Next morning the hermits tell Rama that King Janaka of Mithila [*++] had arranged for a sacrifice to which they are invited. Rama is asked to accompany them, and is induced to do so by the mention of a wonderful bow in possession of the king, which no one was able to bend. The bow was a gift from Siva, as a reward for sacrifice. On the way to Mithila they pass through a grove, in which, unseen by gods and men, Ahalya, the wife of Gautama the sage, had been undergoing penance for countless ages, on account of her adultery with Indra. Though the god came to her in the form of her husband, she saw through his disguise, yet did not resist his overtures. Her husband condemned her to live unknown in the forest until Rama should liberate her. Her hour of release had now come: Rama sees her, touches her feet, and, the curse being at an end, her husband receives her back.

In due time they reach Mithila. The princes are introduced to the king, who gives them a hearty welcome, and narrates the history of the world-famed bow they have come to see. He tells them it was the bow with which Siva, when angry at not being invited to Daksha's sacrifice, wrought such havoc amongst the assembled gods. It was held by successive monarchs of his line as a mark of sovereignty, and as a means of defence against their foes.

"This gem of bows,
That freed the God of gods from woes,
Stored by our great forefathers, lay
A treasure and a pride for aye." [**]

One day, as Janaka was ploughing, an infant sprang from the ground, whom he named Sita (a furrow), on account of her secret birth. In the "Uttara Kanda," [*+] is a legend, the object of which is to show that Sita is another form of Lakshmi, and that it was she who wished to accomplish the death of Ravana. "Ravana in the course of his wanderings comes to the Himalayas, where he meets with a young woman of marvellous beauty, named Vedavati, dressed in ascetic garments, and living the life of a devotee. He speaks of love; but she indignantly rejects his overtures, saying that it was her father's wish she should wed Vishnu, and that she had already wedded him with her heart. Ravana presses his suit, assuring her that he is superior to Vishnu. She says that none but he would contemn that deity. Ravana replies by touching her hair. Being very indignant at this, she declares that she will enter the fire (die) before his eyes. Before doing so, she says, 'Since I have been insulted in the forest by thee, who art wicked-hearted, I