Week 5 Story: Love at First Sight

This writing is based from Sita Daughter of the Earth, written by Saraswati Nagpal. I accessed this graphic novel in OU's Bizzell Library reserves.

The city gates of Videha towered over Rama and his brother as they entered the kingdom. The sandstone archway stood seventy feet tall, and the iron doors shone brightly in the sunlight. The doorway itself could fit twelve men standing shoulder to shoulder; today, the gate was getting its full use. It was the morning, but the sun was already beating on the Ayodhyan princes’ skin.

Inside the city, the markets were as busy as ever. Rama looked around the crowds of people; many of them were wearing expensive silks which glistened in the sunlight. “This city looks very wealthy,” Rama whispered to his brother, Lakshmana. But his sage, Viswamithra, turned his head at the statement.

“The city is very wealthy, but what you are seeing are many princes, not common folk.”

Rama looked at one of the princes near him. The prince was dressed head to toe in lapis blue silks, with a golden crown and necklace, and rings on most of his fingers. Many servants cheerfully bustled about him, describing the multitude of items for sale in the city markets. Rama remembered dressing like that months ago. Such garb was not meant for battle, especially not against rakshasas. “Viswamithra, why are there so many princes visiting the city?”

“The king’s daughter’s swayamvara is tomorrow morning. Rumor has it she is very beautiful.” At this, the sage looked at Rama over his shoulder and smirked. “Some even say her beauty must be divine.” His words trailed off as he turned back, and he continued walking.

“Is that why we’re here?” Lakshmana asked. His father had told the two princes before their journey that it would soon be time for them to find wives.

“No, no, of course not. We’re just here for supplies.” Rama heard something in the sage’s voice, but chose to ignore it. Viswamithra was inherently cryptic: if he hid any wisdom in his tone of voice, Rama would not soon discover it.

As he talked and walked, Viswamithra’s shoulder bumped up against a figure next to him. “Oh, excuse me miss,” he said gently. As the girl’s head turned, her eyes locked not on Viswamithra, but with Rama’s own eyes. He stared into the girl’s eyes, and her beauty entranced him; her eyes were greener than the jungle and enveloped him like the ocean. No matter how Rama tried, he couldn’t look away from her; it wasn’t that he wished to and couldn’t, but that he never wanted to look anywhere else. Even as he looked at her, she looked back, and her eyes widened at the sight of him. In that moment, Rama spent an eternity. And just as eternal as that moment was, so too was it fleeting. When it passed, Rama was thrown back into the normality of life, the girl was lost in the crowd, and his brother and sage were walking down the streets of the market.

The day was spent gathering supplies for the journeys to come, but Rama’s night was restless. In the beginning of his journey, Rama’s dreams were plagued by the rakshasas he had fought, but tonight he couldn’t even picture a rakshasa. He could only imagine the girl, and the look in her eyes. The image of her kept him up most of the night, and even after he found sleep, his dreams were filled with her.

Rama awoke to the prods of Viswamithra. “Wake up Rama. You’ve slept away most of the day. We need to get moving, and before we do leave, I want to see the princess’s swayamvara. You won’t believe what the king has in store for those princes.” He prodded Rama once more before departing.

The old sage and the princes of Ayodhya walked the market streets once more, but this morning those same market stalls were empty. Although thunderous sound roared from far across the city, the streets around them were silent. They walked without speaking, and with every step, the uproar of the crowd grew louder.

“Make way for princes!” Viswamithra shouted as he pushed spectators aside with his walking stick. The entire city (and many from outside it) had gathered to look upon the princes. If their garb had been flashy the day before, they shone like stars today; most of each of their bodies were covered in gold from head to toe, with great capes flowing behind them. But already, many looked defeated. When they finally found a good place to spectate, Viswamithra told the boys, “King Janaka stated many years ago that only a man who could string his family’s bow could marry his daughter. Little do these princes know it was once the bow of the god Shiva. It would take a miracle to string it.”

Even as Viswamithra spoke, Rama could see a prince grabbing the giant bow. But flex as he might, the bow wouldn’t even lift from its resting place. Around him were many other princes; most of them looked both defeated and exhausted. Looking further, he saw the king, Janaka, and sitting next to him was –

Rama’s heart skipped a beat, and then one beat more. The same green eyes from the day before met his. At first, the princess’s eyes showed hopelessness, but as the moment lingered, they became excited. Without breaking his gaze, Rama pushed his pack into his brother’s hands. He walked up to Shiva’s bow as the last prince walked away. Rama lifted it and began to bring the string to the opposite tip. But before the string ever reached it, the bow split in half, straight down the middle. As it split, a crack like thunder rang out, and the crowd fell silent. Rama walked up the stairs of the thrown of the king, his footsteps echoing among the people. His eyes still held the princess’s gaze. Her mouth revealed a simple smile, but her eyes were beaming.

Back in the crowd, Lakshmana stood with his mouth agape, and Viswamithra chuckled to himself. “Divine indeed.”

Author’s Note: this story is based on Sita, Daughter of the Earth, which itself is based on the Ramayana. Both of those tell stories of Sita and Rama meeting; as Sita and Rama are both incarnations of gods who were in love, their love, even in human form, is very powerful from the moment they see each other. In Sita, Daughter of the Earth, Sita hears of Rama before he even arrives in the city and immediately falls in love. She secretly hopes he will come to her swayamvara and string the bow. Then he does, and the bow breaks, and they get married. I thought this was surprisingly unromantic; while I find the theme of “godly love trapped in mortals” to make for an incredible romance, it makes more sense for that love to be triggered by sight than by hearing stories of a prince who slays demons (which is how he was described to Sita in the graphic novel.) Ultimately, this writing follows the story more closely to the Ramayana.  

Image Information

Market Place - deviant art