On listening to the words of Janaka, Vishwamitra told the king "let the bow be displayed to Rama." Then king Janaka ordered his men to bring the bow.
An eight-wheeled coffer in which the bow of Shiva was ensconced, was being tugged by five thousand tall men of illimitable energy. They somehow tugged it with great difficulty and positioned the same in front of the king and his illustrious guests.
King Janaka addressed the Sage "Here is that exquisite bow, oh, Brahman, which is held as a time honoured bow by the lineage of Videha kings. So far, no king or prince or anyone from the assemblages of gods, inclusive of demigods, demons, gandharva-s, yaksha-s, kinnaraa-s, or reptilian demigods, is capable enough to handle this bow. They could not even lift it!
"Oh, eminent-saint, such as it is, this nonpareil bow among all bows is now brought in, as desired by you. The two princes can have a look at it."
On hearing these words, Vishwamitra looked at the King and smiled. Then he turned to Rama and said "oh, boy Rama! You may see the bow."
Rama went to the box and opened the lid, and saw the bow. Then he turned to Viswamitra and said "Sir, I wish to get a feel of this supreme bow."
"Go ahead" said the saint and the king to Rama in chorus. Rama then bend a little, grasping the bow at the middle hand-grip, playfully grabbed the bow and lifted it as if it was a kid's bow.
Then Rama tied the bowstring for the bow effortlessly to the utter astonishment of thousands of men witnessing it.
COMMENT: A bow has a definite height and it has a measure of length, from ages and at least up to the period of Kautilya, who gave many accounts for its weight and measure, in his 'Artha Shaastra' a Penguin re-publication. Four aratni-s cubits are one dhanu, a bow-length, where one aratni is about 18 inches, thus a bow-length would at least be 6 feet and a little above, taking the standard height of a archer as six-feet. The bow's height is the height of the archer plus one measure of his head's height, as the upper end has to tower over the archer's head. That being so, as this bow belongs to Shiva, its height should be more than the human measure of 6 feet; it must be some 8 to 10 feet. And 'Rama was a no crane-legged boy, as his physique is said to be of 'medium' size, and then how a boy of say, about five and a half feet tall, could catch the upper end of 8-10 feet bow to bend it.' This has become a point for debate. One explanation is as follows: an archer has to stand the bow on ground, clutch its lower end under big toe, and with one hand, he has to bend it, and with the other he takes the bowstring to string the other end; he is not supposed to handle it like a holdall or a briefcase; for this point of view, it is explained in a way that the poet is using the adjective mahaatmaa to Rama, ' an unfathomable one with an equally unfathomable soul... inasmuch as his duty is concerned...'; the minute he touched the bow, it became a spongy stick and it obeyed him and bent as he wished. Q.E.D. It can also be argued that Rama was an ambidextrous archer and furthered his skill by his acquisition of some divine missiles from Vishwamitra. Hence, his dexterity was multiplied and he can handle any divine or human bow 'effortlessly...' Double QED.
End Comment.
When he started to stretch it (i.e. bowstring) up to his ear to examine its tautness, the bow broke in the middle.
COMMENT: The bow was not broken by itself because of its oldness or dryness; it can be assumed that it was a deliberate action by Rama for breaking it, just like any young boy who is apt to damage/break any toy while playing with it. He stretched the bowstring so long until it broke. The bow was broken in the middle, not at either end, but at handgrip. This shows the strength of his palm to handgrip. Probably Rama wanted to show all as to how strong he was.
End Comment.
When the bow was breaking, it produced an explosive sound of a thunder, and the earth trembled like that happens when a mountain was exploding.
Hearing that raucous sound produced when the bow was braking, all the people, save Vishwamitra, king Janaka, Rama and Lakshmana, swooned. While the people were being recovering from the shock, king Janaka, with surprise, confusion and embarrassment addressed the Sage Vishwamitra with a reverent palm-fold "Oh, godly sage, the gallantry of Rama is evidently seen... and the whys of this boy and wherefores of his stringing that massive bow are unimaginable to me! More so, a human lifting it! How so? And breaking it! This is a highly amazing, awesome, miraculous, staggering, stunning, surprising and marvelous experience for me... My daughter Seetha on getting Dasharatha's Rama as her husband, will bring celebrity to the lineage of Janaka-s...
"Oh, Kaushika, my commitment that she is the bounty of bravery has also come true... and my daughter Seetha is a worthy bride for Rama... Sir, if you agree, my ministers will go immediately to Ayodhya and seek, on my behalf, the consent of the King Dashratha and others, for this matrimony...
[It appears that the King Janaka was thinking that 'This boy appears to be straight from the shoulder type, and he may now say "no, no, I just wanted to see and feel the bow, but that poor old bow is broken in my hand, but I have never said that I will marry your daughter without the consent of my father... and I am supposed to marry whomsoever my father ties down my neck..." knowing him to be such, I want to send proposals to Dasharatha at Ayodhya, that too if you say yes...']
"With their observant submissions those ministers will narrate in detail about the sincere endowment of Seetha as bravery's bounty to Rama, and they will lead king Dasharatha into my city that observantly... Those ministers will also tell the king Dasharatha that both the Kakutstha-s, Rama and Lakshmana, are under the aegis of saint Vishwamitra, and thus gladdening that king they will expeditiously usher in king Dasharatha for marriage..."
Vishwamitra agreed, of course.
=======================================================================
An eight-wheeled coffer in which the bow of Shiva was ensconced, was being tugged by five thousand tall men of illimitable energy. They somehow tugged it with great difficulty and positioned the same in front of the king and his illustrious guests.
King Janaka addressed the Sage "Here is that exquisite bow, oh, Brahman, which is held as a time honoured bow by the lineage of Videha kings. So far, no king or prince or anyone from the assemblages of gods, inclusive of demigods, demons, gandharva-s, yaksha-s, kinnaraa-s, or reptilian demigods, is capable enough to handle this bow. They could not even lift it!
"Oh, eminent-saint, such as it is, this nonpareil bow among all bows is now brought in, as desired by you. The two princes can have a look at it."
On hearing these words, Vishwamitra looked at the King and smiled. Then he turned to Rama and said "oh, boy Rama! You may see the bow."
Rama went to the box and opened the lid, and saw the bow. Then he turned to Viswamitra and said "Sir, I wish to get a feel of this supreme bow."
"Go ahead" said the saint and the king to Rama in chorus. Rama then bend a little, grasping the bow at the middle hand-grip, playfully grabbed the bow and lifted it as if it was a kid's bow.
Then Rama tied the bowstring for the bow effortlessly to the utter astonishment of thousands of men witnessing it.
COMMENT: A bow has a definite height and it has a measure of length, from ages and at least up to the period of Kautilya, who gave many accounts for its weight and measure, in his 'Artha Shaastra' a Penguin re-publication. Four aratni-s cubits are one dhanu, a bow-length, where one aratni is about 18 inches, thus a bow-length would at least be 6 feet and a little above, taking the standard height of a archer as six-feet. The bow's height is the height of the archer plus one measure of his head's height, as the upper end has to tower over the archer's head. That being so, as this bow belongs to Shiva, its height should be more than the human measure of 6 feet; it must be some 8 to 10 feet. And 'Rama was a no crane-legged boy, as his physique is said to be of 'medium' size, and then how a boy of say, about five and a half feet tall, could catch the upper end of 8-10 feet bow to bend it.' This has become a point for debate. One explanation is as follows: an archer has to stand the bow on ground, clutch its lower end under big toe, and with one hand, he has to bend it, and with the other he takes the bowstring to string the other end; he is not supposed to handle it like a holdall or a briefcase; for this point of view, it is explained in a way that the poet is using the adjective mahaatmaa to Rama, ' an unfathomable one with an equally unfathomable soul... inasmuch as his duty is concerned...'; the minute he touched the bow, it became a spongy stick and it obeyed him and bent as he wished. Q.E.D. It can also be argued that Rama was an ambidextrous archer and furthered his skill by his acquisition of some divine missiles from Vishwamitra. Hence, his dexterity was multiplied and he can handle any divine or human bow 'effortlessly...' Double QED.
End Comment.
When he started to stretch it (i.e. bowstring) up to his ear to examine its tautness, the bow broke in the middle.
COMMENT: The bow was not broken by itself because of its oldness or dryness; it can be assumed that it was a deliberate action by Rama for breaking it, just like any young boy who is apt to damage/break any toy while playing with it. He stretched the bowstring so long until it broke. The bow was broken in the middle, not at either end, but at handgrip. This shows the strength of his palm to handgrip. Probably Rama wanted to show all as to how strong he was.
End Comment.
When the bow was breaking, it produced an explosive sound of a thunder, and the earth trembled like that happens when a mountain was exploding.
Hearing that raucous sound produced when the bow was braking, all the people, save Vishwamitra, king Janaka, Rama and Lakshmana, swooned. While the people were being recovering from the shock, king Janaka, with surprise, confusion and embarrassment addressed the Sage Vishwamitra with a reverent palm-fold "Oh, godly sage, the gallantry of Rama is evidently seen... and the whys of this boy and wherefores of his stringing that massive bow are unimaginable to me! More so, a human lifting it! How so? And breaking it! This is a highly amazing, awesome, miraculous, staggering, stunning, surprising and marvelous experience for me... My daughter Seetha on getting Dasharatha's Rama as her husband, will bring celebrity to the lineage of Janaka-s...
"Oh, Kaushika, my commitment that she is the bounty of bravery has also come true... and my daughter Seetha is a worthy bride for Rama... Sir, if you agree, my ministers will go immediately to Ayodhya and seek, on my behalf, the consent of the King Dashratha and others, for this matrimony...
[It appears that the King Janaka was thinking that 'This boy appears to be straight from the shoulder type, and he may now say "no, no, I just wanted to see and feel the bow, but that poor old bow is broken in my hand, but I have never said that I will marry your daughter without the consent of my father... and I am supposed to marry whomsoever my father ties down my neck..." knowing him to be such, I want to send proposals to Dasharatha at Ayodhya, that too if you say yes...']
"With their observant submissions those ministers will narrate in detail about the sincere endowment of Seetha as bravery's bounty to Rama, and they will lead king Dasharatha into my city that observantly... Those ministers will also tell the king Dasharatha that both the Kakutstha-s, Rama and Lakshmana, are under the aegis of saint Vishwamitra, and thus gladdening that king they will expeditiously usher in king Dasharatha for marriage..."
Vishwamitra agreed, of course.
=======================================================================
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