Week 5 Story: Rama and Sita Meet

A Match Not Made in Heaven

"But I don't wanna go!"

Rama sulked in the backseat of the caravan. He and his brothers were headed to a family friend's palace to partake in his daughter's wedding ceremony. It was said that whoever could break the strong bow of her past suitor would have her hand in marriage. All of Rama's brothers were eager to test it out, but Rama wanted no part in some stupid girl's fancy party. He just wanted to stay home and practice his swordplay in the backyard.

Bishwamithra laughed.

"Oh Rama, it will be fun! Plus, they are close friends of ours. We can't just ditch such a wonderful celebration! And who knows, maybe you'll be the lucky boy."

Rama scowled. "Lucky" was not the word he would use.

After what seemed like hours, they finally arrived at the moon king's palace. It was large and ornately decorated with moon symbols and stars and mosaics of the night sky. The pyres towered high into the air, almost touching the clouds. Rama had to admit it was pretty cool to look at.

The group traveled to the backyard, where the ceremony was to be held. There were tables of food lined out, along with plenty of chairs and a large stage. Upon the stage was a stone pedestal, and on the pedestal was a shiny golden bow.

That doesn't look so tough thought Rama. I could break that with my teeth.

After separating from his brothers, Rama headed straight for the food tables. He stacked a plate high with lamb chops, sweet potatoes, rice, bread, vegetables, and drowned it all in beef curry. He took his heaping plate and sat down in one of the chairs closest to the stage. He then began to chow down.

He was well into his third lamb chop when he felt someone watching him.

He looked up, mouth full, to see a young girl staring at him. She watched in disgust as he shoveled his potatoes into his already bursting mouth. Some curry dribbled down his chin and her brow furrowed.

Rama chewed and swallowed.

"What?" he challenged.

The girl shrugged.

"I was just thinking about how sad it is to be cursed to a life of lonesome, as you seem to have been." she grinned smugly.

Rama seethed.

"I'll have you know that I'm going to be a brave warrior someday. I need my strength. You might as well bow to me now." He stuck his tongue out at her and continued eating. The girl was clearly annoyed at this, for she usually wasn't so easily ignored.

"Ahem. Don't you know who I am?"

Rama continued to stuff his face.

"An ugly old hag?" he ventured.

The girl fumed.

"I am Sita!! I am the moon princess! I'll have you know that I am the most beautiful girl in the kingdom. Just look at all of my suitors."

Rama looked around. He had to admit, there were a lot of young men wandering around, stealing glances at the princess.

Rama nodded.

"Oh I see. So what's wrong with them that they've bothered to come here? Were they that bored?"

Sita opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by her father's voice.

"My good people! Thank you all so much for attending! You've been patient, and now it is time for the competition! Would all of the eligible bachelors please come up to the stage?"

The young boys all wandered their way up to the front, and lined up beside the bow. Sita turned to Rama.

"Don't even THINK about going up there."

Rama scoffed.

"In your dreams, goat breath."

They watched as one by one, the boys tried and failed to break the bow. They all left the stage in a heartbroken state, including Rama's brothers. A grand total of forty-two boys sat among the folks, sulking at their loss. Sita's father hurriedly returned to the stage.

"Well, that didn't quite go as planned, haha. Is there anyone else? Anyone?" He began to sweat. "Just one more boy who would like to have a go?"

Rama rolled his eyes, but then stopped. He smiled. He might as well give Sita a good scare. There's no way he'd break the bow, but just to see the look on her face.....

"I'll try it!" he shouted with glee.

He popped up out of his seat and headed to the stage, face still covered in food. He looked back to see Sita absolutely livid. He enjoyed her face that way.

He swaggered his way to the podium, making a big show. He reached for the bow and picked it up. It was lighter than he'd expected. He began to make a big fuss about how heavy and strong the bow was. He playfully pretended to pull at the ends, watching Sita turn red with embarrassment. Oh this is fun! he though. He figured he might as well amp it up a little. He began to pull harder at the ends, feigning strain. He gave the bow a few good yanks, feeling it give a little bit. Before he could be alarmed....

SNAP.

The bow snapped in two.

He stared up at Sita in disbelief, and her mouth was hanging open. The crowd began to cheer and shout Rama's name. They came up to the stage and carried him on their shoulders.

"It's time for a wedding!" they yelled gleefully.

Rama turned back to Sita and grinned at her. She only glared back.



Author's Note: In the original story, there isn't much in the way of plot once Rama sees Sita. He and his brothers travel to the ceremony, where lots of suitors try and break the bow. Rama hadn't originally intended on trying, but the moment he laid eyes on Sita, he fell in love with her. Naturally, he wanted to try his hand. Sita prays to the gods to let him break it, and he does. They get married, along with Rama's brothers. I tend to play things on a humorous note, and I wanted more depth to Rama and Sita's meeting, so I thought it would be funny if they greatly disliked each other.

Bibliography. "Nine Ideal Indian Women" by Sunity Devee. Source: Sita, Promila, and Shakuntala.

Image from Gintama by Hideaki Sorachi
Source: Fanpop