Finally, prince Rama of Ayodhya, the seventh avatar of Lord Vishnu, was able to lift the divine Pinaka, and while trying to put a string to the bow, he snapped the bow into two. Several men tried the challenge but all of them failed miserably. The king announced to the assembly of princes that whoever of the bunch could string the divine Pinaka, would be granted the permission to marry his daughter Sita. Years later, King Janaka organised a swayamwar for his daughter and invited princes from all distant kingdoms. And so, he decided that he would marry his daughter to someone who could also lift the divine bow. King Janaka was astonished to see such a miracle as it took several strong grown men to lift the bow, but his young daughter had done the deed effortlessly. Once, while playing with her sisters, a young Sita lifted the bow with ease. Pinaka was passed down in King Janaka’s dynasty, who was Sita’s father. The bow also has had a key role in the Ramayana. The day Shiva destroyed the three cities is celebrated as Kartik Purnima. Lord Shiva had used Vasuki, the snake he wears as a garland, as the string of Pinaka. Shiva first used the weapon to destroy the three impregnable cities of Maya, Tripura, and put an end to the evil asuras Tarakaksha, Vidyunmalin and Kamalaksha. Lord Shiva’s bow, known as the Pinaka, was one of the two bows that Vishwakarma had created for Shiva and Vishnu. By Shivam Pathania Illustration: Ram Waeerkar
