Storytelling for Week 2: Sita and Her Prince

Once upon a time, in a land more beautiful than all others, blossomed a romance beyond compare. There was a girl named Sita, who was the loveliest woman in all the lands. And then, there was Rama, the most loved man in the lands. Both of them were born into royal families, one a prince and the other a princess.

One day, while traveling on a magical journey; Rama, his brother Lakshmana, and the sage Viswamithra, visited Sita’s city, Mithila. Upon their arrival Rama looked up at a balcony and saw the most delightful woman he had ever laid eyes on.

Sita was sitting in her room when she heard the commotion, as someone was being led into her city. From her balcony she looked down, and her heart stopped. Staring up at her was a man with no equal. In her heart she knew they were meant to be, but knew they could not because of her father’s rule. The man kept walking and she could no longer see him. She rushed into her room saying to her maids, “Oh my, did you see that man?”

“He was the loveliest creature I have ever seen, he had eyes pure like water, and the body of a fighter.”

“I must meet him,” Sita whispered to herself, while lying on her bed.

Down below Rama was having the same feelings for this woman, and he still did not know who she was. Rama and his brother were introduced to King Janaka, Sita’s father. King Janaka was excited to see the two handsome men, and immediately asked who there were. Viswamithra replied, “These are the son’s of King Dasaratha, from the land of Kosala.”

“They are very handsome men,” said King Janaka who was growing with excitement.

You see, long ago King Janaka said that no one could marry his daughter until they were able to string his bow. The bow was the size of a mountain, meant only for a god to use. Many men had tried and failed to string the bow, leaving his poor daughter alone.  As Janaka stared at these two young men he had a good feeling that they were different.

Rama decided he was up for the challenge, and the King called for the bow to be brought fourth by his servants. Carried upon the backs of twenty men, the bow was guided forward and placed in front of Rama. Rama was a man capable of many feats, and he knew without a doubt that he could complete this task.

Rama walked forward towards the bow, stretching his arms and back as he went. He stepped up to the bow, and reached down with his hand to grab it. He saw that it was made with fine workmanship, and was made for someone truly worthy. As his hand touched the bow he felt a power rush through his body, and he could feel the bow from end to end as if it was an extension of his body. With a swift movement he placed the end of the bow on the ground next to his foot, and brought the other end down to string. It was all done very quickly that he didn’t even realize what he had done until he heard a loud cheering erupt from the crowd surrounding him. His hand started to shake and he realized he still had the bow bent. A second later a sound so loud came from the great bow as it shattered into pieces from Rama’s strength.

(Image Source: Rama and the bow of Shiva in
 King Janaka's Court, painting by Raja Ravi Varma)

King Janaka was very happy and he rushed up to Rama, “You have proved yourself young man, you have won my daughter.”

“It was my honor King Janaka, I’m sure we will be happy whoever she may be,” Rama told the King. The next second Rama felt a presence behind him, so he turned to look. It was the beautiful girl he had seen on the balcony earlier, oh how he wished it had been her hand in marriage he had just won. She was the woman of his dreams and everything he could have wanted in a woman.

King Janaka cleared his throat and Rama turned back around. “Let me introduce you to my daughter, Rama, she is a great beauty and will be a wonderful wife,” King Janaka told Rama. At that second the beautiful woman walked up and the King said gesturing at her, “This is my daughter Sita, and she has been waiting a long time for this day.” Rama smiled from ear to ear, this was the woman he was to marry. The woman he saw and wanted from the very first moment their eyes met.

Rama bowed to the woman and said, “I am Rama, and I have been waiting a long time for this day also.”

Soon after, the two got married, and lived happily ever after.

(Image Source: The Wedding of Rama and Sita;
illustration from Nine Ideal Indian Women (1919))

Author’s Note:

This story is about when Rama and Sita first meet, and their first reactions to one another. It also shows how Rama won Sita by stringing Shiva’s bow. In the book Rama sees Sita and then meets her father and strings the bow, winning Sita. The book immediately moves on to another scene where they prepare for their marriage.

For my story I took a different approach, I chose to tell this as a fairy tale. The original story was perfect for the kind of love story that is usually in a fairy tale. The beginning was somewhat similar to how Rama and Sita first saw each other, but I took the rest of the story and showed more of what they were feeling during the actual events as they took place. I made up the scene where they actually met and were introduced, because I believe that in a fairy tale, they would have had this perfect moment of meeting one another. My main goal for this story was to bring to life Sita and Rama’s instant connection. I also wanted to show how Rama fought for Sita even though he didn’t know whom he was fighting for, when stringing Shiva’s bow.

Bibliography:

Narayan, R.K. (1972) The Ramayana