Aug 18, 2007

Chapter 59: Sita’s Swayamvara

V gets invitation from Mithila King on yagna for Shiva's bow (given by Parashuram) and Sita’s swayamvara at the same time. He accepts and informs Rama and Lakshman to go with him. He knows the future and realizes that it is important for Rama to join the invite. On their way, they encounter a dilapidated ashram where a stone keeps calling for Rama. The 3 are perplexed but V narrates the story of Ahalya who was given the curse to become a rock.

Sita meanwhile approaches Rishi Gautam and does pranam. Rishi who was doing meditation is interrupted but he welcomes her and gives her blessing. She refuses to accept the blessing and says she doesn’t want any blessings from a hand which gave shaap to wife even without wife’s mistake.

Rishi is angered and asks why she supports Ahalya; couldn’t Ahalya know a desire such as that wouldntve been asked by him and it was someone else? Sita counters that Ahalya, who kept doing exactly her swami asked her, how could she have refused. When he knew Ahalya was not a person to give into desire by her own will to a strange man unless if it were by mistake, why couldn’t he forgive her? The actual culprit was Indra and G’s tapas powers were used inappropriately. G breaks down and asks sorry. Sita says ask sorry to Ahalya. So G goes.

V meanwhile finally asks Rama to put his foot on stone. Rama refuses as it is unwise to do so on any woman. V confirms that it is just so that Ahalya can be purified and personified literally! Rama agrees, and puts his foot on the stone and Ahalya transforms from stone to woman and thanks Rama. At the same time, Rishi Gautam comes.

Gautam apologises profusely to his wife Ahalya for his folly, after Rama asks him in doing so. Rama tells him that Ahalya is the victim of Deva power (Indra) and Penance power (Gautam). So G says sorry to A but Ahalya refuses to take apology. After all, he is her swami. Then, Rama, V & L are on their way again. Gautam and Ahalya ask them to hold on for some time but they refuse. Ahalya says that her son Shathanand is a priest in Janakpur and S is the priest of Sita. She asks V to convey message to Ahalya's son that Ahalya is now out of the curse. V agrees.

Rama & Co come across Ganga River on the way to Janakpur. V narrates the story behind the birth of Ganges.

Once due to the curse of Sage Kapil, a king called Sahaj’s 60 sons were massacred. The kulguru of that kingdom (Bhagirath) did tapas to Vishnu to get pure water, which Vishnu obliged. But Shiva took all the outflowing water onto his hair on head. The kulguru, Bhagirathi, then does tapas to Shiva, who obliges and Ganges flows from his hair. The Kulguru then leads the path for Ganges to flow and hence Ganga took birth. Since it acted to purify the ‘paapa’ (sin), it is called paapavinashini. [story might not be correctly recollected]

River Ganga acts as border between Awadh and Mithila. Meanwhile in Mithila, Janaka King prays Shiva to, prior to Swayamvara, award his daughter Sita a good hubby. He is sad, although, because his daughter is going away. But his wife Sunaina says a girl is like money. Start from scratch, and once you have enough, give it away. An implicit reference to Goddess Lakshmi who happens to God of Money too.

At the side of Shiva’s idol in Janaka’s place is the bow given by Parashuram. The heaviest ever, able only to be picked up by over 10 soldiers. One fine day, when Sita was still a kiddo, she had picked up the bow and cleaned it. Raja and Kulguru were shocked to see this amazing Goddess-like feat and since then it was decided that the person who lifts the bow would be Sita’s hubby.

V & Co finally enter Janaka’s palace. He is overjoyed and is most grateful for having brought Rama as a contestant to Swayamvara, but V says they are his aides and have just accompanied and have not come as contestants. For them to be contestants, Raja D has to be consulted. At the same place, V & Co meet Ahalya and Gautam’s son. Urmila, Mandavi and Shutrikal are Sita’s sisters.

Meanwhile D plans his remaining 2 sons to visit Mithila to contest for Swayamavara. KK refuses saying without Rama, others cannot go. All agree. She demands what happened to Rama and D says he cannot order V to do what D wants although he is the Chakravarthi (monarch) of Ayodhya.

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