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Frame and Sita
A long time ago, a powerful king, the Raja, lived in India. He ruled a rich and powerful state, with the capital in the city of Ayodhya. He had several wives and several sons, the eldest son was called Rama, and one of the younger ones was Lakshmana. These two brothers loved each other very much.
Once Rama happened to be in the capital of a neighboring state. Passing the palace of the local rajah, he saw a girl of extraordinary beauty in one of the windows.
- Who is this? - Rama asked the merchants who were sitting at the palace gates.
“This is Sita, the daughter of our ruler!
Rama turned his horse to take another look at the girl, but when he again found himself under the window, it was already tightly closed.
Rama returned to Ayodhya and told his brother about this meeting.
“It seems to me that I fell in love with her at first sight,” he admitted. - What to do, Lakshmana? Maybe tell my father and mother about everything? Or - no, a man should be able to wait ...
And in those distant times in India there was a custom - svayamvar, according to which, in order for the bride to choose a groom for herself, competitions were appointed in her honor. Young men gathered at them, they competed in archery, wrestling, and javelin throwing. To the winner, if, of course, he was to his liking, the bride put a wreath around her neck - by this she let him know that she agreed to become his wife.
And soon Sita's father decided that it was time to marry his daughter. As soon as this news reached Ayodhya, Rama and Lakshmana began to pack their way. On the appointed day, early in the morning, they were already driving in chariots into the city where Sita lived. Here everything was already ready for the holiday, colorful flags were fluttering at every corner, music was playing, sweet haze curled over the hearths where food was warmed up. Chariots decorated with flowers were rolling through the streets every now and then. From the main square came the eager rumble of the crowd.
- How would we not be late! Let's hurry our horses! Lakshmana shouted.
They drove into the town square. Here everything was already ready for the competition: Sita and her father were sitting in a gazebo decorated with flowers, opposite them stood in a bunch of suitors from all over India. The crowd filled the surrounding streets.
The drums thundered and fell silent. The king stood up and made a sign, demanding silence.
“Many years ago,” he began, “one of my ancestors received a bow as a gift from the almighty god Shiva. It was so heavy and strong that no one could ever lift or pull it. This bow will be brought to the square today. Whoever can bend it will become my daughter's husband. I said!
With these words, the king nodded to the servants. They rushed to the palace and soon returned, bending under the weight of an unusual burden. Seeing how big the bow is and how thick its bowstring is, the suitors were depressed. The servants dragged the bow to the middle of the square, laid it on the ground, and left. The suitors began to approach him one by one. The youngest tried the strength first. They approached the bow, grabbed it, strained their muscles, sweat streamed down their faces, but no one could even tear it off the ground with a finger. Then the older grooms spoke. They were real strongmen. They went out into the middle of the square, proud of their height, the strength of their hands and their previous exploits. Some of them managed to lift the end of the shaft and even grab the string, but ... the bow fell, and the string remained motionless.
And suddenly there was a murmur in the crowd. A black-bearded warrior emerged from the line of suitors. His eyes burned with fierce fire. He walked over to the bow and, without apparent effort, lifted it off the ground. Everyone gasped, the king got up from his seat, and Sita felt fear penetrate into her heart.
- Who is this? - the inhabitants of the city asked each other.
The warrior rested the end of the bow on the ground, grabbed the shaft with one hand, and put his palm on the string with the other. Thick, crooked fingers dug into her, the muscles of her arms tensed and became like stones. The bowstring began to draw back slowly. Sorrowful cries were heard among the suitors.
“Isn't it Ravana himself - invincible? - They started talking in the crowd.
The hero strained all his strength. The veins on his forehead puffed out, the ends of the bow began to draw closer. But ... there was a ringing like the sound of a saber, the bowstring was torn from the hands, the bow straightened and fell to the ground. And then the hero let out a terrible roar. He stamped his feet and roared like a wounded elephant. His eyes were bloodshot, his appearance, so clear and clear, became unsteady. The body lost its previous outlines, instead of one head, ten grew, and two arms turned into twenty.
Woe, woe to us! This is true Ravana, the king of the Rakshasas, the demon among the demons, the lord of those who roam at night, the warrior who knows no pity! - shouted in the crowd.
No sooner had the frightened Sita made out the one who almost became her husband, as the Rakshasa rose into the air and disappeared, as the column of dust, scattered by the wind, disappears.
And then Rama came to the square. He went to the bow, slowly raised it and, spreading his mighty shoulders, began to pull the string. The black, shiny, heavy wood gave way to strong hands - the bowstring was separating further and further from the shaft, and finally the bow could not stand it: there was a crash like a thunderclap, the roofs of houses trembled - the bow flew in half.
Shouts of joy filled the square.
- He won! Glory to the prince of Ayodhya! shouted the crowd.
The king got up, raising his hands in greeting, and Sita left the pavilion, approached Rama and, with downcast eyes, laid a wreath on him.
Played a wedding. Rama returned to his father's palace and began to help him rule. Sita came with him to Ayodhya.
Continued >>>
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Sources of information: Sakharnov S.V. "Why the whale has a big mouth: Fairy tales and stories". L. Lenizdat. 1987
A chapter from the book "A History Recorded on Lotus Petals" by Alexander Ivanovich Toporov and Peter Stepanovich Losev, where they explore the myths of ancient India based on the Mahabharata, Ramayana, Rig Veda and "Kind of Raghu" by Kalidasa.
1. The myth as it is.
Sita, the daughter of Janaka, king of Mithila, at the age of eighteen, was married to Rama of the dynasty of Dasaratha, king of Kosala. For twelve years they lived in the capital of Kosala - the city of Ayodhya. In the thirteenth year of their life together, due to intrigues at the court of Dasaratha, Rama, Sita and Rama's brother Lakshman were forced into exile. For more than ten years they wandered through the forests, and in the eleventh year of these wanderings Sita was kidnapped by the Rakshasa king Ravana, the brother of the King of kings Kubera. Rama and Lakshmana go in search of Sita.
Ravana, the king of demons, kidnapped Sita in order to take revenge on Rama for the death of his brothers and the injury of his sister, the Rakshasi of Surpanakha. Sita lives with Ravana in the city of Lanka. Ravana cannot make Sita a wife or concubine due to the curse of Nalakubara, the son of Kubera. According to this curse, Ravana's head will fly into ten pieces if he tries to take possession of Sita. After Rama captured Lanka and killed Ravana, Sita, alive and well, returns to Rama, but Rama does not accept her and sends her to all four sides, reproaching her for disgracing the Dasharatha family by staying with Ravana.
Shocked by Rama's words, Sita reproaches him that he did not tell her about this earlier, because then she would have died of grief, and Rama would not have to fight with Ravana and besiege Lanka. Then Sita asks to prepare a funeral pyre for her. But a miracle occurs, and the god Agni himself carries Sita out of the fire unharmed.
Agni claims that Sita is pure before Rama, and orders the son of Dasaratha to take her back. Brahma himself assures Rama of the purity of Sita and, together with other gods, persuades Rama to accept her. Rama submitted to Brahma's decision. Peacefully and calmly, the couple have been living in Ayodhya for a little over a year. Sita has the first signs of pregnancy, but Rama, hearing the gossip of the city commoners about Sita, sends her to the forest to the hermit Valmika. At the same time Ayodhya is threatened by the demon Labana, Ravana's nephew. Rama's brother Shatrughna with an army opposes him.
In the forest, Sita gave birth to two sons - Kusha and Lava. Thirteen years later, Rama arranges a horse sacrifice. The hermit Valmiki, Sita, Kusha and Lava come to Ayodhya for this festival. For several days, Kusa and Lava tell Rama and the people the "Tale of Rama" created by Valmiki.
After the fulfillment of the legend, Rama recognizes Kusha and Lava as his sons. Valmiki swears that Sita is pure and pure.
Sita herself takes an oath: "If I told the truth, let Mother Earth open her arms to me!" After these words of Sita, the Earth consumes the unfortunate mother.
This concludes the sad story of Sita, to whom fate turned out to be so unfair and unmerciful.
2. Where is the story in the myth.
The love story of Sita and Rama may be less familiar to European and Russian readers than the love stories of Romeo and Juliet, Tristan and Isolde, Leila and Majnun, but throughout the Asian East: in India and Ceylon, in Tibet and Nepal, in Indonesia, in Burma, Thailand and Malaysia, it surpasses all of them combined in its popularity and popularity in our time. But in all these stories there is one common plot feature: the tragic fate that overtakes the lovers at the end of the tale. Is happiness so illusory, love is ephemeral, and time conquers everything? It seems that all these stories about great and pure love both in the West and in the East were composed by the same people, according to the same canons. But, if the visible result is the same, this does not mean that the hidden springs of the described events also coincide. Not at all! Moreover, Sita and Rama by the history of their relationship in their true form illustrate the uniqueness of human destinies. The real presentation of their lives, hidden behind a mass of invented fabulous details, surpasses in its intrigue, tension and fatality all the visible fabulous romance of the relationship between Rama and Sita and, ultimately, leaves no trace of the idea of the great love of Sita and Rama. Judge for yourself.
Having become spouses, Sita and Rama have been living in Ayodhya for twelve years, and they have no children. Moreover, no one seems to be surprised at this, no one asks questions about this. Then Sita and Rama live in the forests for over ten years, and in captivity with Ravana Sita lives for about four years, and still no children. It was only a year after returning to Ayodhya that Sita finally became pregnant. But if people get married and live together, then, as a rule, they have children in a year or two, maximum within five years. The riddle of such a late appearance of children in Sita seems completely inexplicable, because at the time of the birth of children, Sita is about forty-five years old, and Rama is generally at least fifty. Why didn't Sita give birth to children in her youth, like any normal woman? Moreover, it looks abnormal when it comes to an Indian woman.
For an oriental woman, this age at the birth of her first child can be called absolutely incredible. According to modern medicine, the first childbirth in a woman at the age of forty is impossible without a cesarean section.
For Rama, a prince in exile, this problem should be even more important, even a top priority, because he needs an heir, a successor to the Raghu family. And what will the subjects think? Without a son, he becomes the most likely target for conspiracies. What would any eastern ruler do in this situation? The answer is obvious: I would take a second wife. Let us remember that Rama Dasaratha's father had three wives: Kausalya, Kaikeyi and Sumitra. But Rama does not do this, and when he finds out that Sita nevertheless became pregnant, he behaves not like a loving man and not like a father who has been waiting for a child for so long, and not like a hero who defeated his wife's kidnapper. Urban gossip of commoners turns out to be higher than love, more significant than the desire to have a long-awaited and, most likely, the only heir. Ruthlessly, he condemns his pregnant wife to a life in the forest, full of hardships. In doing so, he acted more cruel than Kaikeyi, who sent him into exile for the sake of the happiness of her son Bharata. Just fear of human rumor pushes him to this terrible act, in fact, to a crime - to expel both his wife and her unborn child (his child!) From the house. How time had changed it! Sometime in his youth, he himself had to go into exile. And then Rama was inherent in mercy, because for a long time he persuaded Sita to stay in Ayodhya, referring to the hardships of forest life. Now he himself condemns his beloved woman, expecting a child, to these very hardships. What's the matter, did he love Sita at all?
On the day of the abduction of Sita by Ravana, the excitement of a hunter chasing a deer makes Rama forget about the duty to protect his wife, and he transfers this duty to his brother. Having lost Sita, Rama weeps and laments like a woman.
According to his own words, he fought with Ravana solely with the aim of returning Sita, but having returned her, he drives her away, referring to the gossip spread among his soldiers. At the same time, he invites her to marry a Rakshasa, a monkey or another person. The husband is wooing his wife! The situation is incredible. When the Rakshasi Shurpanakha, who is in love with him, proposes to him, he and Lakshmana cut off her nose and lips. Why should Sita herself go from her living husband to the very first Rakshasa, which one agrees to take her?
By chasing Sita away, Rama is essentially giving up the main result of his victory in the war with Ravana. If the war was really fought because of Sita, then all the labors of Rama, his soldiers and allies, all the victims of this war were wasted - he himself abandoned them. And his soldiers and allies, how should they relate to the fact that their wounds and the death of their comrades were ultimately in vain? Shouldn't they have expressed their indignation to Rama at his decision? He behaved like a man who has no right to dispose of the fruits of the common victory.
Rama treats Sita not as a beloved spouse, but rather as a stranger, even worse, as a slave, a trophy of war. In none of the situations of the epic considered by us, he not only defends her, but, in fact, seeks to get rid of her.
Sita's behavior as a beloved and loving woman, wife and mother is no less controversial. For twelve years she has been living with Rama in Ayodhya and ten years in the forests - only twenty-two years - and they have no children. Needless to say that a beloved and loving woman will strive to have a child from her beloved man as quickly as possible? At the moment of her abduction by Ravana, she seems to be in a hurry to be stolen. First, she sends Rama on the hunt, and then practically accuses Lakshmana of wanting to take possession of her brother's wife and sends him after Rama. Thus, she completely deprives herself of protection. Then, being guarded by a forbidden line, she herself violates it, going beyond it to meet the future kidnapper. This behavior is at best indicative of frivolity, and at worst, collusion with the kidnapper!
After returning from the forest with the children - Kusha and Lava - Sita makes a strange oath. When a person wants to be believed, he will say: "I will sink into the ground if I lie!". And Sita, on the contrary, says: "I should sink into the ground if I speak the truth!" This oath does not give her a single chance of life. If she does not sink into the ground, then she will be considered a deceitful woman. Her fate in this case is unenviable. And if it fails, then it will not be rewarded for the truth in any way. Why then such an oath? In fact, in any case, she condemns herself to death. That is, even if Rama believes her, she will not be able to return to him. In fact, she would rather die than return to Rama! The words of the oath testify: either let people punish me, or I will punish myself. This is the decision of a man who finds himself in a dead end, who does not agree with the judgment of the people. It's a challenge! Sita chooses the latter - suicide!
As a mother, Sita doomed Kusha and Lava to orphanhood by her act. Returning with her thirteen-year-old children to Ayodhya, she does not even count on the late maternal happiness. Out of forty years she spent seventeen years without Rama. And the return after a long separation turned into a final departure from life. Not long-awaited and long-awaited happiness, but a tragic fate becomes the crown of her life.
And what about the rest of the characters related to Sita? During her stay in Ravana's captivity, Janaka's daughter is guarded by the "curse of Nalakubara." Nalakubara is the son of Kubera, the beloved grandson of Brahma, that is, Brahma himself protects her with this curse. Due to the "curse of Nalakubara" Ravana's head will fly apart in a hundred pieces if he takes possession of Sita. What a strange form of protection! Why is Rama's wife protected by the curse of a completely outsider who has nothing to do with either the Raghu clan, or the Dasharatha clan, or the Janaka clan?
In general, it is the husband's duty to protect a woman, and her father guards her until she gets married. Therefore, the "curse of Nalakubara" becomes logical only if we assume that he is the husband of Sita.
Why did Ravana kidnap Sita? Let's remember how the events took place. After the defeat of Khara's troops and the maiming of Shurpanakhi, Ravana consults with those close to him. But instead of collecting the troops, go out to meet Rama, he acts more than strange for the king and the warrior. Instead of revenge for a military defeat - the kidnapping of the enemy's wife. This method is inadequate to the insult inflicted. The defeat of the troops and the death of the brothers should have been followed by a military attack. But Ravana did differently. The abduction of Sita would make sense if Ravana, in response to the injuries inflicted on Surpanakha, would cripple Sita and send her in this form back to Rama. This is exactly what any Eastern ruler of the time would have done. But Ravana placed his captive in Lanka in a privileged position. Apart from all the women of the harem, she lives in the Ashok grove and for four years Ravana never made her one of them. A demon is more merciful than a man! That is, Ravana does not even try to make her a wife or concubine. Let us not forget that at the time of the abduction, according to legend, Sita was about forty years old. Most likely, Ravana did not even think about taking possession of her as a woman. Then why is he kidnapping her? And did Sita really live with Rama in the forest? How she actually ended up in Lanka, where, as we now understand, she was safer than next to Rama.
In the seventh book of the Ramayana, it is reported that, having taken Lanka from Kubera, Ravana captured a huge number of women: the wives of celestials, Rakshasas, Gandharvas ... It was from these captives that he formed his harem. And what, they all voluntarily went to cheat on their husbands? How did the celestials choose their wives, which they so easily and quickly cheated on them with the demon? Why is the "curse of Nalakubara" not protecting the wives of the celestials, which would be natural, but only Sita alone? Ravana has no thought of touching Sita. This can only be explained if we assume that Nalakubara is Sita's husband and Ravana is her father! And indeed, in some versions of the Ramayana (Jain, Tibetan, Khotanese, Cambodian, Malay) Ravana is the father of Sita!
Since Ravana (or rather, Shravana - the letter Ш was discarded in order to demonize this character) is the brother of Vaishravana (Vai-shravana), Sita is a cousin of Nalakubara. This relationship has never been a serious obstacle to marriage. But marriage or simply a love relationship between a father and a daughter was condemned by all peoples and at all times! The thought of the possibility of such a connection in any normal father, and in fact, can "fly apart" the head.
Sita died, caught between a rock and a hard place, between her father Shravana and her husband Nalakubara. But what is the real history of Sita and what does Rama Dasaratha have to do with it? Let's read the "Version of Historical Events".
3. Version of historical events.
The historical picture of the events of the Ramayana can only be presented as probabilistic, that is, setting out the actual history with a certain degree of probability, because all data is obtained exclusively from legendary sources. Analysis of these data led us to the following conclusions.
Sita is the daughter of Ravana and the wife of Nalakubara, the son of Kubera. Ravana, the grandson of Brahma and the half-brother of Kubera, acts in the events described as a military leader and undoubtedly took part in hostilities against the aliens from the North - the nomads of the Shaks or Aryans, as they are often called in both legendary and historical sources. This war took place during his youth and Ravana (then still Shravana), being the grandson of the supreme ruler, could not avoid participating in it, even if he wanted to. But, judging by the text of the Ramayana, Ravana was a brave warrior and a good military leader, and therefore it can be assumed that he became one of the most active participants in the war. At some stage in his turbulent life, he married his daughter Sita to his nephew Nalakubara, the son of Kubera and the great-grandson of Brahma. At this time, there was still a truly brotherly, trusting relationship between the brothers - Shravana and Vaisravana. Perhaps Shravana counted on the support of the calculating and far-sighted Kubera, and he, in turn, relied on a strong and influential brother who possessed real power - an army subordinate only to him. But after a series of military setbacks, when the Shaks captured the flat part of the country and Brahma with his entire family and courtiers went to the mountains for Gandhamadana, the alliance cracked. At this time, Brahma already realized that it was impossible to cope with the invaders by force, and made a plan for a peaceful solution to the problem: first to intermarry with the leaders of the Shaks, and then gradually assimilate all, in general, not numerous in comparison with the local population, newcomers. The transfer of Lanka to Kubera and his appointment as custodian of the treasury became material, understandable to everyone, the embodiment of this sharp turn in the policy of the Supreme Ruler. Returning from the lost war, Shravana realized that he was out of work, that his military and military leadership talents were no longer needed, and his soldiers were waiting for a tiresome and hopeless guard service. And who is to blame for this? Of course, this cunning, flattering and treacherous Kubera, it was he who instilled in the old senile child, who is falling into childhood, a completely unrealistic plan of peaceful coexistence with the invaders, fatal for the country! He must be killed, captured Lanka and the treasury, collect new troops, pay the soldiers well and, continuing the war, knock the spirit out of these northern barbarians. So, or almost so, Shravan thought and he was tormented by a feeling of resentment for himself and for his soldiers who shed blood, when the rear rats, having joked in the secluded corners of the old palace, agreed to seize power, pushing aside the military class most worthy of this power. The decision has been made, we must act! With a small detachment of professional warriors devoted to him, Shravana suddenly captures Lanka, where he is enthusiastically greeted by the population, which consisted mainly of soldiers of the garrison and city guards - Rakshasas and their families. But Kuber failed to capture or kill. He, along with Nalakubara and a small detachment of the servants and guards who remained loyal to him, fled, capturing a small - as they could carry - part of the treasury.
At this time, Sita was pregnant, the birth of a child was expected soon and, apparently, she simply was not able to endure such a sudden flight. They left her, believing that nothing threatened her: Shravana is her father and will not kill in any case. The solution to this problem was postponed for the future. Most likely, according to the customs of the time, Sita got married between the ages of sixteen and twenty. We know that her first child was Kusha. Thus, Kusa is the son of Nalakubara and the great-grandson of Brahma. As for the second son - Lava, we will talk about him later. According to legend, at the time of Sita's return to Ayodhya, the age of her sons - thirteen years old - was very close to the fourteen years of stay in the forests. According to our version, Sita all this time lived with her father in Lanka, that is, the time during which Shravana ruled Lanka - fourteen years. Thus, Sita gave birth to her first child not at the age of forty-five, as stated in the text of the Ramayana, but when she was seventeen or twenty years old. This is real, although not as romantic as in the legend, because even with the modern possibilities of medicine, the birth of the first child, when a woman is forty-five years old, is a unique case, and at that time it was simply impossible.
Forced to flee to Gandhamadana, Kubera was desperate. Everything is lost! Having met with the Progenitor, he told him about everything, not hiding his pessimism about the possibility of returning Lanka and the large part of the treasury left there. Brahma calmed him down and began to draw up a plan of concrete actions. First of all, while still being struck by such news and very angry with his grandson, he deprived Shravana of the status of heir. As a punishment, the Progenitor ordered to call his warlike grandson not Shravana (Glorious), but Ravana (Roaring). The rebel was turned into a demon. Having cooled down a little, Swayambhu undertook to draw up a plan that would allow slowly but surely to seize the initiative, find allies, overlay Ravana from all sides, and then defeat his troops and return Lanka. And what was Ravana himself doing at this time?
Only the first stage of his plan was completed with the capture of Lanka and the treasury. Then, using the captured gold, Ravana strengthened Lanka, gathered, armed and trained a new army and, leaving a strong garrison in Lanka under the command of a reliable man, went to fight with the Shaks. Upon learning of this, Brahma, of course, was only glad: maybe he would break his neck in this war and then it would be easier to return Lanka; It is a pity, of course, that some of the gold went away irrevocably, but there are still a lot left, and the mines on Gandhamadan are still working, Ravana did not take them away, and he will never be able to take them. In short, things are not so bad, and now you can safely prepare for revenge.
There are only seven legends about the wars of Ravana in the epic, extensive and verbose, like other descriptions of wars in the Mahabharata and Ramayana.
In the first of them - in the legend "Invasion of the Rakshasas to the North" - it is said that Ravana placed his brother Kumbhakarna in a cave near the city of Lanka, and after the attack on the possessions of Kubera and Indra, he returned to the city of Lanka. Therefore, before the attack, Ravana was already in possession of Lanka. Then Ravana attacked Shiva. The legend says that Shiva pinched his hands with a mountain. Having received a rebuff, Ravana was forced to ask for mercy, and the whole thing ended in an agreement between him and Shiva.
The ruler of Lanka fought with the Kshatriyas in the north, invaded the kingdom of Yama, abducted women, fought with the king of the Khayhai Arjuna Kartavirya. During the war with Indra, the king of the gods is captured by the son of Ravana Meghanada, who has since received the nickname Indrajit (the Conqueror of Indra). Only Brahma's intervention helped Indra.
From all these legends, in fact, it only follows that after the capture of Lanka, Ravana fought for a long time with a variety of opponents and returned to Lanka with nothing, that is, in essence, he lost these wars.
Brahma, of course, was immediately informed of the return of the unlucky grandson. But he was already ready for this. During the absence of Ravana, Brahma established a relationship with the "friend of Indra" - Dasharatha. It was decided to use his son Rama as the leader of a mercenary army, so that none of his contemporaries, who were not privy to the secret background of the events, even thought to associate these events with the great Ancestor and his large family. All the preparations for Rama's campaign: the organization of the conflict in the Dasharatha family, the recruitment of troops in the mountainous regions under the control of the king of the highlanders, Shiva, the murder of Valin and the treacherous activities of Vibhishana - all this was organized by Swayambhu during the wars of Ravana. It remained only to wait for the return of Ravana, to surround Lanka - and the trap would slam shut. The black sheep will be thrown to the wolves' food! Calm and order will return to Brahma's house.
Taking Lanka was incredible! Located in an impregnable place, well guarded by the warriors of Ravana, it seemed that it could be defended indefinitely. But the outcome of the case, as always in such cases, was decided by the "fifth column" - the people of Kubera in Lanka (Avindhya, Trijata and others) and the betrayal of Vibhishana and his advisers. It was Vibhishana who organized the completely open, unhindered passage of Rama's troops across the "ocean" (the air ocean - "Samudra"!), That is, in other words, through the gorge that separated the gates of Lanka from the surrounding mountains. Miracles do not happen! This rule is at the heart of common sense. After the victory, the traitor received control over the captured Lanka.
During his reign in Lanka, Ravana married his daughter Sita to her other cousin, Labana. From him she gave birth to her second son - Lava. When Lanka was captured by the troops of Rama Dasaratha, the question arose, what to do with Sita? Nalakubara didn't seem to love her enough to accept her back after her second marriage. Labana was not in the captured city. Then through Avindhya, Kubera's confidant, it was proposed to give her to Rama.
But Rama was unable to appreciate this proposal. Worse, he gave the poor woman another insult, saying that it didn't matter to him whether she was virtuous or sinful. To enjoy it is like eating food that has already been touched by the dog's tongue.
For Rama, this gift is humiliation, and for Brahma, behind this refusal of Rama, the contempt of the mercenary and his claims are hidden. Things took an unexpected turn. The mercenary refused the reward for his work, he neglected the opportunity to intermarry with Brahma. Brahma's mercy remains mercy even if one is taken from life. Brahma does not punish, he shows the greatest mercy! Rama proposed to marry Sita to a rakshasa, a monkey or some other person. Now Brahma has received the greatest offense! You cannot refuse the gift of Brahma !!! This decided the fate of both Rama and Lakshmana. The next day they were killed ... (We considered this option according to Kalidasa - "Rod of Raghu").
For a long time, in a lengthy speech, Brahma convinced Rama that there is nothing unusual in such a marriage. Wise kings observing the dharma and even the righteous do this. And Rama, having performed his feat in the name of the gods, became like the immortals themselves. Brahma launched into such revelations that other gods did not hear from him. He is ready to give this mercenary the status of immortal, that is, to declare him a god!
Aranyakaparva. Chapter 275. Verses 29 - 34
“Brahma said:
... You, O hero, have destroyed the enemy of the gods, the Gandharvas, (demons) -snakes, as well as the Yaksas, Danavas and great holy sages. Previously, thanks to my grace, no living creature could cope with it. There was a reason that for some time I endured this wicked ... You, like an immortal, performed a great feat in the name of the gods. "
Ravana created so many problems for the celestials that they found themselves in the greatest difficulty. Ravana is the enemy of such a heterogeneous coalition that he has become objectionable to everyone. Brahma is forced to admit that there are circumstances beyond his control. In fact, he confesses that he has made a mistake. He can afford such recognition only in the narrowest circle. Mortals shouldn't know anything! A rare recognition, although it is expressed very subtly, a hint. Formally, from the theological point of view, God (Brahma) is the only cause of the world. Brahma used Aesopian language to say that there are reasons and circumstances that he himself must reckon with. Worse, he, Brahma, must endure and wait for the right moment to remove the obstacle. What a blow to the pride of the immortals!
The powerlessness of the gods is so obvious, and Brahma admits in this, that they are forced to turn to people for help. But people should also understand and appreciate the gift of the Lord of the gods. Rama fulfilled the task assigned to him and had to appreciate the opportunities that were opening before him. To be related to Brahma himself, what could be higher! It is difficult to understand why he decided to refuse what was offered by the immortal Brahma to him, a mere mortal, too mortal ... It is a pity. Rama's fate was sealed.
Sita had no choice. Her father, who loved and protected his daughter, died. She had two husbands: Nalakubara and Labana, but the first refused her, and the second was unknown where and was the enemy of Kubera and Brahma. The moment will come when Labana, at the cost of his life, will attempt to save his son Lava, but he cannot and does not even try to protect Sita. Sita's great-grandfather Brahma did everything he could to arrange her life, but that did not help either. Now only death could bring her relief. She committed suicide by throwing herself into the abyss. The earth closed its arms over the suffering woman. The innocent victim of intrigue and hasty political decisions has found her last home.
Many years have passed. Some particular episodes were erased from the memory of descendants, instead of them others were invented and inserted into the narrative, the assessment of some facts was changed, others were inconvenient for the writers
good story - were discarded. Passing the story of those events, the storytellers, to please the audience, greatly romanticized the relationship between the characters. A mosaic about the great, pure and beautiful love between Sita and Rama, about the abduction of Sita by the Rakshasa demon, about Rama's selfless desire to return her, about the obstacles in his path, about the great war with demons, about the illusion and transience of happiness.
In the epics of many peoples of the world there is a plot in which the cause of the war is the abduction of a woman, it is enough to recall the Iliad. But always, along with the abduction of a woman, there are other, more real reasons: a conflict of economic interests, greed, disputes from abroad, and the like. In the conflict between the Trojans and the Achaeans, the real reason for the war was that Troy, due to its geographical position, controlled the sea route through the straits from the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara and further to the Black Sea. The wife of the Spartan king Menelaus has absolutely nothing to do with it, and certainly her abduction (if any) was not the cause of this most famous war of the ancient world. The authors of epic legends widely used this plot to attract the "romantic" part of the public (mainly women) to a very serious presentation of political and military history. The tastes of the public were a kind of customer, dictating to the creators of the epic the need to clothe history in adventurous and romantic forms and thereby maintain the audience's interest in a serious presentation of ancient history. This technique is widely used in our time. The adventure novels of Walter Scott and Alexandre Dumas, which are quite serious and accurate enough to set out the basic facts of real history, certainly contain a story of romantic love as a main storyline. The success of the authors among listeners, readers and viewers in such cases is a foregone conclusion.
Everything that is said in the Ramayana about Sita suggests that the legend of the abduction of Sita by Ravana is just a literary device, introduced partly to attract a certain type of audience, partly to create the illusion that the story is easy to comprehend. Until now, the capture of a beautiful woman by bandits and terrorists is a favorite plot move in world cinema.
Rama Dasharatha is the heir in the kingdom of Kosala and in his actions should have proceeded from the state interests. But let's say we are wrong and Rama is not a mercenary going into battle for money, but a romantic and ardent lover who sacrifices everything for the sake of his beloved Sita, as it happened in the minds of most of the listeners and readers of the Ramayana. How would this end? Nothing good!
There are examples in history when a monarch in love, precisely for the sake of his beloved woman, introduces the country into a state of deep crisis. The most striking example of this development is the famous story of the Taj Mahal in Agra.
In 1612, the Mughal prince Khurram, son of Jahangir, fell in love with the beautiful Arjumanad Banu, the daughter of the first vizier. The lovers got married, no one interfered with their marriage. The bride was then nineteen years old. In 1627, Khurram became a padishah under the name Shah Jahan. He adored his wife, not a single important ceremony began without her, not a single state act was adopted. She was a member of the Council of State, no one dared to challenge her opinion. For seventeen years of marriage, Banu bore him thirteen children, but at the birth of the fourteenth in 1630 she died.
According to Shah Jahan himself, her last wish was that he create an unsurpassed mausoleum for her.
The desire of the beloved deceased wife became for her husband the desire of God. Shah Jahan fulfilled this desire. The posthumous gift to Banu was to be the crown of their love.
In the blue waters of the Yamuna, a majestic and light structure, perfect in all proportions, is reflected, like a pearl in a mirror, a hymn of love. The color of the building changes: sky blue, whimsical pink, delightful orange. At night, in the moonlight, it turns snowy white. Time does not seem to leave its traces on the stones of the mausoleum, the beauty of which is admired by people from different countries. Thousands of tourists who visit India every year create an unforgettable experience for a lifetime.
But what did it cost the country and Shah Jahan himself! The construction lasted twenty-two years, thirty million rupees was spent, and thousands of people died during the work. Dutch merchant Van Twist writes:
“... whole families were drowned in the river, and cannibalism was committed openly. Gangs of desperate people plundered along the banks. Many survivors were mowed down by the plague ... The main reason for the disaster was the excessive taxation and the greed of officials who did not leave supplies to the peasants. "
On the other bank of the Yamuna, a second mausoleum of black marble was to be built for Shah Jahan himself, but it was not built. The damage to the state and its inhabitants was so enormous that the country was hit by an extensive economic crisis. Great love brought great misfortune to the country. The death of one beautiful woman caused the death of thousands of people in the country. The son of Shah Jahan Aurangzeb, with the support of the clergy, carried out a coup and imprisoned his father in the tower of the palace, where for the last nine years of his life, being in fact under house arrest, he admired the Taj Mahal, the greatest act of his life, through the window of the tower.
Admiring the beauty of the Taj Mahal, modern tourists would hardly want to live in India at that time. Have you ever thought about the correctness of the phrase that beauty will save the world? Please give examples! But beauty ruined thousands of lives. Let us ask ourselves the question: does the world need salvation? Usually such a question is not discussed, the answer is clear to everyone - it needs. Only the choice of specific forms of salvation is subject to discussion. Religious people with eschatological expectations are engaged in such discussions. They need the end of the world for their own exaltation, since it is they who act as saviors, offering their own ways of solving problems, or, more simply, by fanning fear, subjugating people. The thesis that beauty will save the world was put forward by writers, artists, that is, people of creative work. But did the contemplation of monuments, paintings, reading books stop at least one war? Did they improve humanity? It is not the contemplation of man-made models of beauty that makes a person perfect, but their creation, that is, beauty improves and “saves” only its creator. Beauty is always elite. Only a few out of thousands are capable of creating beautiful and magnificent products. On the other hand, any piece of art, no matter how mundane it sounds, always has its own market value. Hand-made examples of art become a commodity and very many of them quickly become the property of wealthy people who, in pursuit of more and more new designs for their collections, without noticing it, become their slaves. Beauty, like the gods, requires sacrifice from those who worship it and them. The beauty of beautiful creatures is either a means of enrichment or a means of controlling people who worship it. This is true both in relation to people of antiquity and in relation to our contemporaries.
The beauty of nature is another matter. Its views are beautiful: plains, forests, mountains, gorges, rivers, sunrises and sunsets, the southern sky on a moonless night, aurora borealis, waterfalls created by the hand of an unknown creator, did not take a single human life, their creation did not shed a drop of blood ! Not a single rich man has bought himself the exclusive right to admire them. The beauty of nature, unlike man-made, is natural and not corrupt. It lasts for millions of years. Compare with human products, which are a maximum of three to four thousand years old. It elevates without enslaving.
But back to the events of the Ramayana. Millions of people in India worship Rama, and Rama worshiped Sita. As you can see, the picture we have painted does not at all correspond to mythical ideas. What is the matter, after all, a similar thing happened with other characters of the ancient Indian epic - with Indra, and with Krishna, and with the Pandava brothers from Mahabharata? The answer is simple: they all ended up in the winners' camp. The winners are not judged, because there is no one to judge them, because the defeated have no offspring left. The descendants of the victors admire the "glorious deeds" of their ancestors. The brahmanas used Indra up to a certain point, and then assigned him the status of an immortal deity. Rama also earned their gratitude, and if he accepted the offer of Brahma, then, undoubtedly, he would have found a place in the power pyramid. In essence, Rama Dasharatha is an adventurer and an immoral person who paid little attention to such things as honor, conscience, and decency. Let's remember how despicably he killed Valin. And how insidiously and cruelly he and his brother Lakshmana treated Shurpanakha and Ayomukhi, who, by the way, confessed their love to them. If he does not value the love of another being, and even mocks her, then is he himself capable of love and self-sacrifice? And if the example of the Rakshasi (in fact, just a woman who was born in the family of a guard) seems unconvincing to someone, then let's take his "wife" - Sita as an example. Rama drove out of the house a pregnant woman who was supposedly beloved by him only because of the gossip of the city rabble. A loving person, capable of sacrificing his life for the sake of his beloved, of course, will not be afraid of the gossip of the crowd.
Rama behaves like a typical mercenary, a "soldier of fortune", and treats Sita like a war booty, and therefore offers her to the Rakshasas, monkeys and other people. Such a person will not sacrifice even a handful of small coins for love, let alone life and kingdom.
Let's say it again. It was not love for the beautiful Sita that caused the war between Rama Dasaratha and Ravana, but the family conflict between Kubera and Ravana. Unhappy Sita - wife of Nalakubara and daughter of Ravana - became an innocent victim of political intrigue in the Brahma family.
On the day of the appearance of Srimati Sita devi, we will tell the amazing story about Lord Ramacandra and His consort Srimati Sita devi, which was told to the world by the great sage Valmiki in his mystical work "Ramayana". containing all the wisdom and depth of the Vedas. You can spend your whole life studying the Vedas, or you can just listen or read the Ramayana. By listening to or reading this story, you will be saved from all adversity. It bestows long life, victory and strength. Those without children will be able to conceive children. Those who want glory will receive glory. Those who read it or listen to it with faith will achieve all four goals of human life: dharma, artha, kama, moksha. Ramayana helps to make the right decisions in life.
You will receive all the blessings of Lord Vishnu, since the Rama in question is the incarnation of Lord Vishnu. You will also receive the blessings of the Goddess of prosperity, fortune and love - Lakshmiji, the consort of Lord Vishnu. Sita devi, the eternal consort of Lord Ramacandra, is the incarnation of Lakshmi devi.
Sita is compared to the cool moonlight, and her husband Rama (Ramacandra) is compared to the beautiful month. Moonlight always follows the Moon.
Sita is the beloved wife of Rama, the daughter of King Janaka, "not born human." Sita is the personification of a perfect woman, portrayed as the ideal of female purity, and therefore one of the translations of Sita is snow-white.
According to Janaka, the king of Videha, Sita (Sanskrit Sîtâ = furrow, the personification of furrow and agriculture) arose from the furrow of his plow while he was plowing the place for sacrifice.
Janaka had no children, so he was ordered to perform halahomu yagyu... It consists in taking a plow and drawing a line around the palace with this plow. While the plow is moving, it gets stuck in the mud, and every time it gets stuck in the mud, gold has to be donated to the brahmanas. The plow gets stuck every time it moves, so you have to give gold. When all the brahmanas are happy with what they have been given, the plow moves on and when it gets stuck, the brahmanas should get more gold.
In this way, Janaka did charity work and received many blessings, so it promotes the birth of children. Janaka plowed the land and distributed gold to the brahmanas. In one place the plow got stuck, and after all the gold was given to the brahmanas, it still did not go further.
“There must be some kind of big rock in the ground,” everyone said.
And so they dug in this place and found a chest there. And inside this casket was a girl who became known as Janaka - Janaka's daughter.
Due to this supernatural way of giving birth, Sita is called Ayonija(Ayonijâ = not born from the womb). Sita's other names are - Bhumija(Bhumi = earth), Dharanisura(Dharani = land, actually "carrier"), Partkhivi(Prthivî = land, actually "wide") - all indicate its origin, meaning "daughter of the earth".
Once I made a furrow in the field, and from there
The child of unspeakable beauty looked - oh, miracle!
For the father's heart the best, not knowing joy,
I named the girl Sita and Princess Videha.
Maharaja raised the girl as his daughter: “Her name is Sita, and she is the very life and soul of every inhabitant of Mithila, even a flower and an insect, not to mention humans, because she is an incarnate bhakti. She is the most beautiful girl in all creation. "
O Sita's childhood amusements were told by the sage Viswamitra, telling the story of how little Sita was playing with a ball and it rolled over the bow. This bow could not be moved at all by 5,000 people, but she very calmly lifted it. Of all the inhabitants of Mithila, only Sita could move the heavy chest, inside which was kept Shiva's bow, so her father Janaka could only marry her to someone who was as strong as Sita.
A wonderful story happened to Sita when She was already six years old. Once Sita Devi was walking with her friends in the forest. The girls tried in every possible way to reach the high-growing branch and pick the flower, but they did not succeed. Then Sita went to the palace and imperceptibly entered the room where the famous bow of Lord Shiva, with which He fought with Lord Vishnu, lay. “Little” Sita easily took this bow and quietly left the room. The guard, who was standing nearby, could not believe his eyes, and immediately ran to the king. And Shitaji shot at the twig and calmly put the bow back in place. The ministers gathered on this extraordinary occasion said to Janaka: “O king, Maha-Lakshmi lives with you. By all indications, this is evident. How are you going to marry Her off? If She is Lakshmiji, then you have to find Sri Narayana, Her Eternal Consort. "
The first meeting of Sita and Rama occurred in the garden of Janaka Maharaja. It was in this garden that Lord Rama and Srimati Sita exchanged glances for the first time, and at that moment They gave their hearts to each other. With beautiful, like a young chamois, lotus eyes, she saw the delicate graceful beauty of Rama.
With beautiful, like a young chamois, lotus eyes, she saw the delicate graceful beauty of Rama. More than anything, Sita wanted Rama to become the Lord of Her heart. About this, even before meeting Rama at her father's house, Sita turned with prayers to Durga.
Amazingly, Prince Ramachandra found a spouse.
In those distant times in India there was a custom - svayamvar, according to which, in order for the bride to choose a groom for herself, competitions were appointed in her honor. Young men gathered at them, they competed in archery, wrestling, and javelin throwing. To the winner, if, of course, he was to his liking, the bride put a garland around her neck - by this she let him know that she agreed to become his wife.
And soon Sita's father decided that it was time to marry his daughter. Janaka promised to give his beloved daughter to someone who can pull the string of Lord Shiva's sacred bow.
Rama also came to Medhila to compete. When Viswamitra Muni, Rama and Lakshmana saw this bow, they froze in admiration. Extraordinary, gigantic and indescribably beautiful, the bow was skillfully decorated with heavenly emeralds, silver, gold, rubies, diamonds and pearls. Made by Vishvakarma himself, the heavenly armourer, especially for Lord Shiva, the bow sparkled like rock crystal in the sun, shimmering with the wondrous colors of the northern lights. No one has ever touched him except the great Shambhu.
Rama, meanwhile, approached the bow and, with folded palms in reverence, offered humble obeisances to this expansion of Lord Shiva. Ramacandra looked at his guru, Viswamitra Muni, because without the blessing of the Guru, Rama believed, no one could ever do anything worthy.
Rama slowly raised his bow and, spreading his mighty shoulders, began to pull the string. The black, shiny, heavy wood gave way to strong hands - the bowstring was separating further and further from the shaft, and finally the bow could not stand it - there was a crash like a thunderclap, the roofs of houses trembled - the bow flew in half. Shouts of joy filled the square.
Maharaja Janaka called Sita down, and she appeared before Lord Ramacandra to present him with the victorious vijaya-mala, a fragrant garland of golden flowers intended only for one who would become her husband. She stood in front of Rama, looking at his lotus feet. Then she decided to look into his eyes, and when their eyes met, the eternal love union of Sita-Rama, Sri Sri Radhika-Govinda, immediately manifested ...
Vasishtha Muni, at the auspicious hour called vijai, began the marriage ceremony, very beautiful, very opulent. King Janaka put his daughter's hand in Rama's, saying, “I give my daughter Sita to You, my dear Rama. Sita is dearer to me than life and soul, and I promise that she will serve You with great devotion and follow You wherever You go, like Your shadow. Whatever your fate, my daughter will always be by your side. Please take her as your spouse! In all my life I have not seen a more worthy bridegroom for my virtuous and chaste Sita. "
Giving Sita's hand to Ramacandra, Janaka and Vasishtha poured holy water to seal the marriage. Sita was overjoyed, for that was the kind of husband she wanted. The same could be said about Rama. They could not take their eyes off each other. Time simply ceased to exist when they were together.
However, their happiness was short-lived and, like many lovers, they had to go through serious trials. Palace intrigues compel Rama to retire for fourteen years into exile in the Dandakaranya forest, and the faithful Sita, the eternal consort of Lord Ramacandra, goes after Him.
As the moonlight comes from the moon, so Sita follows her beloved Rama. Sita gave up the luxury of Ayodhya and, therefore, was able to be with Rama in "exile". She steadfastly endured all the hardships and hardships: staying close to the prince meant for her to be happy.
Rama, however, with Sita and Lakshmana settled in a small reed hut in the thicket of the Dandaka forest. Brothers never lacked courage or courage. Lotus-eyed Rama lived for ten years with Sita and Lakshmana, moving from one abode to another, protecting the hermits from predatory animals, Rakshasas and poisonous reptiles.
Another test was leela of the abduction of Sita by the evil demon Ravana.
When Rama, Lakshmana and Sita were in Panchavati during the exile, the demon Maricha, on the orders of Ravana, the demon king who ruled in Lanka, turned into a golden deer and walked nearby. Sita was fascinated by the golden deer and persuaded Rama to catch him, despite Rama discouraging her.
When Rama chased the deer and shot a fatal arrow at him, the demon assumed his true form and shouted the names of Lakshmana and Sita in Rama's weakened voice. Hearing Rama's voice, Sita forced Lakshmana to go to Rama's aid. Before leaving the hut, Lakshmana drew a line around it and told Sita not to cross it. He stated that no one would be able to cross this line and enter the hut.
In the meantime, Ravana came there, assuming the form of a brahmana, and began to beg. When Sita began to offer him food, standing behind the line drawn by Lakshmana, he refused to take the food, prompting her to cross the line and give him an offering. Since he pretended to be suffering from bouts of hunger, Sita, being very compassionate and caring, crossed the line and offered food to the "brahmana". Then Ravana took his true form, grabbed her and took her away in his celestial chariot to Lanka.
The lesson from the story of Sita's abduction is that a woman, no matter how powerful she may be in the material world, must always be protected. As soon as a woman is left unprotected, she falls into the hands of Rakshasas like Ravana. Before her marriage, Sita was under the protection of her father, Janaka. And when she got married, her husband began to take care of her. Thus, a woman should always be under someone's protection. According to Vedic rules, a woman is not able to be independent (asamaksam) because she is not able to protect herself. When she fixed her dreamy gaze on the golden deer and was captivated by it, she lost the Presence of Rama.
Although Sita was imprisoned by Ravana in the Ashoka grove, he did not dare to touch her, as he knew that he would be incinerated. He wanted to subdue her by intimidating and threatening her. But Sita never even looked at him.
When he began to defame Rama, Sita took a blade of grass and said, "You are so pitiful and wicked. You are not even worth this blade of grass. How can you defame Rama?"
Actually, Sita was the cause of the curse and death of Ravana.
In her past incarnation, she was a young girl named Masulunji. Ravana, after killing her father, tried to take her by force. Masulunji called to Shri Hari and with his name on her lips she managed to escape. She reached the place in the forest where the Rishis were reciting the Vedas. Since she appeared before them while they were chanting the Vedas, they gave her the name Vedavati. Arriving in the Himalayas, she sat there with her eyes closed, concentrating her thoughts on Sri Hari. When Ravana broke her meditation, Masulunji vowed that she would become the cause of his death in her next incarnation and with her mystical power she burned herself, dissolving in fire (Agni). Sita was born from the ashes. She is also called Vaidehi, that is, one who has no attachment to the body.
To protect Sita, Agni replaced Sita with Vedavati, and Sita took with him and left under the protection of his wife Svahadevi. Ravana took Vedavati to Lanka, mistaking her for Sita. He kidnapped the shadow of Sita, that is, Maya-Sita. Maya Sita is the image of Sita, nondifferent from Her. The only difference is that no one can touch the Divine Sita being in the grip of lust, passion and anger. She placed Her Primordial Form in the fire and hid Her divinity.
According to the blessing of Brahma, only a person could kill Ravana, since he was invulnerable to the devas and asuras. Vishnu comes to this world in the form of a man - prince Ramacandra. Ravana constantly annoyed others, but when the cup of his sins overflowed and he went so far as to encroach on Sitadevi herself, Lord Ramacandra killed him.
"Srimad Bhagavatam" Canto 9. "Liberation" TEXT 23:
"After reprimanding Ravana, Lord Ramacandra put an arrow on the string of His bow, took aim and fired this arrow, which, like lightning, struck the demon's heart. Seeing this, Ravana's subordinates shouted in the air," Woe to us, woe! What a misfortune! " Meanwhile, Ravana, spewing blood with all ten mouths, fell from the airship to the ground, just as a pious man who has exhausted his stock of good deeds falls from the heavenly planet back to Earth. "
The chaste wife of Ravana Mandodari, lamenting, says :
"O darling of fate, overwhelmed by lust, you could not fully appreciate the power of Sita. Cursed by her, you lost all greatness and died at the hands of Lord Ramacandra."(SB Canto 9. TEXT 27)
The commentary on this text says:
“Not only Sita is powerful, but any woman who follows in her footsteps also becomes powerful. There are many examples of this in the Vedic scriptures. But whenever they speak of an ideal chaste woman, the name of Sita's mother is mentioned.
Mandodari, the wife of Ravana, was also very chaste. Draupadi is also one of the five most chaste women. If men are to follow the example of great souls like Brahma and Narada, then women should follow in the footsteps of ideal wives like Sita, Mandodari and Draupadi. Keeping chastity and remaining faithful to her husband, a woman gains incredible, supernatural power.
The moral rules say that a man should not look lustfully at other people's wives. Matrivat para-daresu: an intelligent man treats another's wife as his mother ... Ravana was condemned not only by Lord Ramacandra, but also by Ravana's wife, Mandodari. Because she was chaste, she knew the power of any chaste woman, especially one like Sitadevi. "
Evil dissipated, peace and tranquility reigned in the Universe. The monkeys entered Lanka. Hanuman found the beautiful Sita and told her about the death of her captor. Finally Rama met his beloved wife. He told her that he had avenged the insult and killed Ravana, but he could not take her back, since she had been in another's house for too long: after all, Ravana had touched her and defiled her with a glance. Rama never for a moment doubted her loyalty and love, but in order to avoid misinterpretations, they conducted test of Sita's loyalty by fire.
Lakshman made a fire. Many people froze in horror ... When the fire started, Sita respectfully walked around Rama. Then, going to the fire, she bowed down to the brahmanas and demigods.
After that, she offered up a prayer to Agni: “O god of fire, if my heart has always remained faithful to Rama, may the god of fire grant me his protection! If I am pure and not stained before Rama, may the great Agni, the eyewitness of everything, protect me from unjust blasphemy! "
Sita, with folded palms and downcast eyes, entered the copper-crimson flame. Among the restless tongues of fire, her beauty shone like molten gold. And after a while the god of fire himself, Agni, carried her out of the fire unharmed, saying: “This is your wife Sita, there is not a single speck on her, she is sinless. She was never wrong to you, neither in thought, nor in words, nor even in glance.Trust me and accept this jewel among women. "
Rama said that even without any test he was sure of the purity of his wife, it was important for him to prove her innocence to others. The ruler's lifestyle must be exemplary.
He went up to Sita, looked into her beautiful eyes full of tears, He dreamed about this moment for a very long time, and quietly said:
“O daughter of the Earth! Oh my beautiful Sita! How could you think for a second that I doubted you! I went all over this country to see once again your beautiful face. I was tormented by the unbearable pain of separation from you? My dear love, I know that you are pure and innocent, I love you very much and could not wait for this moment! "
Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura and Srila Sanatana Goswami said that the happiness of separation surpasses the strongest happiness of meeting.
Lord Ramacandra's separation from Sita is spiritual in nature and is called vipralambha. This is the hladini-sakti manifestation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who belongs to sringara-rasa, the rasa of conjugal love in the spiritual world.
In the spiritual world, the Supreme Lord enjoys all kinds of loving relationships, showing symptoms of spiritual experience such as sattvika, sancari, vilapa, murcha and unmada. Therefore, when Lord Ramacandra was separated from Sita, all these spiritual symptoms manifested in Him.
The Lord is not impersonal or devoid of energy. He is sac-cid-ananda-vigraha, the eternal embodiment of knowledge and bliss. Spiritual bliss is manifested in Him in all the variety of signs. Separation from the beloved is also one of the manifestations of His spiritual bliss. As Srila Svarupa Damodara Goswami explains, radha-krsna-pranaya-vikrtir hladini-saktih: The loving relationship of Radha and Krsna is a manifestation of the pleasure potency of the Lord.
The Lord is the original cause of all enjoyment, the center of bliss. In this way, Lord Ramacandra revealed both spiritual and material truth. In the material sense, attachment to a woman brings suffering, and in the spiritual sense, the feeling of separation of the Lord from His pleasure energy only increases the spiritual bliss of the Lord. (Sh.B 9.10.11)
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