Regular readers of this column will recall that last week we discussed how the popular portrayal of Sita’s swayamvar in television serials is based on Tulsidas’s Ramcharitmanas, not on the Valmiki Ramayana. This week, we revisit the topic in light of rumours that the upcoming Nitesh Tiwari-directed Ramayana is shooting scenes of Ravana attending Sita’s swayamvar in Mithila and agitating the crowd with displays of his power and arrogance. Let us examine whether different versions of the epic support this.
Valmiki Ramayana does not mention any gathering of kings in Mithila for Sita’s swayamvar at the time when Rama visited the kingdom with Lakshmana and Rishi Vishvamitra. King Janaka mentions that many kings had come to Mithila and tried to lift Shiva's bow, but all had failed. He does not mention Ravana as being among these kings. So, the Valmiki Ramayana does not support this.
Let us now turn to the Ramcharitmanas. It does mention the kings gathering in Mithila for Sita’s swayamvar and Rama being there at the time. As the swayamvar starts, Janaka orders the bards to announce his resolution for the swayamvar to the gathering. The bards sing paeans to the greatness of Shiva's bow and say that even powerful warriors like Ravana and Banasura did not dare to touch it, and slipped away quietly after seeing its majesty. This implies that Ravana and Banasura had visited Mithila earlier and seen the bow, but they were not present at Sita's swayamvar.
If we look at the 12th-century Tamil masterpiece, the Kamba Ramayanam or the Ramavataram, we see that just like the Ramcharitmanas, it mentions a gathering of kings at Sita’s swayamvar, where Rama was also present, but it does not place Ravana there. The 13-15th century Sanskrit text, Adhyatma Ramayana, also does not describe Ravana attending the swayamvar or attempting to lift the bow.
We finally find support in two versions of Ramayana that come from the eastern and western regional traditions. The Bengali Krittivasi Ramayana and the Marathi Bhavarth Ramayana by Sant Eknath place Ravana at Sita's swayamvar. Ravana does not withdraw silently, but actively participates in the swayamvar and attempts to lift the bow with all his strength. His arrogance causes the bow to become impossibly heavy. As he struggles to lift it, he loses his grip, and the divine weapon crashes down, trapping him underneath. Janaka and the attendants rush forward to help the gasping demon king. Ravana, thoroughly humiliated, is sprinkled with water to recover, and he sits back in his seat nursing his rage, waiting to see who can lift the bow so he can plan their destruction.