The bow of Shiva was the creation from the conversation between Shiva and Shakti. It was a perfect bow, the outcome of Tapasya and Yagna. Tapasya was like the shaft of the bow and Yagna was like the string of the bow. Individually Tapasya and Yagna cannot create a bow. Too loose the bow is useless, too tight the bow will break. To create a bow, the shaft has to bend and the string has to be taut. Therefore, the bow was created, by joining tapasya and yagna. It was a symbol of all relationships, of all man and woman in marriage, and of king and kingdom.
Shiva gifted the bow to Janaka, the king of Mithila, Patron of the Upanishads and Sita’s father.
The bow was very heavy. Even a dozen men could not lift it up. A bullock cart hauled it to the Armoury. All the warriors came and gasped in admiration at it. Janaka daily smeared the bow with ash and light lamps around it. One day Sita came to the armory with her three sisters and a dozen maids to supervise the cleaning of the entire palace. She was told by her mother to make sure that every corner was cleaned, and the palace should be sparkling.
The weapons needed special attention, as the wood should not get mold and the metal should not rust. While Sita’s retinue was scouring the palace and the weapons, Sita headed to the Bow. The maids told her that it was too heavy and they needed many men to help to pick it up. Sita said that it had to be cleaned and she bent down and picked up the bow with one hand and cleaned its undersurface.
News travels fast in the palace and the king and queen rushed there. Sita picked it up again with one hand effortlessly. Now they were very concerned as Sita was so strong and which man would marry her. They said that the man, who would marry Sita would have to be as wise and stronger than her. He would have to be a perfect King. Janaka sent word all over the country and invited kings and princes to string the bow. Princes came from everywhere. They tried but failed.
A very handsome man came from Sri Lanka. He was a devotee of Shiva. No one could look at him as he had a piercing gaze. He bent down to pick up the bow, sneering at the collective gasp, but he lost his balance. He was pinned down by the bow. King Janaka and his warriors rushed to his aid, but they could not remove the bow. He was gasping for breath, so Sita was sent for. She picked up the bow with one hand.
The man was not grateful. He thundered that if he could not pick up the bow, no other man would be able to accomplish this task. Sita would remain a spinster all her life. Janaka was not afraid and he retorted that his daughter would never be alone or lonely, unlike him. The man disappeared and the whisper went around that it was Ravana, the king of the Rakshasas.
Where did Sita’s strength come from? Sita was a goddess, she was Kali, the ruling goddess of Nature. She was the daughter of Mother Prithvi and is fearless.
Dear ones, so much has been written about Sita. Let us pause and admire and worship her wisdom, and strength. She refused to stay in the palace, without Rama. She relinquished all the luxuries she was accustomed to. She had tremendous coping skills and when she accompanied Rama to the forest for fourteen years, she recognized the herbs and knew what to cook. They kept moving and she made each kutir (hut) a home. The birds sang for her daily and the animals looked upon her as their mother, after all she was the daughter of Mother Earth.
Reference: ‘Sita’ by Devdutt Pattanaik.
There are many legends about Sita and Rama.
Aim Hrim Klim