7. THE WEDDING (PART - 2)

At the guest house, Rama retired for the night. In the

seclusion of his bedroom, he began to brood over the girl he

had noticed on the palace balcony. For him, too, the moon

seemed to emphasize his sense of loneliness. Although he

had exhibited no sign of it, deeply within he felt a

disturbance. His innate sense of discipline and propriety had

made him conceal his feelings before other people. Now he

kept thinking of the girl on the balcony and longed for another

sight of her. Who could she be? Nothing to indicate that she

was a princess—could be any one among the hundreds of

girls in a palace. She could not be married: Rama realized

that if she were married he would instinctively have recoiled

from her. Now he caught himself contemplating her in every

detail. He fancied that she was standing before him and

longed to enclose those breasts in his embrace. He said to

himself, "Even if I cannot take her in my arms, shall I ever get

another glimpse, however briefly, of that radiant face and

those lips? Eyes, lips, those curly locks falling on the

forehead—every item of those features seemingly poised to

attack and quell me—me, on whose bow depended the

destruction of demons, now at the mercy of one6 who wields

only a bow of sugarcane and uses flowers for arrows …" He

smiled at the irony of it.

The night spent itself. He had little sleep. The moon set

and the dawn came. Rama found that it was time to arise

and prepare himself to accompany his master to theceremony at Janaka's palace.

At the assembly hall King Janaka noticed Rama and

Lakshmana, and asked Viswamithra, "Who are those

attractive-looking young men?" Viswamithra explained.

When he heard of Rama's lineage and prowess, Janaka

said with a sigh, "How I wish it were possible for me to

propose my daughter for him." Viswamithra understood the

cause of his despair. A seemingly insurmountable condition

existed in any proposal concerning Sita's marriage.

King Janaka had in his possession an enormous bow

which at one time belonged to Shiva, who had abandoned it

and left it in the custody of an early ancestor of Janaka's,

and it had remained an heirloom. Sita, as a baby girl, was a

gift of Mother Earth to Janaka, being found in a furrow when

a field was ploughed. Janaka adopted the child, tended her,

and she grew up into a beauty, so much so that several

princes who considered themselves eligible thronged

Janaka's palace and contended for Sita's hand. Unable to

favour anyone in particular, and in order to ward them off,

King Janaka made it a condition that whoever could lift,

bend, and string Shiva's bow would be considered fit to

become Sita's husband. When her suitors took a look at the

bow, they realized that it was a hopeless and unacceptable

condition. They left in a rage, and later returned with their

armies, prepared to win Sita by force. But Janaka resistedtheir aggression, and ultimately the suitors withdrew. As time

passed Janaka became anxious whether he would ever see

his daughter married and settled—since the condition once

made could not be withdrawn. No one on earth seemed

worthy of approaching Shiva's bow. Janaka sighed. "I

tremble when I think of Sita's future, and question my own

judgement in linking her fate with this mighty, divine heirloom

in our house."

"Do not despair," said Viswamithra soothingly. "How do

you know it was not a divine inspiration that gave you the

thought?"

"In all the worlds, is there anyone who can tackle this bow,

the very sight of which in Shiva's hand made erring gods and

godlings tremble and collapse—until Shiva put it away and

renounced its use?"

"With your permission, may we see it?"

Janaka said, "I'll have it brought here. It has lain in its shed

too long… . Who knows, moving it out may change all our

fates." He called on his attendants to fetch the bow… . The

attendants hesitated and he ordered, "Let the army be

engaged for the task if necessary. After all, this spot is

sanctified by the sacred rites recently performed … and the

bow is fit to be brought in here."

The bow was placed in a carriage on eight pairs of wheels

and arrived drawn by a vast number of men. During its

passage from its shed through the streets, a crowd followed passage from its shed through the streets, a crowd followed

it. It was so huge that no one could comprehend it at one

glance. "Is this a bow or that mountain called Meru, which

churned the Ocean of Milk in ancient times?" people

marvelled. "What target is there to receive the arrow shot out

of this bow, even if someone lifts and strings it?" wondered

some. "If Janaka meant seriously to find a son-in-law, he

should have waived this condition. How unwise of him!"

Rama looked at his master. Viswamithra nodded as if to

say, "Try it." As Rama approached the bow with slow dignity,

the onlookers held their breath and watched. Some prayed

silently for him. Some commented, "How cruel! This

supposed sage is not ashamed to put the delicate,

marvellous youth to this harsh trial!" "The King is perverse

and cruel to place this godlike youth in this predicament… . If

he was serious about it, he should have just placed Sita's

hand in his instead of demanding this acrobatic feat… ."

"The King's aim is to keep Sita with him for ever—this is one

way of never facing separation!" "If this man fails, we will all

jump into fire," commented some young women who were

love-stricken at the sight of Rama. "If he fails, Sita is sure to

immolate herself and we will all follow her example."

While they were speculating thus, Rama approached the

bow. Some of the onlookers, unable to bear the suspense,

closed their eyes and prayed for his success, saying, "If he

fails to bring the ends of this bow together, what is to happen

to the maiden?" What they missed, because they had shuttheir eyes, was to note how swiftly Rama picked up the bow,

tugged the string taut, and brought the tips together. They

were startled when they heard a deafening report, caused by

the cracking of the bow at its arch, which could not stand the

pressure of Rama's grip.