Ramayana, the revered epic, is a story of courage, valour, loss, pain, and, of course, love. The classic tale not only traces the often painful life of Lord Ram but also introduces us to one of the most poignant love stories of all times; that of Ram and Sita. Interestingly, the meeting between the two was facilitated by the legendary Shiv Dhanush. This Dhanush is considered to be the heaviest bow in the history of mankind.
As the story goes, in a bid to win Sita’s hand, Ram effortlessly lifted the bow, not only initiating a marriage that became a symbol of purity and love for generations to come but also set in motion a string of events that eventually led to the victory of Good over Evil.
Star Plus’s Siya Ke Ram is all set to recreate the moment when Ram lifted the Shiv Dhanush, in the highly anticipated Swayamvar Saptaah that starts from January 18 onwards at 8 PM. In a build up to this Swayamvar, the creators of the show flagged off the mammoth Dhanush Yatra, under which the legendary Shiv Dhanush from Siya Ke Ram will travel across 107 Indian cities for 15 days across Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Punjab.
The Dhanush Yatra is a build up to the Swayamvar to connect with the thousands of fans of the show. The Yatra was conceived to give fans a chance to be a part of one of the biggest events to happen on Indian television.
A pioneer in the field of television, STAR Plus has always harboured the ambition of both creating cutting edge content and building an emotional connect with its audience. The channel took this ambition a notch higher with the creation of Siya Ke Ram, a retelling of Ramayana from Sita’s perspective, never before attempted on Indian television.
Since the show’s launch on November 16, 2015, it has not only managed to gain viewers’ attention, but has also gone on to reveal some unknown nuances from the story that hitherto have not been seen in other televised narrations.
Yet another important objective of the Dhanush Yatra is to create awareness about the story of Shiv Dhanush. Though many are aware of how Lord Ram won Sita’s hand in marriage, the relevance of Shiv Dhanush is fairly unknown.
What is the Shiv Dhanush and why does it play such an important part in Indian mythology?
The Shiv Dhanush has many tales attached to it. It is believed that Lord Shiva gifted this Shiv Dhanush to Janak’s ancestor Devaratha. Interestingly, as a child, legend has it that Sita lifted the bow, which couldn’t be lifted by even the mightiest of men.
Parashuram highlighted the importance of this Shiv Dhanush in Sita’s life and King Janak then decided that his daughter deserved a man who could string the bow by lifting it as easily as she did.
Years later, on the day of Sita’s Swayamvar, when every other prince failed to lift the bow, Ram effortlessly picked it up and strung it. It is also believed that in doing so, Ram not only won Sita’s heart but also ushered in a new era.
Siya Ke Ram’s Dhanush Yatra is also about celebrating the auspicious event that culminated into Ram and Sita’s wedding.
The cast of the show includes some extremely well-known names from the industry. The role of Ram is being essayed by Ashish Sharma, while Bijay Anand and renowned Marathi actress, Bhargavi Chirmule are donning the roles of Janak and Sunaina. Well-known Hindi film actor Dalip Tahil plays the role of Ram’s guilt-ridden father Dashrath.
Also, ample research was undertaken before the serial went on air. The story has been envisioned and created by the best-selling author of ‘Asura and Ajaya’, Anand Neelakantan and talented writer Subrat Sinha. Devdutt Pattanaik, the brain behind bestsellers such as ‘Jaya’, ‘Sita’, and ‘The Pregnant King’, is the creative consultant.
If you are a fan of Indian mythology, and particularly of Ramayana, do watch out for the Dhanush Yatra when it comes to your city.
Catch the Swayamvar Week on Siya Ke Ram from January 18 at 8 PM only on STAR Plus.
