When Rishi Vishvamitra arrived at Mithila, he introduced Ram and Lakshman to Raja Janak in these words:
Putrau Dashrathsyemo kshatriyau lokvishrutau/
Drashtukamau dhanuhshreshthm yadetatvayi tishthati//
O Great Raja! Both of these sons of Raja Dashrath are the world-renowned Kshatriya warriors and they have the desire to see the excellent bow which is kept in your abode.
– Balmiki Ramayan, Balkand, Canto 66(v)
Balmiki’s account of Ram’s prowess
Janak’s response was elaborate. He began with the story of how the bow came into the possession of his forebears, and concluded by telling his guests that his daughter, Sita, was a ‘viryashulka’ – she would be married only to the man who demonstrated his vigour and might before him. Janak’s test was as simple as it was hard to pass. To win Sita’s hand, the prospective groom was required to string the mighty bow. For a year, the rajas of the surrounding realms had tried, one after the other, to do this. But each of them had to retreat with a fallen face, having failed even to lift the bow. Now, if Ram could accomplish the feat, said Raja Janak, he would gladly marry Sita to him.
Upon hearing of Raja Janak’s vow, Vishvamitra asked that the bow be brought before Ram. The object made an impressive sight. It was kept in a huge eight-wheeled iron box and had to be dragged to the place by not less than five thousand stout warriors, all huffing and puffing with exertion. The raja asserted once again that it was beyond any man to pull the bow, string it and shoot an arrow from it.
Even so, Rishi Vishvamitra calmly said to Ram, “Vatsa – dear child – have a look at the bow.” Following the rishi’s instruction, Ram opened the box and sighting the relic, said that he would try to lift it and string it as well. Both the rishi and the raja gave their assent to him in one voice. At this, Ram held the bow from its middle and lifted it from out of the box without apparent effort. Then, before thousands of people watching intently, he playfully strung it. As he pulled it upto his ears, the ancient relic cracked in the middle with an earth-shaking thunder. The noise was so intense that leaving aside Ram, Lakshman, Vishvamitra and Raja Janak, everyone else who stood there lost their consciousness and fell to the ground. A few moments later, when everything had normalised, Raja Janak declared with humility that his vow regarding his viryashulka daughter stood fulfilled and he would offer her in marriage to Ram.
Tulsidas’s retelling
Sant Tulsidas adds vibrancy to Balmiki’s rather straightforward description of a crucial event in Ram’s life (see Ramcharitmanas, Balkand, 217-264). It was a late afternoon. Ram and Lakshman had had their meals with the rishi-munis and were now relaxing. Lakshman, like any other youngster visiting a new place, wanted to go around the Janakpur town. Elder brother Ram sensed his eagerness and sought Valmiki’s permission for the sight-seeing. The two princes, one dark and the other fair, outmatching Kamdev in their presence and carriage, became the focus of attention of the local women:
Dekhi Ram chhabi kou ek kehahi/Jogu Jankihi yeh baru ahei//
Jaun sakhi inhahi dekh Narnahu/Pan parihari hathin karei bibahu//
Looking at Ram’s graceful form, one woman says to the other – this groom suits Janaki so well. My Friend! If the Raja were to see him anywhere, he would forget his vow and insist on marrying (Sita) to him.
– Ramcharitmanas, Balkand, 221(i)
The following morning, the two brothers visited the royal garden again, this time to fetch flowers for Rishi Vishvamitra’s morning oblations. There was a fine lake in the midst of the garden, redolent with lotus flowers. Seeking permission of the gardeners, they began to collect flowers of their choice. At that time Sita also happened to be there with her ladies-in-waiting. Her mother had sent her for paying obeisance to Goddess Parvati. Ram’s attention was drawn to the sweet jingling of Sita’s ornaments. He looked in that direction a second time and there stood Sita. In those pretty moments, in the words of Tulsidas, “bhaye bilochan charu achanchal” – the four eyes (Ram’s and Sita’s) came to a standstill (ibid, 229(ii)). It was love at first sight. He told Lakshman that the beautiful damsel surrounding by her lovely confidantes was Raja Janak’s daughter, the princess for whom the yagya was being organised.
Sita too was lovestruck. On the ruse of watching deer and birds cavorting around the flowering trees, she turned again and again to steal glances at her idol, Ram. Her companion gently reminded her that they were being late and it was time they went home. Sita obliged, but reluctantly. She was worried how Ram was going to face the arduous challenge of Lord Shiva’s bow.
At the stage set for the swayamvara, bards formally declared Raja Janak’s vow before the assembled rajas. The proud rajas took it as a challenge to their might. With passion they looked at the bow, focussed their attention to hold it and then applied their force on it in myriad ways. But it did not budge. There came a time when numberless participants jointly tried to lift it, and it still did not move. Defeated in their purpose, they returned to their seats dejectedly. But greater than their dejection was Raja Janak’s disappointment. He gave vent to his feelings:
Ab jani kou makhai bhat mani/Vir bihin mahi main jani//
Tajhu aas nij nij grih jahu/Likha na bidhi Baidehi bibahu//
Now no one proud of his valour should mind. I have come to know that Earth is void of the brave. Now abandoning your hopes, go back to your respective homes; Lord Brahma has not ordained marriage for Sita.
– Ibid, 251(ii)
Raja Janak’s expression of distress roused Lakshman to terrible anger, but he held it in check in the presence of his elder brother. It was then that Rishi Vishvamitra instructed Ram to split the bow and put an end to the prevailing bitterness. Obeying his guru, Ram briskly lifted the bow which dazzled in his hands like lightening. Ram’s movements were so swift that no one could judge when exactly he had lifted the bow, strung it and pulled it. The bow was split in the next instant.
When Sita put the jaya-mala – victory garland – round Ram’s neck, the defeated rajas shrunk into themselves, says Sant Tulsidas, like lotuses wilting at the appearance of Sun.
Yet, Ram would have to face, as we shall see, someone much more formidable than those deflated princelings.
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