Part I

Vishwamitra, the son of sage Gadhi,
Did come to the realisation.
That sans Lord Rama’s mercy,
The sages could not be free from demonic fears.

Upon this realising, sage Vishwamitra,
Pays a visit to the kingdom of kaushala.
Intrigued to know sudden visit by the sage,
King Dashrath with his convoy of royal ministers
Submits his due obeisance to the sage,

And confided that he famished,
To know what drove the sage to his kingdom.
Thereupon the sage thus spoke,
“O majestic king, give me thy sons - Rama and Laxman.
To rid the noble sages of the fears of the demons,
Hell-bent on defiling the holy yagnas performed by the sages”.

To hear such an unexpected proposal of the Rishi,
The Kaushal king into the abyss of shock and dismay thrown.
“Can my young and tender sons - Rama and Laxman,
Prove a match for the deceitful and terrible demons,
With immeasurable might endowed”?
In these words, did the king of kaushala lay bare,
His fears about the dreadful proposal.

Sage Vashisht, the mentor of Kaushala King,
Did give the King a guidance proper,
That he should honour the sage Vishwamitra’s proposal,
Breaking the fetters of attachment and ignorance,
And his two sons to sage Vishwamitra should submit,
For the common weal of dharma.

The king thereupon his two beloved sons,
With sage Vishwamitra did send.
The two brothers to the woods moved,
Where the sages yagnas performed.

On the way the sage, to the monstress Tarka, did beckon,
On smelling the danger, she ran amuck with anger.
Lord Rama with a single arrow to her death did despatch,
But taking pity on her, gave a place close to Himself.

The sage had armed the brothers with all kinds of ayudh.
Next to her Subahu was with agnivan killed,
While Laxman the whole army of rakshas destroyed.
Lord Rama stayed there and many services
To the sages did he provide.
The sages shared many stories of the puranas,
Though the Lord Himself did know them all.

Then one day with politeness did the sage a revelation make,
“O Lord, let us go to watch the spectacle of dhanush-yagna.
The Lord followed the sage with beatitude.
On the path there looked a desolate ashram.
There was no humming of life, no creatures seen.
When Lord Ram got curious about a statue He noticed,
The sage replied in the words:

“She is Ahilya, the cursed wife of sage Gautam,
Cursed to remain a stony statue,
Pining for the dust of thy holy feet,
O Lord, be merciful to her and grant her salvation.”

With the beatific touch of the Lord
Ahilya into a woman in flesh and blood turned.
Kept on watching the Lord,
With Both hands folded,
Fell on the lotus feet of the Lord,
Out of overpowering devotion and faith,
Tears rolling down from her eyes.

The happiness of Lord Rama was profuse,
When he chanced to see the city of Janakpur.
There he many wells, ponds and rivers did see,
Whose water was pure as amrita.
And the steps to them looked like those of mani.
The bees amuck with the nectar of flowers humming,

Birds of different hues are singing songs mellifluous.
Lotuses of different shades are legion.
Pleasant cool breeze, flagrance spreading
In every nook and corner, blowing.
The beauty and splendour of the city beggar description,
Wherever one glances one is ensnared and mesmerized.

The palace where king Janaka resides,
Is splendid and its ineffable affluence gods’ envy does ignite.
Resplendent palaces have curtains embroidered of gold.
None can describe the beauty of Sita’s abode.

When Mithila king Janaka gets,
Tidings of sage Vishwamitra’s arrival,
He comes to meet him with his band of devoted ministers.
Guru Satanand of Janakpur kingdom,
Puts his head on the feet of the king of sages, Vishwamitra.
The sage Vishwamitra offers a seat to the king.

Then both the brothers, who had
From their visit to the city, returned,
Glancing at Lord Rama, Videha became Videha special.
(Videha is one who is oblivious of his physical existence).
To sage Vishwamitra. Janaka puts a query,

Are the two young men sons of sages or scions of families royal.
Vishwamitra thus submits, they are from the royal families born,                                                  And both are the sons of Dashrath, the king of Kaushal.
He further adds that the brothers two,
Ram and Laxman are models of Beauty, Virtue and Strength,
Who had defeated the asuras and protected his yagnas.

The king time and again stares at the Lord Rama,
Out of affectionate love and felicitation.
Laxman has a wish keen- to visit the city,
Lord Rama fathoms the feelings of his brother young,
And with great hesitation to the sage does utter:

“O lord, Laxman wants to visit the Janakpur city,
If by your grace your fiat received,
I will bring him back after a round to the city”.
To this the sage replied;
“O, Rama how can you not preserve the ideals great,
You are, the preserver of maryada of dharma.
And grant bliss to those that lie in your service.

Both of you visit the city of Janakpur,
And bless the residents with the divine grace of your eyes.”
When the people came to know
The two bewitching princes had been out to see the city,
Throwing, all their jobs aside,
They frantically ran to have a glimpse of the princes,
As if, as a bankrupt, they got an opportunity,
To loot a treasure trove.

Women from their balconies,
Did take a glance of the two passing princes.
And observed that crores of Kamdevas could not,
The beauty of the brothers match.

One Sakhi told the other one,
“They are the two sons of king Dashrath,
Like one pair of swans,
Who won’t be ensnared by
The bewitching look of the two princes?”.

Another Sakhi tells others, pointing to Lord Rama,
“If perchance the king Janak has a glimpse of this prince,
He shall abandon his vow of marrying Sita to one,
Who by his valour does Shiva’s bow does break.”

Another Sakhi does utter :
“If it is true that God is kind-hearted
And rewards everyone for all his actions due,
Then it is my belief firm,
Sita shall find him as a husband.
There is no doubt about this.”

Some doubted how the tender,
Could the dreadful Shiva’s bow break.
This caused another sakhi dispel the mist of doubt,
“He is the one the dust of whose feet
Ahilyaya’s salvation ensured”.

Both the brothers to the eastern side did go,
Where stood the venue of the swayamvar.
All around were big platforms,
Of burnished gold raised,
For the visiting kings to occupy.

City’s children are showing the brothers the venues,
Where women shall their seats fill,
To watch the spectacle grand.
When the visit of the two brothers is over,
They touch their guru’s feet and sit in obeisance.

Evening descends, heralding the coming of night,
The sage his evening prayers offers.
At night both the brothers sit at their guru’s feet,
Massaging the sage’s feet till they are commanded,
To go to sleep.

When it is morn the sage commands them to fetch flowers
For prayers to be offered,
Viewing the garden and the pond,
Lord Rama with his brother does extremely feel blessed.

Obtaining leave of the garden keepers,
The brothers start plucking flowers.
At this juncture princess Sita visits the garden,
Directed by Her mother to worship the goddess Girija.

She is accompanied by wise Sakhis, singing songs melodious,
Near the pond, the temple of Goddess Girija lies,
Whose description anyone’s tongue defies.
Having bathed in the pond with the Sakhis,
Mother Sita goes to Goddess Girija.

And prays for a match worthy.
Leaving Mother Sita’s company
One Sakhi to the garden goes.
On seeing both the brothers,
She rushes back to Mother Sita with bliss profuse.

Other Sakhis want to know the reasons,
Of her blissful state and tears in her eyes.
The sakhi stated thus ;
“Two princes have come,
They are in their adolescence.
They are awfully beautiful by any standards.

My tongues have no eyes,
Nor have my eyes tongues.
How could I their description make?”.
On fathoming the kindling of curiosity in Sita’s mind,
The Sakhis become happy beyond measure.

One Sakhi proclaims :
“He is the prince who has with sage Vishwamitra come,
Leaving all mesmerised whosoever has seen.
We must go to have the glimpse of his beatific look”.
The words of the Sakhis sound pleasant with Sita.

She pines to get a glimpse of Lord Rama.
Remembering sage Narada’s words,
Sita feels the sprouting of founts of sacred love pristine.
She looks around frantically,
Like a deer frightened by a danger perceived.

On hearing the tinkling sound of kangans, payals and waistband,
Lord Rama shared with Laxman in the words:
“It appears that God of Love, Kamdeva
Has challenged to conquer the whole world”.

Looking at Sita Lord Rama with immense bliss is filled.
Dump-founded He could speak nothing,
Discerning the celestial beauty of Mother Sita in His heart,
Lord Rama to his brother does speak :

“Brother She is the daughter of King Janaka,
For whom the Dhanush-yagna ordained.
She has come with her Sakhis to worship mother Girija.
And thus, radiating light in this garden”.

Lord Rama in gossip with his brother engaged,
But His heart stands bewitched by Mother Sita,
Tasted He the celestial beauty like a bee sucking the nectar of flowers.
Then Sakhis showed both the brothers to Mother Sita.

On seeing them Mother Sita’s eyes felt tempted,
And Her eyes realised as if a treasure trove found.
Through the gate of her eyes Mother Sita,
Access to Lord Rama did provide,
And brought Him to Her heart.
And then shut the doors of her eyes.

When to the Sakhis this was known,
That it was born out of love pristine.
Mother Sita felt inhibited as She
Could not share the same with others.

At this one astute Sakhi did tell Mother Sita
“You can engage yourself, after a while,
In meditation about Goddess Girija.
Why don’t you glance at the Prince Rama right now”.
Filled with inhibition, did Mother Sita open her eyes,

And found both the lions of King Dashrath before her eyes,
From top to bottom their visions captured,
But reminded of Her father’s stern vow,
To her, shockwaves did despatch.
The idea of the heaviness of Shiva’s bow,
Puts Mother Sita in a state of anxiety.

How the tender prince the sturdy bow shall break?
This appeared to Mother Sita nothing but a freak.
Then Mother Sita once again,
The precincts of Girija temple does visit.
And makes an appeal fervent.

“O daughter of king of mountains, mother Girija
Glory be to thee. O, mother of Lord Ganesh
And six-mouthed kartik,
Thy have no beginning, no middle nor end.
The Vedas also don’t know thy greatness.
Thyself are the creator of this universe.
Thy glory thousands of Saraswatis or Sheshnags cannot sing.

Men, sages and gods become blessed,
When, for their wants and wishes,
They, their prayers, offered to thee.
My wishes to thee well known,
For in everyone’s heart thee resides,
For this reason, I did not disclose”

With this utterance Mother Sita thus fell at the feet of Gauri.
Mother Girija with love overwhelmed,
The garland from her neck slipped.
With reverence did Mother Sita put the same on her head.

Filled with elation to the brim,
Mother Girija speaks as thus :
“O Sita listen to my blessings.
Thy wishes shall stand but fulfilled.
The words of sage Narada are eternally true
Free from the taint of doubt and despair,
Thou shalt be wedded to the one,
For whom thy soul falls,

He is all knowing and treasure of kindness,
He knows your virtuous soul and devotion”.
Mother Sita to her palace does return,
After offering prayers to Goddess Parwati again and again.
 

 
Part II

King Janaka, his Guru, Shatanand calls,
And through him the sage Vishwamitra did get an invitation,
To the venue of the swayamvar.
Lord Rama touched the feet of Guru Shatanand
And sits beside the sage Vishwamitra.

Accompanied with the sage Vishwamitra Lord Rama
And his brother the venue does visit.
The vast multitude of Janakpur denizens all assembled,
To watch the great spectacle of the swayamvar.

Of all the platforms there stood one,
That excelled all in grandeur great.
The kings who saw Lord Rama at the venue,
Stood robbed of the sheen on their mien,
And were filled with saturnine thoughts.

That Lord Rama alone, the Shiva’s bow, shall to pieces break.
And then Sita, around his neck, shall ceremonial garland put.
Gods from the heavens did the spectacle watch.
And drowned the venue with floral tributes.
The time auspicious does come.
King Janaka his daughter summons.

The beauty and virtues of Mother Sita words cannot render.
Similes for her all frivolous do appear.
Because they are meant for worldly creatures.
Awestruck by the glaze of Lord Rama and Mother Sita,
People start praying to the Almighty to purge King Janaka,
Of his ignorance and bestow on him wisdom,
So that he abjures his vow to marry,
Sita to only to the one who breaks to pieces Shiva’s bow.
And instead choose to wed his daughter to Lord Rama.

The royal proclamation of King Janaka is formally announced:
“The strength in the arms of the mighty kings is chandrama,
While the bow of Lord Shiva is rahu,
The weight of Shiva’s bow is well known,
Endowed with strength singular famous figures,
Like Ravana and Vanasur dreaded lifting the bow.

Let it be known to all,
Whoever breaks Shiva’s bow will be blessed
To have King Janaka’s daughter Sita as his wife”.
On hearing this many kings felt elated,
As they plumed on their arm’s strength,
And proceeded to showcase their martial grit.

After praying to their gods,
Kings from distant lands and islands afar,
Try to lift Shiva’s bow but the bow,
Alas does not budge an inch.
Those that are wise prefer to keep away.
Some blockheads try to move it,
But go back to pavilion after a public guffaw.

At one time ten thousand kings do try their might.
But they all jointly cut a sorry figure.
All the present kings thus proved,
That the bow of Shiva was beyond their might all,

Alarmed at the dismal show of strength by the kings,
The King Janaka is at his wit’s end.
And doubts if his vow shall ever be honoured.
And in this way, he vents his shocked state of mind.

“ All those proud of their gallantry prowess,
Do not take it as an offending tongue,
All of you to your homes do depart,
It appears the earth is of heroes bereft.
Methinks Lord Bramha has not scripted Sita’s marriage.

But if I break my vow, I shall lose my punyas,
For that reason, I would prefer to keep my daughter unmarried.
Had I known the earth is shorn of heroes,
I would not have such a dreadful vow taken.”

Hearing King Janaka’s pronouncements,
The anger in Laxman takes the better of him.
But out of Lord Rama’s fears does all his anger suppress.
To Lord Rama Laxman shared his feelings hurt,
That none such cruel words, does use,
When the sons of Raghuvansh are in attendance.

“O sun of the lotus of Surya-vansh,
Give me a hearing,
If I be, thy permission given,
With thy mercy I would lift,
The whole cosmos like a ball,
And break it like an earthen pitcher,

By thy grace I can break to pieces,
The mountain Sumeru like a reddish,
O lord, by your grace what will be the fate of the poor bow,
O lord, by thy mercy I can swiftly tear the bow
To shreds like a mushroom cluster”.

As Laxmana vented his words of anger,
The earth shook and the elephants of all the directions did tremble.
All the crowns that there had assembled with fright filled.
Mother Sita had an upsurge of elation in Her heart.

But King Janaka felt abashed by Laxmana’s words.
While sage Vishwamitra, Lord Ramas and other munis,
Sailed in the common ship of immense joy.
Lord Rama motioned Laxmana to stop.
And affectionately bade him sit beside Him.

When the time most opportune thus did arrive,
Vishwamitra spoke to Lord Rama as thus :
“O Rama stand up and obliterate the worries of King Janaka”.
Listening to Guru’s commands, Lord Rama bowed,
His head before the Guru’s feet.

He had no elation, nor sorrow but stood up with grace like an elephant.
As Lord Rama moved, the whole citizenry of Janakpur,
Heaved a sigh of relief.
And prayed to their gods and goddesses,
That Lord Rama, like a lotus’s petal,
Shiva’s bow could break.

Imbued with affection, Sita’s mother does every scene watch,
Weeping over the happenings, she says:
“ All here are but onlookers.
None here can tell the sage Vishwamitra
That Rama is a tender boy,
For whom such a rigid vow is unfair.

The bow which Ravana and Vanasur could not even touch,
The young prince is crudely called upon to break.
Can a baby swan raise the mountain Mandarachal ?
The Sakhi to the queen confided:
“Don’t judge one by size alone,
The sun looks small but with its rise,
The kingdom of darkness all is destroyed.”

This purged the queen of doubts,
About Lord Rama’s valour in the impending spectacle.
In a corner Mother Sita prays to Goddess Girija,
“O, mother, be pleased upon me,
Whatever prayers I have offered to thee,
Please let the same with fruits blessed,
And take away the heaviness of Lord Shiva’s bow.”

Mother Sita makes a similar prayer to Lord Ganesh.
Mother Sita also calls upon Shiva’s bow to take its heaviness away.
Passage of fraction of a pal
Feels like the length of million years.
Said Sita to her heart,

“If, in my body, speech and conviction,
I nourish an unflinching faith in Lord Rama,
(The Lord who resides in every one’s heart)
Shall make me His maid.
Because it is the truth universal,
That one attains without fail,
That which one seeks with dedication unflinching”.

Looking at Lord Rama, Mother Sita a decision makes,
That she will be Rama’s maid or not survive at all.
The all-knowing Lord Rama knew it all,
And to the bow Lord Rama proceeds,
Just as Garuda proceeds towards a small snake.

In his mind Lord Rama pays His guru the due obeisance.
And lifts the bow with agility extraordinary,
The bow sparkled like lightning,
And turned spherical when to the sky it was raised.

That none could observe how Lord Rama
The bow from the ground lifted
How He held it in His hand
And how He pulled its string.

Suddenly the bow stood broken to pieces.
There was a thunderous noise all around.
The horses of the Sun god,
Got strayed from their directions.
The earth started shaking,
Gods, munis and rakshashas all perturbed,
All putting their hands on their ears.
Pondering over the happenings occasioned.

When all become sure that Lord Rama had broken the bow.
Then all cried, “ Glory be to Lord Rama”.
Both the parts of the bow,
Did Lord Rama put on the ground.
The gods from the heaven flowers do shower,
To celebrate the blessed hour.

Then Guru Shatanand asked the Mother Sita,
That Sita should to Lord Rama advance.
Mother Sita from shyness suffers,
Though filled with adulation for the Lord.

Sensing the issue sensitive, one astute Sakhi,
An explanation to Mother Sita does covey,
To put the jaymaal on Lord Rama without delay.
This news puts all the Janakpur men and women,
In abundant ecstasy and thrilled beyond limit.

That they started giving gifts beyond measure.

At that very moment the sage Parshuram arrives.
Seeing his fiery look, the kings all with terror filled.
All stood revealing their own and their fathers’ names,
The sage has shoulders like a bullock,
And chest and arms large,

Donning the dress of a muni, he holds two quivers.
In his hand he holds a bow and arrow,
And a farsa on his shoulder laid,
His look is gentle, but his deeds his looks defy.
As if he is veer ras incarnate donned in a sage’s look.
Whichever king he looks with utter ease,
Dreads that his earthly hours numbered.

King Janaka bends before the sage,
And asks Sita to pay her respect to the sage due.
Sage Vishwamitra comes and bids
Both the brothers to fall on his feet.
“These are the two sons of King Dashrath”
Thus, the sage introduced the royal scions of Ayodhya.
Sage Parshuram blesses both the brothers.

Knowing everything well, the sage enquires about the crowd gathered.
King Janaka the details of swayambara shares.
Listening to King’s words, the sage to one side turns,
On witnessing the broken bow of Shiva, fire of his ire burns.

“O fool, Janaka tell me who has this job done, broken shiva’s bow.
Show me the guilty soon or else your whole kingdom shall suffer.
King Janaka does not a reply make,
The mother of Sita repents that heavens,
By queer turn of events settled issues did upset.

On learning about the sage’s anger,
For Sita time’s pace spans like a million days.
On hearing Parshuram’s words cruel and biting,
Laxmana further goes to whet the edge of his fiery ire.
And tells him that he has broken numerous such bows,
In his childhood days, but never the sage did a notice take.

He adds that he fails to know why so much attachment,
To the bow by the sage being shown.
To this the sage replied:
“O king’s son, your days have ended,
Else you won’t have left your tongue unchecked.
The bow of Shiva is no mean bow,
Its stature world-wide known”.

Laxamana laughs and says
“All bows are same and no difference noticed.
Shiva’s bow has broken just when touched,
Raghunath has no fault on his part committed.
Why do you show so much anger undeserved?”

Turning to his farsa, the sage asks:
“Have not you heard of my name?
I am sparing just treating you as a kid”.
At this Laxamana most politely says,
“Great sage you are yours a great warrior adjudging,
And threatening me with your kuthar,
Do you want to blow a mountain with a puff.”

To sage Vishwamitra, Parshuram does warn,
“This child is with depravity and wickedness endowed,
A spot on his family’s image he earns,
He is impudent, foolish and without fear.
He will be finished in seconds, you should note.
I tell you, if you want to save his life,
Just tell him about my prominence, might and anger.

Kaushik then spoke to the sage,
“A kid’s faults the sadhus ignore,
Laxamana fires another salvo:
“You are a warrior in your own house
And have not a kshatriya warrior met”.
On hearing this all cried in unison: “This is improper”.

Now Lord Rama bids Laxamana to keep mum.
And to pacify the sage’s anger immense,
Lord Rama most humble tongue’s salve does apply:
“ O master take pity on this child,
Don’t take offence of his immature behaviour do take.
If he knew of your greatness,
He won’t have made such utterances offensive.

If a child does a mistake commit,
The gurus, father and mother are filled with glee.
Therefore O, sage to him grant your forgiveness.”
Luxamana meanwhile interruts,
“By anger the broken bow cannot be mended.
Let a mender be called who, its original shape, could restore.”
These words of Luxamana puts the King Janaka in fright.

Then Lord Rama says:
“O, sage treat me the way you wish,
Either shower me your blessings or anger or put me in thraldom,
Or end my life altogether,
Whatever pleases you most,
Give me your commands, I shall gleefully accept.”

The muni told Lord Rama how anger could disappear,
When His brother so disparagingly speaks,
And no care for the sage’s stature does show.
Parshuram vents: “My merciful nature puts me to sufferings great”.
At this Laxamana retorts:
“If in showing mercy your body does burn,
The Almighty to your rescue would come,
If you burn in the fire of anger”.

Thereupon, the indignant sage tells Lord Rama:
“You have broken Shiva’s bow and me preaching wisdom.
Your brother with your approbation ugly tongue does employ.
O, foe of Shiva, you use your soothing words with deception,
Abjuring your façade of deception, fight a war with me,
Or else I you and your brother to heaven would despatch”.

Lord Rama himself does tell,
That for Laxamana’s blemishes the sage Him guilty holds.
Addressing the furious sage, Lord Rama makes the utterance:
“O sage abandon your anger.
You have the kuthar and my head is before you.
Do as you wish to relieve yourself of your anger.

How can there be a fight between a servant and the master ?
Give up your anger.
The child had something about you spoken,
For reasons of your being donned in a warrior’s fineries.
In reality he suffers from no dosha.
If you had come as a muni,
The child his head on your feet would have put.

How can I match you in your stature.
My name is Rama while yours Parshuram”.
Lord Rama called Vishwamitra muni and Brahmin time and again.
“You me consider a poor Brahmin,
I have killed many kings with this farsa,
You don’t know that I have given the ahuti of King’s.
In the martial yagnas that I have performed.
You pride on having broken Shiva’s bow.”

To this Rama replied:
“O Bhagirath, if we an insult to you caused
By calling you a Brahmin,
Then know the truth.
There is no warrior in whose fear we should our head bow,
If any Kshatriya in war got frightened,
To his dynasty he puts a blame.
I am speaking the truth that Raghuvanshis,
Don’t even in war fear death.
And he who fears you himself fearless does become”.
The gentle and mysterious speech of Lord Rama,
The sage’s doubt does dispel.
Thereupon Parshuram did make an utterance great:
“O Lord Rama/ Lakshmipati the bow of Vishnu do hold,
And pull it so that the dark clouds of my doubt be dispelled”.
When the sage gave Vishnu’s bow to Lord Rama,
The string of the bow itself in its place did go.

This caused deep astonishment in Vishwamitra’s mind.
Then he realised the powers of Lord Rama,
And felt ennobled and with elation filled.
“O sun of the lotus of Raghu dynasty,
O fire burning the forest of the dynasty of the demons,
Glory be to thee.
O destroyer of ego, attachment, anger and illusion,
Glory be to thee”.
With these parting words the sage to the deep forest did despatch.

Note- This is a keen and scrupulous rendering of the narrations made in the Ramcharit Manas pertaining to the events of Ahilya's salvation, Lord Rama's annihilation of the demons, sage Vishwamitra's visit to the Kingdom of Janakpur (now in Nepal) and the pictorial description of Mother Sita's visit to Mother Parvati's temple, the feelings in the heart of the onlookers at the scene at the venue of the Swayamvar and the sudden visit of sage Parshuram post breaking of Shiva's bow. These events have been sought to be couched in such a manner that it may give the feel of reading a poetic composition by the use of the poetic diction, reveral of the normal order of words standing in sharp contrast to the rules as prescribed  by English grammar for prose writings (i.e rules of syntax). With all my limitations I have sought to create a poetic composition in English even though the source is the Ramcharitmanas. It is however clarified that only certain passages of the original text (dealing with rehetorical reinforcement of the same ideas and feelings by use of different similes and metaphors from the Indian mythologies) have been skipped in order to provide a smooth  reading to the readers especially those who have not read the original text in the Devnagari script.