Chapter 255
Finally, after all the kings had taken their seats, King Janaka rose and shouted:
"I, King Janaka of Mithila, hereby declare the commencement of my daughter's marriage selection ceremony. Whoever can draw this Shiva's Divine Bow will become my daughter's husband."
In the center of the square, flames roared atop a tall altar, wisps of blue smoke rising like silk, spreading a mysterious aura. Beside the altar, a massive divine bow, covered by a red cloth, lay quietly on a specially made pedestal, gleaming with a faint light. This was the divine bow that Shiva had specially given to Sita after Sita birth.
For some unknown reason, Rama, Lakshmana, and the Rishi Vishwamitra arrived late, but no one seemed to mind, and they simply chatted quietly.
"The one accompanying the Rishi Vishwamitra must be the Dasharatha Ayodhya."
"Aren't they the warriors who killed Tataka?"
The Rakshasi, Tataka, was said to have the strength of a thousand elephants, yet she was killed by Rama with a single arrow.
Upon the arrival of Rama and his entourage, King Janaka, as he had done with the previous kings, clasped his hands together in greeting and invited them to sit down.
Then, the attendant beside King Janaka shouted:
"King Janaka's grand ceremony for choosing a husband for his beloved Sita is about to begin. All are welcome to attend. King Janaka is deeply honored that you have accepted his invitation and are present. This grand event is made possible by the presence of your distinguished guests."
"For this, the Kingdom Mithila thanks you. Now the auspicious time has arrived. Everyone may diligently pray to this Shiva's Divine Bow, King Janaka will personally inaugurate this auspicious Ritual."
As soon as the attendant finished speaking, King Janaka rose again and slowly walked to the Shiva's Divine Bow in the center of the square, gently lifting the red cloth covering the Shiva's Divine Bow.
At that very moment, the Divine Power and dazzling light emanating from Shiva's Divine Bow caused everyone to rise and look.
As the attendants saw everyone sit down and King Janaka returned, they shouted again:
"The first to attempt to draw Shiva's Divine Bow is, I have the honor of, King Chandra Ketu."
Upon hearing this, the king got up to try, but the Shiva's Divine Bow remained motionless, and he failed.
"Now, please welcome King Dadhichi."
Fail.
"Now, please welcome the King of Blood City, Banasura."
King Janaka invited all the kings of the Three Worlds, including races other than humans, but whether they came or not was their own business.
Banasura was a follower of Shiva. After receiving Shiva's blessing, he gained a thousand arms and became arrogant. In the next Dvapara Yuga the ages, he will be killed by Krishna, the eighth Krishna of Vishnu.
Unfortunately, Banasura also failed to lift Shiva's Divine Bow and could only leave with regret.
Seeing this, the remaining kings and the defeated kings began to communicate.
"Even Banasura couldn't lift it, it's unimaginable who could lift the divine bow."
"Instead of making a fool of yourself there, you might as well just leave."
"The next king to appear is King Vishvam."
However, just as the kings had discussed, King Vishvam, seeing that so many people couldn't lift it, simply walked in the opposite direction, which meant he had abstained.
Time passed second by second, and one king after another took the stage, but none of them could lift Shiva's Divine Bow. Seeing this, King Vishvam, put his hands together in prayer, and could only bid farewell to the departing kings.
But at that very moment, outside the square, dark clouds rolled in, and Gale surged, forming a swirling vortex, within which lightning crackled.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Blinding bolts of lightning crashed down outside the plaza, and then, to the horrified gaze of the kings present, the Rakshasa King Ravana, clad in golden armor, appeared.
As the King of the Rakshasas had plagued the Three Worlds many years, everyone had long heard of Ravana's infamous reputation, so they dared not even breathe loudly.
Even Kavia, who was secretly observing from the sidelines, was somewhat puzzled, since Rama and Ravana's meeting had happened far too early.
According to the development of the Ramayana, Ravana should not appear at Sita 'Bow-Fire Sacrifice Sita. Their first meeting is on the battlefield where Rama attacks Lanka Island, making their first encounter their final one...
But why is this happening now? Perhaps Ravana is already extremely Wrath with Shiva, heard that King Janaka possessed Shiva's Divine Bow and therefore wanted to show off, especially since Ravana was already married at this time.
Ravana swaggered into the center of the square and shouted to King Janaka:
"You invited everyone, but forgot about me. Why?"
King Janaka was speechless upon hearing this. Firstly, Ravana had a wife, and secondly, who knew he would actually come...?
To the silent King Janaka, Ravana continued:
"In your eyes, am I not a king? Or are you completely ignorant of my great achievements? I, the Lord of Lanka, can even lift Kailash!"
The Rakshasa King's confidence caused everyone to exchange glances, unsure of what to say.
"I know very well that no one in the world but me can lift this divine bow!"
At this point, Ravana smiled slowly.
"Knowing this, if I didn't come, wouldn't that be unethical, right, King Janaka? That's why I came uninvited."
Ravana turned to look at the surrounding kings and shouted:
"You bunch of fools! Just because you received the invitation doesn't mean you can actually lift this divine bow. Don't be ridiculous. You can't even move it an inch, let alone lift it."
The Lord of Lanka pointed to the divine bow and walked towards it step by step, saying, "This is no ordinary bow! This is the bow of the Great God!"
"King Lankavatara, you should wait a bit."
Just as Ravana was about to approach the divine bow, a king spoke.
"Because I arrived before you, and I came at the invitation of King Janaka, I will raise my divine bow and marry Sita before you."
Ravana didn't speak, but turned his head and stared intently at the king, instantly frightening the king into slowly backing away.
"King Lanka! This is inappropriate! This Bow-Fire Sacrifice is so Divinity; you have come uninvited, and you should not defile it with your malice!"
A Rishi attempted to stop Ravana.
"Can you stop me?"
As the King of the Rakshasas now commands respect Three Worlds, Ravana's words—that Imprisonment the Sun God and the Moon Goddess and defeated the God of Death God —are met with unquestioning refutation.
This Rishi could only retreat helplessly.
"I, Ravana, have been called by the Great God himself to be His greatest follower! Today, this Ravana will not only lift this divine bow, but will also draw it! Once I do this, all of you will worship my power and ability! You bunch of worthless wretches, just wait for your utter defeat!"
Rama, who had been watching for a long time, said to his Rishi Vishwamitra:
"Master, the actions that are taking place are unjust, and the protests of the Rishi and kings are justified. Therefore, we should protect the Rishi."
Even Lakshmana couldn't help but say:
"If you allow me, Master, I will go and put an end to King Lanka's arrogance right now."
"This is inappropriate. Whatever Ravana does, this land belongs to King Janaka, and we will not interfere unless King Janaka seeks our help."
The Rishi Vishwamitra shook their heads at the two people's requests, responding in this way.
"Of all the kings present, only one has the right to oppose me raising the divine bow: King Janaka. So give me a straight answer, King Janaka. Without your permission, I, Ravana, will leave now! I won't even touch this bow! But I know that none of King Janaka's guests will leave disappointed!"
Faced with the aggressive Ravana, King Janaka could only sigh.
"King Lanka, since the Great God has already called you His greatest follower, you are fully qualified to participate in this Bow-Fire Sacrifice."
Having received King Janaka's promise, Ravana confidently approached the divine bow once more.
Ravana's confidence was justified, since he had easily lifted the Kailash where Shiva and Parvati resided, so a small divine bow would be no problem for him.
Since the beginning of the Treta Yuga period, Ravana has always been so arrogant, but this time, at the Bow-Fire Sacrifice, King Lanka's arrogance will be destroyed.
Ravana raised his hands, and instantly, endless lightning bolts surged from the horizon and flowed into his hands. The surrounding purple lightning made it seem as if time had stopped.
In an instant, the Rakshasa King's wrists were stained with an ominous crimson color as he began to raise the Shiva's Divine Bow, which was placed there.
In his entire life, except for Sita, Shiva's Divine Bow was lifted a little bit, and at the same time Ravana trembled all over, as if a bow had been stretched to its limit.
Even with bloodshot eyes, he only managed to lift it a little before ultimately having to let go.
In an instant, just like the previous defeated kings, the surrounding kings burst into laughter.
This made the already Wrath Ravana even more upset, and he roared:
"Shut up! You bunch of idiots! Before you gloat over my failure, get your facts straight! If even I can't lift it, then none of you here have a chance! I challenge you all! If any of you have the ability, step forward and lift this bow! Only those who can do it have the right to laugh at me!"
In fact, Ravana's words are not without merit; if even he, 'Shiva's greatest follower,' could not lift it, who else in the world could?
Seeing the silent crowd and the Wrath Ravana, King Janaka could only rise again and lament:
"Every father harbors the most beautiful expectations for his children. When you all accepted my invitation and arrived here, I firmly believed that my blessing for my daughter would come true. But now I realize that my wish was just wishful thinking. Perhaps the one who can draw this divine bow to marry my daughter has not yet been created by Brahma."
"Forget drawing the Great God Bow, no one can even lift it... It was my decision that the first person to lift the bow would become my daughter's husband, but how can I now reverse that decision..."
King Janaka and then continued.
"It was my mistake that ruined my daughter's happiness. I never imagined that there would be no more mothers on this land to raise such outstanding children—"
King Janaka's words may have been simply self-reproach or just a casual outburst, but they aroused the dissatisfaction of Rama's brother, Lakshmana.
Lakshmana immediately stood up, interrupting King Janaka's speech.
"How dare you speak such arrogant words before the descendants of the Sun King Dynasty! You not only insult us but also our entire family! King Janaka, how can you believe that there are no mothers in the world who can raise outstanding individuals? Isn't this an insult to our mothers?!"
If you don't understand our power, then listen carefully: if necessary, I can throw the earth as easily as throwing a ball, and I'm nothing compared to my brother, whose strength is beyond everyone's imagination.
"Roshman--"
"Let him finish speaking, Rama."
Rama wanted to interrupt Lakshmana, but was stopped by the Rishi Vishwamitra.
Then Later Lakshmana walked to the center of the square and stared at King Janaka.
"Please forgive my rudeness, but how do you know that your daughter, Sita, cannot find a suitable husband here?"
Then, Lakshmana spoke, enunciating each word clearly.
"And this happened in front of Prince Ayodhya, Rama, son of Rama Dasharatha. Have you forgotten that he is the Rama who killed Tataka?"
Such was the nature of Lakshmana, Rama's younger brother; he could not tolerate anyone doubting Rama.
Because he is the incarnation of the Serpent King Shesha, as his brother, he will spare no effort to uphold Narayana's dignity.
Moreover, not only in the present era, but also in the Future, the two will be reborn as brothers.
Seeing that Lakshmana had already appeared, the Rishi Vishwamitra knew they should also say something.
"King Janaka, none of the kings present could lift the divine bow, but if you were to ask if there were any heroes among them, in response, I beg you to grant my student Rama the opportunity to try Shiva's Divine Bow."
As the Rishi Vishwamitra spoke, they nodded to Rama. Seeing this, King Janaka, who knew of Rama's deeds, also nodded slightly.
"My Rishi Vishwamitra, I have heard many of your deeds."
After a long silence, Ravana suddenly interjected, "But I regret to say that our first meeting was very disappointing. I understand that every mentor has great confidence in their students, and you are no exception, but it is also the mentor's responsibility to uphold the dignity of their students. Even I, Ravana how could this kid possibly succeed?"
In fact, Ravana had indeed heard of the Rishi Vishwamitra quite often, since it was at his request that the Rakshasi Tataka, obstruct the Rishi Vishwamitra's Fire Sacrifice.
"At this grand gathering of distinguished guests, you spoke arrogantly on behalf of this brat, which will forever wound his pride. Don't you think so, Rishi?"
The Rishi Vishwamitra ignored Ravana's taunts, and simply walked over to Rama and patted him on the shoulder.
Go forth, for the Great God and the Himalayas bless you.
"Heh, I'd like to see what this kid is capable of."
Seeing that the Rishi Vishwamitra ignored him, Ravana, burning with anger, said this.
Then, in everyone's sight, the red-haired youth who had come before the divine bow easily raised the Shiva's Divine Bow.
Instantly, thunderous cheers erupted in the square, flower petals rained down from the sky, and the sound of bells echoed all around.
Kama Jpg.
Chapter 315 You should just Kama.
At the moment Rama was positioned before Shiva's Divine Bow.
The red-haired youth looked at the divine bow, which even Ravana, the 'greatest believer of the Great God, ' could not lift, and naturally felt conflicted.
He worried that if he couldn't move, wouldn't that embarrass his mentor Rishi Vishwamitra, and his younger brother Lakshmana...?
But since things had come to this point, Rama had no other choice but to do so.
The Future Righteous King gently touched Shiva's Divine Bow with both hands, and in that instant he saw endless illusory mist, a cold mist with its own unique properties.
Just as Rama was puzzled by this, his eyes suddenly lit up.
Because his long-lost Proxy God of Love, 'Kaya', appeared before him.
"... What is the meaning of this Vow, Rama, which is secured by drawing the divine bow?"