Fwd: Watch "எடுத்தான்... வளைத்தான்... முறிந்தது!" on YouTube
Rajaram Krishnamurthy
The action of Sri Ramachandra was so swift that Kamban in Tamil Kambaramayanam describes it best,
‘எடுத்தது கண்டார் ;இற்றது கேட்டார் .”
“people saw the Lifting of the Bow, then heard the sound of it breaking’
What was the sound like?
Valmiki Ramayanam Bala kandam 1 67 chap Seetha kalyanam
Book I : Bala Kanda - Book Of Youthful Majesties
Chapter [Sarga] 67
बाढमित्येव तं राजा मुनिश्च समभाषत |
लीलया स धनुर्मध्ये जग्राह वचनान्मुनेः || १-६७-१५
15. raajaa muniH ca = king, saint, also; baaDham = all right; iti eva = thus, only; tam samabhaaSata = to him - to Rama, equally [in chorus] said; saH muneH vacanaat = he Rama, upon the word, of sage; dhanuH madhye liilayaa jagraaha = playfully grabbed bow, at its middle [grasping at middle handgrip of bow] .
"All Right!" said the saint and king to Rama in chorus, and Rama upon the word of the sage grasping it at the middle handgrip playfully grabbed the bow. [1-67-15]
पश्यतां नृसहस्राणां बहूनां रघुनंदनः |
आरोपयत्स धर्मात्मा सलीलमिव तद्धनुः || १-६७-१६
16. dharmaatmaa saH raghunandanaH = virtue souled one [right-minded,] he, that Raghu's legatee - Rama; bahuunaam nR^isahasraaNaam pashyataam = while witnessing many thousands of people; tat dhanuH = that, bow; saliilam iva = as though with friskiness [friskily, effortlessly] ; aaropayat = stringed the bow to take aim.
While many thousands of men are witnessing that right-minded Rama the legatee of Raghu stringed the bow effortlessly. [1-67-16]
A bow has a definite height and it is a measure of length, from the ages even up to the age Kautilya, who gave many accounts for weights and measures, in his 'Artha Shaastra' a Penguin re-publication. Four aratni-s cubits are one dhanu, a bow-length, where one aratni is 18 inches, thus a bow-length is 6 feet and above, taking the standard size of archer as a six-footer and a little above. The bow's height is the height of the archer plus one measure of his head's height, as the upper end has to tower the archer's head. That being so, this bow belongs to Shiva and its height must be placed more than the human measure of 6 feet, and then it must be some 8 to 10 feet. And 'Rama is no crane-legged boy, as his physique is said to be of 'medium' size, and then how a boy of, say of 4, 41/2 feet, could catch the upper end of 8-10 feet bow to bend it...' is the objection. An archer has to stand the bow on ground, clutch its lower end under big toe, and with one hand, he has to bend it, while with the other he catches the bowstring to string the other end. He is not supposed to handle it like a hold all or a briefcase. For this objection it is said in a way that the poet is using the adjective mahatmas to Rama, ' an unfathomable one with an equally unfathomable soul... inasmuch as his duty is concerned...' The minute he touched the bow, it became a spongy stick and it listened to him and bent as he wished. Other way round, Rama is an ambidextrous archer and furthered is his skill by his possession of some divine missiles as given by Vishvamitra. Hence, his dexterity is now multiplied and he can handle any divine or human bow 'effortlessly...'
आरोपयित्वा मौर्वीं च पूरयामास वीर्यवान् |
तद्बभंज धनुर्मध्ये नरश्रेष्ठो महायशाः || १-६७-१७
17. viiryavaan = dextrous one; maurviim aaropayitvaa ca = bowstring, having stringed, further; puurayaamaasa = started to stretch the bowstring [up to his ear to see its tautness]; then; mahaayashaaH narashreSThaH = glorious one, the one best among men; tat dhanuH madhye babhanja = he broke medially that bow.
Further, that dexterous one has stringed that bow with bowstring and started to stretch it up to his ear to examine its tautness, but that glorious one who is foremost among men, Rama, broke that bow medially. [1-67-17]
The bow is not broken by itself because of its oldness or dryness, but let us blame Rama for breaking it, as with any other toy which children are apt to damage in their playing. He stretched the bowstring so long until it broke. Neither his mother nor father available here. Otherwise, a 'moral class' would have chanced on him for braking articles in neighbour's houses. The bow is broken in the middle, not at either end, but at handgrip. This shows the strength of his palm on handgrip.
तस्य शब्दो महानासीन्निर्घातसमनिःस्वनः |
भूमिकंपश्च सुमहान् पर्वतस्येव दीर्यतः || १-६७-१८
18. tasya shabdaH = its [breakage's,] sound [explosion]; nirghaatasamaniHsvanaH = like the explosiveness of down plunging [thunder]; mahaan aasiit = great [explosive,] is there [bechanced]; parvatasya diiryataH iva = like [as it happens] exploding of mountain; sumahaan = very, great [tremulously]; bhuumikampaH ca = earth is tremulous, also - has happened.
Then there bechanced an explosive explosion when the bow is broken, like the explosiveness of down plunging thunder, and the earth is tremulously tremulous, as it happens when a mountain is exploding. [1-67-18]
We can write more words for the above sound as, 'Dhaam, Dhiim, Phut, and DiSkuu...' etc., as long as thesaurus permit. But all that will be nonsensical. An ear-splitting sound has come but it is "OM" the auspicious Sonus prima grata, produced once upon a time by Shiva's drum, in order to emanate words through maaheshvara-suutraaNi, which were unintelligible even for the sages like Sanaka, Sananda, Sanat Kumaara et al., and which were deciphered by Nandi, the Holy Bull vehicle of Shiva, to those sages. Here it is Shiva's bow and name of Shiva and all letters that attaches to Him are shaM, sha.nkara, shaMbhava, are peace-making letters, as codified in AUM namaH shambhave ca mayo bhave ca namaH sha~Nkaraaya ca mayaskaraaya ca namaH shivaaya ca shivataraaya ca | - rudram - soma suukta - yajur Hence the real sound of Om is audible and it is ear-splitting for ordinary audience, since ordinary people cannot possibly face realities, and it is a regularly audible sound for the other four who have not swooned. By the way, it will be impossible for us to listen the chanting of Veda-s, even in these days, in any Vedic school for at least half an hour, as our ears are untuned to their ghana paaTha or jaTa or other sorts of chanting. We feel stranded in some audio studio with fully loaded sound FX.
And the pacemaker Rama lifted the bow of the peacemaker Shiva, where the bow itself is "Om". The legendary Indian bow is composed of three parts, unlike Robin Hood's single-piece bow. The lower bowing part, upper bowing part combined by a grip handle, and the bowstring. The three pieces are comparable to the three letters syllabified "Om" - a u ma, where a is upper bowing piece of bow, u, the lower end, and ma, the bowstring. The painters usually paint this bow-breaking scene, where Rama will be still handling the upper end in his hand, while the lower part will be falling, and the bowstring will be still dangling onto the upper end. The upper part of bow is a and this a is Vishnu akaaraartho viSNuH, and the dangling bowstring is ma Goddess Lakshmi, lokamaataa maa ramaa mangaladevataa, dangling on the Supreme Person through thick and thin, and the detached-un-detached lower end is u, Lakshmana, or any other adherer. A lengthy account of this trilogy is provided in Aranya Kanda, Ch. 19, first verse.
And the pacemaker Rama is marrying the world with peace, by stringing the bowstring of peacemaker's bow, and it is not a mere marriage of some prince charming, with a charmy princess. Thus, this sound is the initial impact, impetus, brunt, or whatever, for universal peace, and that way this marriage attains a legendary significance in peace process, though by force.
निपेतुश्च नराः सर्वे तेन शब्देन मोहिताः |
व्रजयित्वा मुनिवरं राजानं तौ च राघवौ || १-६७-१९
19. tena shabdena mohitaaH = bewildered by that raucous; munivaram raajaanam tau ca raaghavau = eminent saint Vishvamitra, king Janaka, those two, also, Raghava-s; vrajayitvaa = except for; sarve naraaH nipetuH = all, people, fell down [swooned.]
Bewildered by that raucous caused by the breakage of bow, all the people swooned, except for that eminent-saint Vishvamitra, king Janaka, and those two Raghava-s, namely Rama and Lakshmana. [1-67-19]
प्रत्याश्वस्तो जने तस्मिन् राजा विगतसाध्वसः |
उवाच प्रांजलिर्वाक्यं वाक्यज्ञो मुनिपुंगवम् || १-६७-२०
20. tasmin = at that [moment]; jane = people; pratyaashvastaH = being inspirited [reaccustomed]; vaakyaj~naH raajaa = sententious, king Janaka; vigatasaadhvasaH = discomfiture completely gone [departed] ; praanjaliH = with palm-fold [reverentially]; munipungavam = to eminent-saint; vaakyam uvaaca = said sentence.
While the people are being reaccustomed after their undergoing the shock, at that moment that sententious king Janaka, whose discomfiture has completely departed by now has said this to the eminent-saint Vishvamitra with a reverent palm-fold. [1-67-20]
भगवन् दृष्टवीर्यो मे रामो दशरथात्मजः |
अत्यद्भुतमचिन्त्यं चातर्कितमिदं मया || १-६७-२१
21. bhagavan = oh godly sage; dasharathaatmajaH = Dasharatha's son; raamaH = Rama; me = by me; dR^iSTaviiryaH = has seen gallantry - his gallantry is seen; = ; atyadbhutam = highly wondrous; acintyam ca = not imaginable; idam maya = this [incident,] by me [for me]; atarkitam = not discussed - unhoped-for.
Oh, godly sage, the gallantry of Dasharatha's Rama is evidently seen... and the whys of this boy and wherefores of his stringing that massive bow are unimaginable to me! More so, humans lifting it! How so? This is an unhoped-for incident for me, besides, breaking it! This a is highly wondrous experience for me... [1-67-21]
जनकानां कुले कीर्तिमाहरिष्यति मे सुता |
सीता भर्तारमासाद्य रामं दशरथात्मजम् || १-६७-२२
22. me sutaa siitaa = my, daughter, Seetha; dasharathaatmajam raamam = Dasharatha's son, Rama; bhartaaram = as husband; aasaadya = on getting; janakaanaam kule = for Janaka's, lineage; kiirtim aahariSyati = brings about celebrity.
My daughter Seetha on getting Dasharatha's Rama as her husband, she will bring celebrity to the lineage of Janaka-s... [1-67-22]
This verse explains the advantageous status of Seetha than Rama in her birth and brought up. mama sutaa 'my daughter...' though I have not given her a physical birth, she is godsend to me, and I brought her up as a rarest of rare daughter with all the endowments of Janaka-s lineage which are impeccable... hence she is more than my physical daughter...' siitaa 'a furrow... born a furrow, an unusual non-uterine birth than the uterine birth of Rama from his mother Kausalya... hence Seetha has a plus point... dasharathaatmajam 'Dasharatha's son...' a wooable bridegroom... because he is Rama ramayate iti raama 'makes others delightful...' besides this, the saying about an eligible bridegroom is there: kanyaa varayate ruupam maataa vittam pitaa shrutam baandhavaaH shiilam icchanti suupaannam itare janaaH 'a bride cherishes charming mien, a prince-charming, rather... mother of the bridegroom wishes to have money through him... bridegroom's father wants him to be a wise one in dealings with his new wife and old parents... and bridegroom's relatives require of him good demeanour... and other people wish to have dough of cooked pulse-gram, marriage-feasts, rather...' so also my daughter will cherish this boy as his looks are like that of a prince-charming... and the money for his mother, scholarly attitude to his father, good demeanour and feasts etc., to friends and relatives, all he can afford... and on aasaadya reaching Rama... my daughter brings kiirti 'celebrity' to our lineage, which is in singularly unique... because kiirti is said in singular number, it will be singularly unique... hence let this boy not negate my proposal as my daughter has many plus points...' K RAJARAM IRS 16726
From: Venkatachalam Subramanian <v.dot...@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 15 Jul 2026 at 19:16
Subject: Watch "எடுத்தான்... வளைத்தான்... முறிந்தது!" on YouTube
To: thathapatti-google <thatha...@googlegroups.com>
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