Ramayana · Vol 2
Shiva's Bow
Volume 1 of 9
The rakshasa king Ravana asks for immunity from gods, gandharvas, yakshas and rakshasas, leaving out humans because he despises them. So Vishnu chooses to be born as the son of an old king who has long had no son.
- Series
- Ramayana
- Contents
- 11 chapters, 17,816 words
- Transparency
- SI-assisted work
About this work
The sage Valmiki sees a krauncha bird shot in front of its mate, and his grief comes out as the first verse. Brahma then commands him to tell the story of Rama. King Dasharatha, long without a son, gets four sons from a porridge carried out of the sacrificial fire, then has to hand over the eldest, not yet sixteen, to a sage to fight rakshasas sent by Ravana. Rama kills Tataka, guards a sacrifice for six nights, frees Ahalya, unseen by anyone for a thousand years, and lifts the bow of Shiva that neither gods nor kings could lift. The bow breaks, Sita becomes his wife, and on the road home a brahmana with an axe blocks the way. This is the opening of the Ramayana as a novel, faithfully retold from the Bala Kanda of Valmiki's Indian text. It does not follow the wayang version.
