Ravana lifted Mount Kailash, then why could he not lift the bow and how did Ram break the bow?
Lord Shiva’s bow was incredibly powerful and miraculous. The mere sound of the bow he forged would burst clouds and shake mountains. It felt as if an earthquake had struck. This bow was incredibly powerful. With a single arrow from this bow, the three cities of Tripurasura were destroyed. This bow was named Pinaka. After the end of the era of the gods and goddesses, this bow was handed over to Indra, the king of the gods.
The gods gave it to King Janak’s ancestor, Devaraja. Among his ancestors was Nimi’s eldest son, Devaraja. The bow of Shiva was preserved by King Janak as his heirloom. No one had the strength to lift his huge bow, but Lord Rama lifted it, strung it and broke it in one stroke.
There is a quatrain in Shri Ram Charitmanas:-
“uthahu raam bhanjahu bhav chaapa, metahu taat janak paritaapaai”
Meaning: Seeing Janaka extremely distressed and disappointed, Guru Vishwamitra said to Shri Ram, “O son Shri Ram, get up and break this bow which is like the ocean of life and relieve Janaka of his pain.”
This quatrain contains the phrase “bhaav chapa,” meaning that lifting this bow required not strength but love and the formless. It was an illusory and divine bow. Lifting it required divine qualities. No one with an ego could lift it.
Ravana was an arrogant man. He could lift Mount Kailash, but not the bow. He couldn’t even move the bow. He approached the forest bow with the pride of an arrogant and powerful man. The more Ravana applied force to the bow, the heavier it became. All the kings there were defeated by their own power and arrogance.
When it was Lord Rama’s turn, he understood that this was no ordinary bow, but the bow of Lord Shiva. Therefore, he bowed to the bow first. Then he circumambulated the bow and gave it full respect. The heaviness of the bow vanished in front of the humility and purity of Lord Shri Ram and he picked up the bow lovingly and strung it and as he bent it, the bow broke automatically.
It is said that just as Sita, by meditating on Lord Shiva, could easily lift the bow without applying any force, in the same way Shri Ram also tried to lift the bow and was successful.
