by Tulsidas
Lakshman saw the jewel of Raghu’s line,
Glance at Har’s great bow;
He thrilled with joy, and spoke,
Striking the world with his foot.
(259)
‘Celestial elephants that guard the eight quarters, tortoise, snake and boar,79
Be firm and hold fast the earth so that it does not shake.
Ram wants to break Shankar’s bow,
So stay alert, obeying my command!’
When Ram approached the bow,
Men and women invoked the gods, and called upon the merit of their past good deeds.
The doubt and ignorance of them all,
The arrogance of the foolish kings,
The weight of Bhrigupati’slxxi haughty pride,
The timidity of gods and munis,
Sita’s distress, Janak’s remorse,
The intense and burning anguish of the queens—
Finding the great ship that was Shambhu’s bow
Crowded aboard all together,
Wishing to cross the boundless ocean that was Ram’s strength of arm
Though they had no helmsman.
Ram looked at the crowd—
Everyone was as still as a painting.
The compassionate Lord then looked at Sita,
And knew her profound distress.
(260)
He saw Vaidehi’s great anguish
And how a moment of time passed like an aeon for her.
If a thirsty man dies for want of water,
What use is even a lake of nectar to his corpse?
What good is rain once all the crops have withered?
What use is regret once a chance has been lost?
Thinking thus, the Lord gazed at Janaki
And was overcome with joy to see her profound love.
He paid homage to his guru in his heart
And swiftly and lightly picked up the bow.
The bow flashed like lightning when he picked it up,
Then it shone like a circle in the sky.
How he picked it up, strung it and drew it tight,
No one saw—all they saw was him standing there.
In that very instant Ram broke the bow,
And the terrible sound of its breaking filled earth, space and sky.
The harsh and terrible sound filled earth, space and sky,
The horses of the sun, startled, left their path,
The celestial elephants trumpeted, the earth shook,
The serpent, the boar and the tortoise writhed and staggered and floundered,
Gods, demons and munis covered their ears with their hands,
And all began, with great agitation, to ponder the cause.
But, says Tulsi, when they realized that Ram had broken the bow,
They broke into shouts of triumph, hailing his victory.
Shankar’s bow was the ship,
The ocean was Raghubar’s strength of arm,
And the whole company, that had earlier climbed aboard this vessel
In the grip of worldly attachment, was now drowned.
(261)
The Lord threw the two pieces of the bow upon the ground,
Seeing this, all the people rejoiced.
The pure ocean that is the Muni Kaushik
Filled with the clear and fathomless water that is the love he bears the Lord,
Seeing the full moon of Ram’s form
Swelled across its wide expanse with a great tide of immense joy.
The sky reverberated with the beat of triumphant drums,
As celestial women danced and sang.
Brahma and all the other gods, the Siddhas and the great munis
Praised the Lord and gave him their blessings,
Showering down garlands of many-hued flowers
While Kinnaras sing sweet and melodious songs.
The cries and calls of victory now filled earth, space and sky
As the crash of the bow’s breaking faded away.
Everywhere, delighted men and women called out,
‘Ram has broken Shambhu’s mighty bow!’
Bards, minstrels and poets
Single-mindedly sang his fame and glory
And all the people made grateful offerings
Of horses, elephants, money, jewels and fine clothes.
(262)
The pleasing sounds of cymbals, mridangs, conchs, shehnais,
Bugles, kettledrums, tabors
And many other kinds of musical instruments delighted the ear
While everywhere young women sang songs of joy.
The queen with her companions was as exultant with joy
As a parched field of rice upon which rain has fallen.
Janak abandoned worry and embraced happiness,
As a weary swimmer finds the shore.
The other kings and princes, at the breaking of the bow, lost their lustre,
Like lamps that lose their brilliance in the day.
But how may Sita’s joy be described?
She was like a chatak that has found the rain that falls under the Svati nakshatra.
Lakshman gazed at Ram
As a young chakor at the moon.
Shatanand then gave the word,
And Sita approached Ram.
Accompanied by her beautiful and accomplished companions
Singing auspicious songs of joy,
She moved with the grace of a young swan,
Her every part endowed with infinite beauty.
(263)
In the midst of her companions, Sita shone
As does great beauty in the midst of grace.
In her lotus hands glittered the garland by which she would signal her choice
Glowing with the glory of victory over the world.
Her body shrinking with modesty, her heart full of gladness,
No one could see her secret love.
As she went up to Ram and saw his shining beauty,
The princess stood still, as though in a painting.
Her knowing companions, seeing her state, instructed her—
‘Place the shining garland around his neck,’ they said.
Hearing their words, Sita raised the garland with both hands,
But, overcome with love, she could not place it upon him.
Her raised hands shone with such grace, it seemed as though two lotus flowers upon their slender stems
Were timidly offering the garland to the moon itself.
Her companions, perceiving such charm and beauty, broke into song,
Sita then placed the garland around Ram’s neck so that is rested upon his breast.
Seeing the garland resting upon Raghubar’s chest,
The gods rained down flowers,
While the kings all shrank into themselves,
Like a cluster of lilies at the sight of the sun.
(264)
The town and the firmament resounded with music,
The wicked grew melancholy, the virtuous glad.
Gods, Kinnaras, men, Nagas and revered munis
Rejoiced and cheered and uttered blessings.
Celestial maidens danced and sang,
Showering handfuls of flowers from the sky.
Everywhere Brahmans chanted the Vedas,
While bards and minstrels sang songs of praise and glory.
It became known all over earth, and in the worlds below it and the heavens above it,
That Ram had broken the bow and was to wed Sita.
The men and women of the city performed arti, singing songs of praise,
And gave alms generously, unheeding of their means.
Sita and Ram were a radiant pair,
As though Beauty and Love had become one.
Her friends urged, ‘Clasp your lord’s feet, Sita!’
But Sita, greatly afraid, dared not touch them.
Recalling the release of Gautam’s wife
She refrained from touching his feet with her hands.
The jewel of the Raghus smiled to himself,
Understanding her extraordinary love.
(265)
Then some of the kings, looking upon Sita, became filled with desire.
Cruel, degenerate fools, they were flushed with rage.
Rising, one after another, and donning armour, these unfortunate wretches
Began to brag and boast.
‘Let us carry Sita off,’ said some,
‘And capture the two princes and tie them up!
He may have broken the bow, but he has still not attained his wish—
For who can marry the princess while we still live?
Should Videh render them any assistance,
We will defeat him in battle along with the two brothers!’
The good and virtuous kings, hearing these words, replied,
‘Shame itself is shamed by this royal gathering.
Your might, glory, courage, fame
And honour all left you with the breaking of the bow.
Is it that same valour of which you are boasting, or did you find more somewhere?
It is because of such aberrant thinking that Vidhi blackened your faces!
Look upon Ram and fill your eyes with his glory,
Abandoning jealousy, arrogance and anger.
Lakshman’s wrath is a mighty fire—
Know this and do not be consumed by it like moths.
(266)
Like a crow coveting the sacrifice offered to Vainateya, king of the birds,lxxii
Or a hare wanting the lion’s portion,
Like one who gives way to anger without reason, wanting happiness and well-being,
Or an enemy of Shiv wanting prosperity,
Like a stingy, greedy man wanting sweet fame,
Or a lustful one wanting a spotless reputation,
Or one who has turned away from Hari’s feet wanting salvation—
Such is your desire, lords of men!’
Hearing the uproar, Sita grew afraid
And her companions led her to the queen.
Ram, quite unruffled, joined his guru,
Praising Sita’s love in his heart.
The queen and Sita were overwhelmed by anxiety
And wondered what Vidhi now intended.
Hearing the words of the kings, Lakshman glared all about him,
But for fear of Ram, he could not speak.
With flaming eyes and frowning brow,
He glared, full of rage, at the kings,
Like a young lion inflamed to fury
Upon seeing a herd of mad elephants in rut.
(267)
Seeing the commotion, the women of the city grew uneasy,
And joining together, they all began to curse the kings.
It was at this moment, having heard that Shiv’s bow had been broken,
That Parashuram,80 the sun to the lotuses of Bhrigu’s line, arrived.
Seeing him, the kings shrank back afraid,
Like quails hiding from a swooping hawk;
His fair body, covered with sacred ash, shone with noble brilliance.
Upon his broad forehead were resplendent the three lines of Shiv.81
His hair was matted, and his face, as handsome as the moon,
Was flushed with anger;
His brows were twisted in a frown, his eyes red with rage,
So that even his most casual glance seemed wrathful.
With the shoulders of a bull, a broad chest and mighty arms,
He wore a shining sacred thread, a string of beads, a deerskin,
And, around his waist, an ascetic’s cloth made of bark, and two quivers.
He held a bow and arrow in his hands, and an axe upon his handsome shoulder.
Though in ascetic and serene attire, his deeds were harsh and cruel—
His appearance is impossible to describe.
It seemed as though Valour had assumed a muni’s body
And come to the gathering of kings.
(268)
Beholding Bhrigupati’s terrifying form,
The kings arose, made uneasy by fear.
Declaring their own names and that of their fathers,
They fell prostrate before him in obeisance.
Even those whom he glanced at casually, or in a kind or benevolent manner,
Thought that their life had come to an end.
Then Janak came and bowed his head before him,
And, calling Sita, made her pay him homage.
Parashuram bestowed his blessing upon her, and her friends, rejoicing,
Led her back to the women.
Then Vishvamitra came to meet him,
And placed the two brothers at his lotus feet,
Saying, ‘These are Ram and Lakshman, Dasharath’s sons.’
Parashuram, seeing the comely pair, blessed them,
But his eyes remained fixed upon Ram
Whose infinite beauty chased away the conceit of Mar himself.
Looking around him once more, he turned to Videha’s king
And asked, ‘Tell me, why this great crowd?’
Though knowing well the reason why, he asked like one who did not know,
His body filled with rage.
(269)
Janak explained the circumstances
And the reason why all the kings had come.
At his words, Parashuram turned his gaze and looked,
And saw the broken fragments of the bow thrown upon the ground.
Enraged, he cried in harsh and wrathful tones,
‘Tell me, Janak, which fool has broken the bow?
Show me that idiot at once, or this very day
I will turn your kingdom upside down!’
Overcome with terror, the king gave no answer.
The crooked kings rejoiced in their hearts,
But gods, munis, Nagas, and the men and women of the town
Were filled with apprehension, and their hearts grew heavy with fear.
Sita’s mother lamented in her heart,
‘Vidhi has ruined all that had just been arranged so well.’
Sita, having heard of Bhrigupati’s temper,
Felt half an instant pass like an aeon.
Seeing all the people terrified
And knowing that Janaki was frightened,
With neither joy nor sorrow in his heart,
Raghubir intervened and said,
(270)
‘Lord, the one who has broken Shambhu’s bow
Must be one of your servants.
So why not tell me, what is your command?’
Hearing this, the angry muni grew even more furious.
‘A servant is one who serves,
But he who has done the deed of an enemy must be fought!
Hear me, Ram—he who has broken Shiv’s bow
Is as much my enemy as was the thousand-armed Sahasrabahu.
Let him stand away from this assembly
Or else all these kings will be killed.’
Hearing the sage’s words, Lakshman smiled
And mocking Parashudhar,lxxiii spoke.
‘We have broken many bows in our childhood,
But you were never before so angry, sir!
Why are you so attached to this particular bow?’
Growing even angrier at his words, the banner of the line of Bhrigu replied,
‘Hey, young prince in the shadow of death!
You have no check on your tongue!
Is any little bow like Tripurari’s bow,
Renowned throughout the world?’
(271)
Lakshman laughed and said, ‘In my understanding,
Respected sir, all bows are the same.
What loss or gain is there in breaking a worn-out old one?
Seeing it, Ram mistook it for new
And it broke at his touch—it was no fault of Raghupati’s.
Why then do you rage so, muni, without any cause?’
With a glance at his
axe, the muni replied,
‘Fool, have you not heard of my temper?
I call you a child, so I do not kill you.
You regard me, fool, only as an ascetic—
But I have practised austerity from childhood, and full of wrath,
I am famous throughout the world as the enemy of the Kshatriya clans.
By the might of my arm I have cleared the earth of kings
And given it, many times, to the Brahmans.
The axe that cut off Sahasrabahu’s arms—
Take a look at it, young son of a king!
Do not cause your mother and father
To be overwhelmed with sorrow, young prince!
My axe is very cruel—
It destroys even the unborn child in the womb.’
(272)
Lakshman laughed and replied in gentle tones,
‘Oho, the great muni considers himself a mighty warrior.
Again and again you show me your axe,
Hoping, with a breath, to blow away a mountain.
But there is no unripe pumpkin here
That will fall at the sight of an admonishing forefinger.
Seeing your axe, and bow and arrows
I spoke a little haughtily.
But knowing that you are of Bhr̤igu’s line and seeing your sacred thread,
I suffer whatever you say, keeping my anger in check.
In our family, we do not display our valour against
Gods, Brahmans, devotees of Hari and cows.
To kill them is sin, and to be beaten by them, dishonour,
So even if you hit me, I will fall at your feet.
Your every word is as powerful as ten million thunderbolts—
You carry your bow, arrows and axe unnecessarily.
If seeing them, I spoke improperly,
Forgive me, great and steadfast muni.’
Hearing this, the jewel of Bhr̤igu’s line
Wrathfully replied in a deep and rumbling voice—
(273)
‘Kaushik, listen to me, this boy is a fool!
Perverse, doomed to die, he is the destroyer of his own kin!
He is a blemish on the moon of the solar clan,
Self-willed, totally uncontrollable, bereft of sense and utterly reckless.
In another moment, he will become a morsel in Death’s mouth,
And I loudly declare that it will be no fault of mine!