, Rama and Sita notice each other as Rama, Lakshmana, and Vishwamitra are walking into the city. Both Rama and Sita are love striken, although Sita is affected much more than Rama. King Janaka's challenge to Sita's suitors is to string Shiva's bow, which Rama does successfully, and the two are married.
In my story, Lakshmana notices Sita and Sita notices both princes. The challenge is to break the bow, which although Rama can do, he chooses not to so that Lakshmana can. Lakshmana and Sita are married. I did this because in every story so far, Lakshmana has been very loyal to Rama, but never really given any glory. In my story, Rama is loyal to Lakshmana and allows him to finally have his day in the sun.
Bibliography. The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic by Kamban / R. K. Narayan. Web Source: p. 23. Sita