The story I am about to tell you occurred many millennia ago. Long before the world came to be in its current state. I was known as Devdas and I served the King Janaka. Janaka was a great and fair king with four daughters. Three of his daughters were born to him by his wives, while the fairest of his daughters was brought to him by the great Mother Earth herself. Her name was Sita. Janaka did not know it at the time, but Sita was to be the catalyst for the removal of the king of demons.

I can still remember the day I first found Sita. She was a gorgeous baby lying in a freshly tilled rut that I happened to be patrolling near. I gathered her up into my arms and carried her away to my king, Janaka. He thanked me and said she was a gift from Mother Earth, and as such, someone would need to perform a special task to become her mate.

“What of Shiva’s bow, My Lord?” I asked him. “A man who can string and draw back Shiva’s bow would certainly be worthy of her. And he would be well suited for protecting her from the other dangers of this world and others.”

Janaka nodded. “I will have to think on this, my good man, for this is no light matter.”

That was the end of the discussion. I returned to my duties, which now included tending to and overseeing the raising of Sita. Sita grew, over the years, into a lovely young woman. I can easily recall her shapely figure, brown-red hair, the color of the earth itself, cascading around her shoulders, slender arms of womanly magnificence, and every curve that a man could want. Her smell was equally enticing, mixing the earth and freshly picked strawberries. I felt proud as her foster father. I did my best, with the permissions of Janaka, to teach her some ways of the warrior, so she might know when a suitable suitor arrived.

I was nearing the end of my days when I first met Rama and Lakshmana in all their glory. I greeted them as they approached Janaka’s realm.

“Greetings unto you, good young masters.” I bowed deeply before them.

“Rise, good Devdas. You serve your king well,” Lakshmana said.

I rose and tucked my hands behind me. It was, and is at times, a sign of respect for those in one’s presence. “What has brought you to our lovely land?”

“We are but walking and learning the ways of the world. As warriors must, as not everything can be learned at home, and Ayodhya will likely need such warriors in due time,” Rama answered, a pleasant smile upon his face.

I could feel myself swoon for his approval just by watching him. Such was the presence of Rama. Any who met him fell instantly in love with him, or they were a dreadful enemy.

“Tell me, good Devdas, who is the woman in the window?” Rama asked. He gestured to a tall tower near by. The tower he gestured toward was a tower that Sita frequently took to visiting to help me watch over Janaka’s kingdom.

Without turning about I said, “That, my good Lord Rama, is Sita. She is the glorious and gorgeous daughter of my king, Janaka.”

“We were destined to be together. My life was incomplete before now. What must I do to become hers?” Rama asked.

“You must ask such things of King Janaka, for he is the one to give her away. I do know that there will be a test of martial prowess, for I know that there are others who would desire such a beautiful bride and attempt to steal her away from her husband. She has been protected these many years here by King Janaka and myself, and we would see her go only to a worthy man.”

“Well, be quick about it, my good man,” Lakshmana said. “Take us before King Janaka. This is an urgent business to attend to.”

I nodded and led them away to King Janaka. There Rama made the same statement to my lord as he had made to me concerning Sita. King Janaka nodded serenely and with a swish of his hand, directed me to retrieve Shiva’s bow.

I left the kingly chamber and dashed as quickly as my old bones would allow to the armory. I claimed an undecorated sandalwood box. To any normal passerby, the box looked inelegant and bland, but to those who knew what it was, it was a priceless treasure. I carried the box back to the kingly chamber and found that Sita had already arrived to observe the trial. It was clear, to anyone who looked upon her, that she had already fallen deeply in love with Rama at the mere sight of him.

I carried the box over to Rama and opened it. Within was a sandalwood bow with exquisite diagrams carved all over it and ivory and gold tips. Its grip was crafted of silver and gold from the deepest reaches of Shiva’s realm in the Himalayas. Rama knew it for what it was before he even placed a hand upon it.

“For Sita’s hand in holy matrimony, you must string and draw this bow. To do so will prove to us that you will have the strength to protect her,” King Janaka said.

Rama, without uttering a word, lifted the bow from the box and turned it over in his hands. He spent a long few moments studying the bow before taking a bowstring from a pouch on his belt and deftly stringing the bow. He then sighted an imaginary target and drew the bowstring back to his ear. Shiva’s bow held for a moment in that position before a deafening crack resounded in the kingly chamber and the bow snapped in half.

Rama replaced the shattered bow in the box Which I still held. Sita rushed over to him. A grand wedding, of the four sons of Dasaratha - not just Rama and Lakshmana, but also their brothers, recently arrived from Ayodhya - and the four daughters of Janaka were married.

Back to the Cover Page

On to The Battle at Lanka: Lakshmana Versus Indrajit

On to The Battle at Lanka: Rama Versus Ravana

On to Kusa and Lava's Song and the Trial of Sita

Author’s Note: I’m not entirely sure where to start with this. I suppose the most responsible place would be the beginning. I wanted to retell Rama’s breaking of Shiva’s bow, but I didn’t want the point of view to be any character actually in the original. I wanted it to be an outside source of information. Not someone entirely objective either, as you may have noticed. I came to the conclusion that making Birbala’s earlier incarnation be  the guard who first found Sita and even acted as a foster father for her would give an interesting viewpoint for the entire story. That would cover the major change I made to the story.

I also added to the story, making it span years. I also implied that during those years, Devdas taught Sita a thing or two about marksmanship, as well as helping to raise her as a proper lady. Another interesting thing you may not have known is the origin of the name ‘Devdas.’ It is Indian in origin and has the meaning ‘Servant of God’ attached to it. I chose it because Devdas is, in this story, serving two different avatars of the gods as well as being a servant to Janaka.