Confessions Of Urmila 03 - An Inheritance Poem by Unnikrishnan Sivasankara Menon

When Sita turned seventeen
as advised by the priests
the king decided to conduct
her marriage by swayamvaram.

Swayamvaram is the ceremony
organised by the king to select
a groom of her choice for a princess
from among the princes invited.

The king had inherited Tryambakam,
a bow said to be gifted by Lord Pinaki
which no one was able to string
let alone use it to shoot an arrow.

He put a condition for Sita's swayamvaram:
only a prince who strings the bow
and shoots a dart from it
shall be given her hand in marriage.

To me, it seemed an onerous task
but I waited eagerly for the day,
and hoped, for Sita's sake, that
Ram comes and wins the contest.