Sita – The Personification of Divine Womanhood

[Aravinda Lochanan]

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       Sita – The Personification of Divine Womanhood
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Sita, the daughter of Siradhvaja Janaka, the king of Videha,
known in the literary and Puranic traditions also as Janaki,
Vaidehi, Bhumija, Agnija, Matulingi, Ratnavali, Dharinija,
Raktaja etc., contextual to various myths related to the
circumstances of her birth, was the consort of Lord Rama, the
eldest son of Ayodhya’s king Dasharatha, and the mother of the
illustrious sons Lava and Kusha. Sita’s names Janaki and Vaidehi
relate respectively to Janaka, her father, and to Videha, the
land that her father represented. Bhumija, born of ‘bhumi’ – the
earth, relates to the most widely accepted circumstances of her
birth under which she is said to have risen from the earth when
king Janaka ploughed it for installing ‘Agni’ of yajna – fire of
sacrificial rite that accepted oblation made in the course of the
yajna. It was customary to plough the land where the Agni of
yajna was installed. With ‘dharini’ being another synonym for
‘bhumi’ her name Dharinija has same connotation as Bhumija.
Agnija, born of fire, Matulingi, born of great phallus,
Ratnavali, born out of jewels, and Raktaja, born of blood, refer
to other myths that the tradition associates with the incidence
of her birth.

Apart a few allusions to term ‘sita’ in the Vedic literature
denoting an entirely different entity, the great epic Ramayana by
Valmiki, believed to have been composed during Rama’s lifetime
itself, is the earliest known source of the story of Rama.

The Ramayana does not deify either Rama or Sita, its hero and
heroine; however it fails to contain them in human frames often
allowing them to transgress it and acquire quasi-divine status.
The Ramayana mythicises at least the circumstances of the birth
of Sita, as also Rama, and often elevates their glory to heights
beyond human domain. The Puranic tradition elevates Rama, and of
course Sita, to the divine status revering Rama as Lord Vishnu’s
incarnation, and Sita, as Lakshmi’s. The factum of Vishnu’s
incarnation as Rama has been interpreted in terms of Rama’s act
of eliminating Ravana, Lanka’s demon king, and Lakshmi’s, as
Sita, in presenting a rationale – a righteous reason for Rama’s
act of Ravana’s annihilation.

Researchers have excavated sites inch to inch, plumbed ocean
layer to layer, and squeezed texts syllable to syllable, to find
if the time was ever the witness to the human birth of Sita, as
of Rama, her husband. The entire scholastic endeavor appears to
have been futile, as not a grain of material evidence
establishing her historicity, or even pre-history, has so far
come to light. However, Sita’s is not a case to be written off,
she has not only kept to the right track Indian womanhood,
affording it the most perfect model of a devoted wife and ideal
mother but with Rama is for centuries now the core of faith of
millions of Indians who find in them the prime source of their
spiritual energy as well as material well-being, a ladder that
led to salvation as also to mundane heights, a model for
righteous living, ideal home and perfect society, and a stay to
tag with all their woes and miseries, achievements and failures,
prospects and disappointments, strength and weaknesses, all
auspices, occasions of rejoicing and all festivities. Sita, like
Rama, her husband, seems to be one beyond time.


Sita In Literature Prior To The Ramayana

Sita, the term literally meaning ‘furrow’, the line made by
plough, is the Vedic name of the goddess associated with the
ploughed fields. In one of the hymns in the Rig-Veda this goddess
manifesting furrow line is invoked jointly with Kshetrapati, the
lord of fields, for blessing with prosperity and abundance.
Obviously, the invocation is directed to the ploughed land’s
inherent fertility power which being capable of bestowing
prosperity and abundance is divine and is hence deified and
invoked. However, this Vedic stand in regard to Sita is not
uniform. In Kaushika Sukta Sita has been identified as the wife
of Parjanya, a god associated with rain. She has been invoked as
the ‘mother of all gods, mortals and creatures’ and is prayed for
growth and prosperity. But, in the Paraskara Sukta, she has been
identified as the wife of Indra, the Vedic god with greater
magnitude often associated with rain and fertility.

This position further changes in Samhitas. Under a practice
during post-Rig-Vedic period, there came to prevail a practice
which required due ploughing of the ground where the fire for
yajna was to be installed. Obviously it aimed at ensuring that
the yajna charged the ploughed fields with fertility and enabled
them for yielding abundant crop. The practice, called
Agnichayana – selection of site for installing yajna-fire, was
something like a quasi-ritual. The Vajasaneyi-Samhita attributes
to this practice the status of a proper ritual providing that
yajna-bhumi should have drawn on it four furrow lines and when
drawing these lines Sita – the goddess associated with ploughed
field, should be invoked with prescribed hymns. This linked
emergence of Sita in the mind of yajnika – performer of yajna,
with the act of ploughing the yajna-bhumi. As is commonly
contended, once when ploughing a part of land for consecrating it
for yajna there rose from under it a young girl that king Janaka
brought home, adopted her as his daughter and in consideration of
her emergence from the furrow-line named her Sita. Tulsidasa also
followed this rather simple line on the incidence of Sita’s
birth.  In any case, Valmiki seems to have seen in his Sita the
same forbearance, steadfastness, divine spirit to suffer without
grudge and always being on giving end as should have
characterized the earth-born – one manifesting the earth’s
inherent spirit in its totality.


Various Incarnation-Myths

Lakshmi’s Incarnation By The Curse Of Saraswati

The Devi Bhagavata, Kamba Ramayana and many Puranas almost
unanimously hold that Sita was Lakshmi’s incarnation. The myth in
Devi Bhagavata and Kamba Ramayana links Vedavati, Panchali and
Tulsi, too, with Lakshmi’s incarnation cult consequentially to
Sita. As these texts have it, once, in Baikuntha – Vishnu’s
abode, his all three consorts, Lakshmi, Ganga and Saraswati were
sitting with Vishnu. To her annoyance Saraswati noticed that
Ganga was enticing him by her tempting glances. Saraswati
admonished her for this and a quarrel ensued. Lakshmi, too, in
her effort to calm down Saraswati, annoyed her. Infuriated she
cursed Lakshmi to be born as a plant. With no fault of her
Lakshmi, enraged with Saraswati’s unjust behavior, also
retaliated and cursed her to turn into a river. Saraswati also
cursed Ganga to become a river. After the rows of curses was
over, Vishnu explained to Lakshmi that she would take birth as
the daughter of Dharmadhwaja on the earth with Tulsi as her name,
and from a portion of her would grow a plant of the same name.

Dharmadhwaja and Kushadhwaja were the sons of Rathadhwaja and the
grandsons of Vrashadhwaja. Vrashadhwaja was Shiva’s devotee. He
hence promulgated the worship of Shiva in exclusion to all other
gods. This annoyed all gods. Consequently Surya cursed
Vrashadhwaja depriving him and his descendents of all their
riches and luster. The curse instantly worked. For redeeming
themselves and their descendants from the curse Dharmadhwaja and
Kushadhwaja, Vrashadhwaja’s descendents in the third generation,
did great penance to please Lakshmi who alone could revive their
glory. Satisfied with their great austerities Lakshmi appeared
and as desired promised Dharmadhwaja and Kushadhwaja to take
birth as the daughter of each of them. In due course Dharmadhwaja’s
wife Madhavi gave birth to a girl child. They named her Tulsi.
The child was born by a portion of Lakshmi. His brother
Kushadhwaja along with his wife Malavati also awaited Lakshmi to
take birth as their daughter. Lest he transgressed from his path
he was always reciting hymns from the Vedas. One day when so
reciting Vedic hymns there emerged from his mouth a child with
divine aura on its face. The child was no other than the one born
by another portion of Lakshmi. Kushadhwaja named the child
Vedavati, sometimes alluded to as Devavati. One day, a demon
named Shambhu came to the hermitage of Kushadhwaja. He saw
Vedavati and fascinated by her tempting beauty desired to marry
her. He asked Kushadhwaja for her hand but Kushadhwaja refused.
This annoyed Shambhu but he went away. However, he came back in
the night and killed Kushadhwaja. Hearing her father’s shriek
Vedavati rushed to him. When she found him lying in a pool of
blood, her eyes burnt with wrath. With her fiery eyes she looked
at the demon and in a moment he was burnt to ashes.

Left alone Vedavati retired to Himalayas where determined to have
Mahavishnu as her husband she began performing severe penance. It
was around the same time when Ravana was on his victory campaign
and having defeated most of the kings of plain was in Himalayan
region. Suddenly he saw Vedavati engaged in penance. Her
celestial beauty mesmerized him. He went to her and asked to give
up her bark clothes and matted hair and marry him, and when she
refused, caught her hold and began dragging her forcibly.
Vedavati resisted, even hurt him with her nails and teeth, but
when unable to protect her, she wished that the mortal body which
a wicked man had rendered impure by his touch be destroyed. Her
divine wish worked, and the very moment there rose from the earth
a celestial fire and Vedavati jumped into it and turned into
ashes. Before she immolated her she warned Ravana that she would
be re-born as Mahavishnu’s consort and for her Mahavishnu would
kill him. She would be thus the cause of his destruction.

Ravana, deeply engrossed in her love, was shocked at the loss of
such paramount beauty. He collected her ashes in a golden box,
brought them to Lanka and consecrated them at a secluded place
which he visited everyday. However, since that day Lanka everyday
witnessed one bad omen or other. One day Narada visited Lanka.
Ravana asked him the cause of these bad omens and how he could
get rid of them. Narada explained that their occurrence was
linked with Vedavati’s ashes and advised him to shift them out of
Lanka without opening the box. He warned that a great disaster
would take place if the box was opened. As advised, Ravana
instantly picked the box from its place and dropped in into the
ocean. One day a gang of pirates saw it. They collected and
carried it to Indian main land, their home. However, whenever
they tried to open it something untoward occurred. Out of fear
they buried it into a pit near a river in Mithila region without
opening it. After some time king Janaka selected the spot where
lied buried this box for installing agni for the performance of
his yajna and ploughed it. While ploughing it the box was
unearthed and from it emerged a girl child. United with the
spirit of Vedavati and the holy ambience of Videha the ashes
contained in the box had transformed into it. Janaka brought the
child to his palace where it was received with royal grandeur and
was named Sita.


Sita As Padma

The myth in the Ananda Ramayana links Lakshmi’s incarnation as
Sita to king Padmaksha. Once with the objective of obtaining
Lakshmi as his daughter king Padmaksha did severe penance which
pleased Mahavishnu who gave him ‘Matu-linga’, and thereby a
daughter was born to him. It is in context to this Matu-linga
myth that Sita is sometimes alluded to as Matulingi. Padmaksha
named his daughter Padma. When of marriageable age, Padmaksha
held his daughter’s Swayamvara – bride wedding by her own choice
out of the suitors participating in it. However, before the
Swayamvara was accomplished a band of rakshasas – demons, stormed
the venue, destroyed everything and killed king Padmaksha. Unable
to protect her otherwise Padma, foiling the attempt of rakshasas
to obtain her, jumped into fire and disappeared.

After some time Padma emerged from fire. It was for her emergence
from fire that Sita is sometimes alluded to as Agnija – born of
fire. Incidentally, at the time when she emerged from fire
Ravana, flying in his Pushpaka Vimana – aircraft named Pushpaka,
passed over the spot and saw Padma. Infatuated by her rare beauty
he got down with the intention of obtaining her. However, before
he could reach her she created fire by her will, entered into it
and burnt. Ravana searched the pile of burning wood and found in
it five jewels into which Padma had transformed. Ravana collected
them and put them into a gold-box and when back to Lanka gave to
his wife Mandodari. A few days later Mandodari opened the box and
to her utter dismay found sitting into it a virgin with rare
beauty. It shook Mandodari with fear for being the cause of the
destruction of her father Padmaksha, his family and state
Mandodari believed that the presence of the girl in Lanka would
only inflict destruction on it. She hence pressurized her husband
to cast the box outside Lanka. Ravana carried it to Mithila and
buried it there. Before the box was buried a voice from inside
the box warned Ravana that she would again come to Lanka and kill
him and his clan. One day, a Brahmin, while ploughing his field,
found the box, and as required the prevalent practice in regard
to underground things, he carried the box to king Janaka who
opened it and found in it a beautiful child. He adopted her and
named her Sita.


Sita As Raktaja

Though it yet relates to Sita and Ravana, the Adbhuta Ramayana
has a different version of the myth. Having grown immensely
powerful Ravana’s excesses were on increase. He was particularly
cruel to sages of Janasthana engaged in penance. He took delight
in shooting his arrows on them and collected in a big pot the
blood that these arrows extracted from their bodies. Those days
Janasthana had a great sage known as Gratsamada engaged in
rigorous penance for obtaining a daughter such as would equal
Lakshmi in every thing. In his own way he recited a hymn and when
concluding it he would take a little milk on a Dharba grass-leaf
and pour it into a pot. As if making oblation to the divine power
he was dedicated to, he repeated it with recitation of each hymn
believing that the day the pot was full his wish would also be accomplished.

Ravana who sought great delight in tormenting sages engaged in
penance knew that deprivation of his ritual pot would more
grievously torment Gratsmada than would do any of his arrows.
Hence, one day Ravana rushed into the hermitage of Gratsmada and
carried away his pot of milk. He poured the milk that the
Gratsmada’s pot contained into his pot filled with the blood of
the sages, shook it thoroughly and gave it to his queen Mandodari
to keep it. Ravana’s cruelties and misdeeds were on increase
everyday which Mandodari did not like. Annoyed as she was,
Mandodari one day decided to commit suicide and with such
intention swallowed the contents of the pot. However, instead of
bringing death it made her pregnant. Fearing Ravana’s contempt
she buried that foetus at Kurukshetra. After sometime from the
spot where the foetus was buried there emerged a girl child that
king Janaka adopted with Sita as her name. This myth gives Sita
her name Raktaja, one born of blood.


Sita As Ravana’s Daughter

The Devi Bhagavata comes out with a strange myth. This myth
acclaims Sita to be Ravana’s daughter. On Ravana’s proposal to
marry Mandodari, her mother Maya gave her consent but warned him
at the same time that according to Mandodari’s horoscope her
first child was destined to kill its father. Hence, he should
kill the firstborn. However, Ravana did not act upon her advice.
Instead of, he put the newborn into a box and buried it at the
city of king Janaka. Later, Janaka discovered her, adopted her
and named her Sita who as Rama’s consort was instrumental in
Ravana’s elimination.


Significant Events In Sita’s Life

Rama being the focal point of the Rama-katha, Sita’s presence in
it is not very regular. In the tradition of thought she
represents Devi – primordial female energy, but not her operative
aspect as does Durga or Kali. She is not seen operating or taking
even a decision except rarely as when she decides to go with Rama
during his exile, though here, too, with whatever her arguments
she convinces Rama to permit her to accompany him, that is, it is
finally Rama who takes the decision. Though myths in different
Puranas vary to this extent or that, Sita’s ability to handle
Shiva-chapa – Shiva’s bow, prompts king Janaka to give her in
marriage only to a prince who is capable of lifting, stringing
and shooting Shiva’s bow. Janaka holds Sita’s swayamvara –
marriage-festival which allowed a bride to have a groom by her
own choice. However Janaka’s pre-condition, as also myths related
to her marriage, makes Sita’s swayamvara a bit different. Not
merely that Lakshmi had incarnated as Sita to assist Vishnu
incarnating as Rama, and hence their marriage, a pre-scheduled
thing, but in literary tradition too, Rama was Sita’s choice.
However, the apparent decision mandating her to wed Rama was
Janaka’s, her father, not Sita’s. Sita only complied with what
her father decided.

Sita reveals an independent mind on other occasions too, but does
not ever thrust her decision. When at Dandakavana, Rama assures
sages doing penance there to kill rakshasas interrupting their
austerities. Sita does not approve this decision of Rama, and for
quite valid reasons; firstly, she contends that rakshasas had not
harmed Rama or his family in anyway, and secondly, in the forest
he was not Ayodhya’s prince but one exiled from that position,
and that the arms that he carried were for self defense or to
protect the weak, not for resorting back to that princely
position from which he stands exiled for fourteen years. However,
despite that she gives her mind, she leaves it to Rama to decide
his course of action. A mother with a kind heart, Sita
instinctively dislikes violence against anyone, even those
tormenting her. When Hanuman inclines to punish wicked rakshasis
at Ashoka-vatika where Sita was in confinement, she disallows him
from doing so. She is as much worried when she knows how Hanuman
was being tormented by setting his tail on fire. She prays Agni
to protect him.

Whatever the myths of her origin, in spirit and her entire being
Sita represents as Lord Rama’s consort what Lakshmi represented
as Vishnu’s in theological tradition – absolute devotion,
unshakable faith, chastity, service, constant companionship and a
desire to help accomplish his cause, besides her unique divinity
with which blends the highest kind of womanhood.

As in Lakshmi-related myths, Sita’s ever faithful and calm mind
agitates just once when on sage Valmiki’s initiative Rama agrees
to accept her but only after she once again gives proof of her
chastity. Her apparently cool but agitating mind does not accept
it. Lest she is mistaken, she takes vow of chastity – her ever
last, only for invoking gods to be her witness and the mother
earth to yield space and take her back into her womb; and
thereupon the earth, perhaps in disapproval of Rama’s demand,
opens up, and Sita enters the earth.

Earlier after Ravana had been killed and Lanka conquered, when
brought before Rama, he questioned her chastity and asked her for
giving its proof, and despite that Rama’s words were harsh and
disparaging, Sita, besides taking oath of chastity, coolly
entered the fire in the presence of all – men, animals, gods,
demons, sages, kinnaras, gandharvas and other celestial beings
without grudge or disapproval. The fire that burnt impurity had
nothing to burn in Sita, not even her garments – the purest ones,
and the fire god himself brought her back and presented her to
Rama. Her chastity was thus universally approved. However, when
in compliance with Rama’s order Lakshmana abandoned her – a
pregnant woman, in forest, a non-complaining, calm and discreet
Sita only took it as a compulsion of a king. Before the
incidence, when Rama was only meditating on banishing her in
consideration of public opinion, and was in great strain, she
asked him that she wished to go on a trip to forest, obviously
for relieving him of his strain and making it easier for him to
leave her there quietly.

And, such efforts seeking to minimize Rama’s strain Sita had
always done. When Rama feared that the forest life, and that too
for fourteen years, would be difficult for Sita, she relieves him
of his reluctance by telling him that astrologers, considering
the position of planets at the time of her birth, had predicted
that she would pass a part of her life in the forest. Thus, she
assured that going to forest was her destiny which his company
would only render easier. But this time Rama’s inability to
secure her honor despite that he admitted that she was chaste and
Lava and Kusha were his sons, hurt her deeply, as was hurt
Lakshmi when with his leg sage Bhragu had hit Vishnu on his
chest, insulting her too along with him, and Vishnu, securer of
her honor, only bore it as his obligation to a sage. A sage’s
unbridled act or a misled public opinion could be compulsions of
gods and kings but an honor-loving mind, whether enshrining a
divine frame or human would not bear it, and Sita, and of course
Lakshmi who she incarnates, presents its ultimate example. Sita’s
sense of honor and propriety over-rides her temptation to go back
to Rama not now alone but always. When in Ravana’s custody at
Ashoka-vatika in Lanka, she declines Hanuman’s proposal to take
her back to Rama. Confidant as she was she tells him that Rama
would one day defeat Ravana and take her back; and also that it
would be unbecoming of Rama and disgrace him if she slips from
here like a thief as Ravana had brought her.

In the Rama-katha, Sita’s is often a presence, though sometimes
it completely changes the course of events. Sita is undemanding
and is contented in every situation. However, at Panchavati she
beholds a golden deer passing across their hut and tempted by its
beauty asks Rama for its skin. The deer was Marichi, a demon in
transform sent by Ravana who incited by his sister Surpanakha had
designs to abduct Sita by deceit as in fair war he could not
defeat Rama. First Rama and then Lakshmana go after the deer and
taking advantage of their absence Ravana, disguised as an ascetic
come for alms, succeeds in abducting Sita. Before Rama could
realize it the mischief had been done. Sita does not have any
active role in it but her mere presence or simple eagerness leads
to annihilation of Ravana, the objective for which Vishnu had
incarnated as Rama.

If anything, it is Sita’s divinity, which reveals not merely in
her sublimity, chastity, unshakable devotion and in her
instinctive detachment towards all things that the world of men
or gods had, but also in Ravana’s fear of her, that works in the
Rama-katha. Convinced of her divine powers a wicked person like
Ravana does not dare even touch her. A Ravana, endowed with power
of undoing all weapons, those of men or gods, fears even the
straw that Sita waves towards him, believing that charged with
her divine powers this straw would destroy him as the fire
destroyed a straw.

Sita’s Rare Might

Rama-katha is the witness not merely of Sita’s spiritual power
but also the might that enshrined her physical body. Once,
Parashurama, the great Brahmin warrior, came to Janaka’s court
with his bow. It was so heavy that not less than two hundred
fifty pairs of bulls could transport it. Sita slipped away with
the bow and using it as a dummy horse began playing with it.
Parashurama, amazed as he was when he saw Sita playing with his
bow, advised king Janaka to marry her to a prince who broke it.
As per the Kamba Ramayana, the Shiva’s bow, which he had used in
early days for destroying the yajna of Daksha Prajapati, for
avenging the death of Sati, his consort and the daughter of
Daksha Prajapati, was a holy relic in the personal shrine of king
Janaka. It was given to one of Janaka’s ancestors in older days
by Shiva himself. Not able to reach the height of jasmine creeper
for plucking flowers from it, Sita rushes to the palace shrine
and returns with the Shiva’s bow with which she shoots an arrow
and a multitude of flowers fall. Janaka saw all this from a
window proclaimed that Sita shall be married only to him who is
capable of taking, drawing and shooting the Shiva-chapa – Shiva’s bow.


Sita’s Womanhood

In Sita’s sarcastic remarks and threat to commit suicide when
Lakshmana shows his reluctance to leave her alone and go to help
Rama who had gone to hunt the golden deer there reflects the same
frame of mind as of a common woman. However her anger transforms
into her repentance the moment she finds that Ravana had abducted
her. For a while fear grabs her but instantly the presence of
mind works and she drops her ornaments etc. the moment she sees
some persons on a hill top. With her loyalty, devotion and
sacrifice she so inspires Rama that even after she had been
banished Rama does not think of marrying another woman, not even
for ritual needs of Rajasuya yajna, despite that polygamy was a
common feature among Kshatriyas those days or even later. Every
woman’s aspiration, Sita initiated the cult of monogamy, a
husband’s adherence to one wife, and a wife’s total dedication to
her husband. When Rama tried to frighten Sita with difficulties
of forest life and its horrible face, she dismissed everything
just in a single sentence : ‘where there is Rama there is Sita’.
It defines why in ‘Sita-Rama’ the tradition allocates first
salutation to Sita, not Rama.


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   This article by Prof P. C. Jain and Dr. Daljeet
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   For further study
----------------------------------------

Devi Bhagavatam, Varanasi, Gita Press, Gorakhpur

Harivamsha’ Poona

Mahabharata, Gita Press, Gorakhpur; Poona; Calcutta.

Padmapurana, Gita Press, Gorakhpur

Prabandha Kosha (Rajashekhara), Shantiniketan

Rig-Veda

Rig-Veda Samhita, edited by F. Maxmuller; English trans. by H. H.
Wilson, Poona.

Valmiki Ramayana, Gita Press, Gorakhpur

Ramacharita Manasa by Tulsidasa, Gita Press, Gorakhpur

Vishnudharmottarapurana, Bombay, Baroda

Vishnupurana,   Bombay, Gita Press, Gorakhpur

David Kinsley : Hindu Goddesses, Delhi

Veronica Lons  : Indian Mythology, New Delhi

Dr. J. K. Trikha : A Study of the Ramayana of Valmiki

Dr. Daljeet and P. C. Jain : Ramayana, New Delhi

Swami Harshananda : A Concise Encyclopaedia of Hinduism, Benglore

Puranic Encyclopaedia

Prachina Charitra-Kosha

--
அற்புதங்கள் புறத்திலென்று ஆடி ஓடும் மானிடா
அற்புதங்கள் புறத்திலன்று அகத்திலென்று காணடா!

[acesin]

The story is very intresting and narrative

[dhivakar]

This I read in Min Tamil.
Sitamma, Mayamma, KaruNamayee.. well written article.
Actually the original name of epic is SitayaNam, is it not?

D

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