Author – Awadhesh Sharma
The ninth day of the month of Vaishakh (May – June) is celebrated as Sita Navami or the Birthday of Sita. It is believed that King Janak of Mithila found Sita on this day at Sita-Kund in Sitamarhi, Bihar. Sita is the main female character of the Ramayan. She is known by many other names including Janaki, Vaidehi and Maithili.
Stories relating to Sita’s birth vary in different editions and retellings of the Ramayan. According to the Valmiki Ramayan, Janak was ploughing a piece of land to make it suitable as a site for performing a Yagya, religious sacrament. During the tilling, his plough struck a vessel in the furrow. He opened the cover of the vessel and noticed a baby girl in it. He brought the baby home. Janak and his wife Sunayana had not yet their own child so adopted her as their daughter.
The baby was named Sita, a Sanskrit word for furrow. The term Sita has been mentioned as a deity of fertility in the Vedas. Mantras 6 and 7 of Rigved hymn 4.57 are addressed to Sita. According to Grihya-Sutras, they were chanted during the start of ritual ploughing of land for abundant agricultural yields.
Sita transpired to be auspicious for Janak. Soon after her adoption, Queen Sunayana delivered a baby girl, who was named Urmila. The kingdom received good rain that resulted in abundant harvests. Subjects became more prosperous and happier.
Fortune-tellers predicted that Sita would marry an extraordinary person, and would contribute greatly in destroying evil forces. They also indicated that she would be required to make incredible sacrifices in life.
Janak had inherited a bow from his ancestors. It was used by lord Shiv himself. The bow was so massive that no human used it, and it was stowed on a platform.
When Sita attained the marriageable age, Janak decided to find a suitable husband for her. He was conscious of her exemplary traits. He concluded that lifting the Shiv-bow and stringing it would be an appropriate test of abilities for a candidate aspiring to wed Sita.
A Svayamvar, ritual for choosing one’s husband, was arranged for Sita. It was formally declared that whoever lifted and strung the Shiv-bow would qualify to marry her. Kings and princes from various kingdoms were invited to participate. Sage Vishvamitra was invited to witness the event. He, along with Ram and Lakshman, arrived at Janakpur, the capital of Janak’s kingdom.
As a part of the ritual, Sita went to worship goddess Gauri whose temple was located in the royal garden. Ram and Lakshman were picking flowers for Vishvamitra in the same garden. Sita and Ram saw each other in the garden for the first time and were enchanted.
Later, Sita visited the temple and prayed to goddess Gauri. She was conscious of her father’s terms for Svayamvar and hence did not directly pray for Ram to be bestowed as her husband. She only prayed for fulfilling her wishes which goddess was aware of as an omniscient.
Sita was exceptionally beautiful and an embodiment of charm. Poets and storytellers expressed their inability to find any simile to describe her grace.
Tulasidas states in Ramcharit Manas that what to tell about mortal women, even celestials like Saraswati being a chatterer, Paravti being half bodied, other half being Shiv and Rati being distressed due to her bodiless husband Kamdev cannot be equated to Sita. It is beyond comprehension to compare Sita with Lakshmi whose brothers are poison and alcohol, referring to her origin from churning of the Celestial Ocean.
In the Svayamvar, all the invited candidates failed to move the bow, let alone string it, which made Sita and her parents anxious. Seeing them disturbed, Vishvamitra asked Ram to try. He easily lifted the bow and as he attempted to string it, the bow broke. Sita accepted and garlanded Ram as the successful candidate to marry her.
Envoys were sent to Ram’s father, king Dasarath, with invitation to participate in his son’s wedding. Wedding ceremonies were held and Sita married Ram according to family traditions. Sunayana, her mother, instructed Sita about the duties and responsibilities of a newly wed wife.
After the completion of rituals and celebrations, Sita along with Ram and other family members came to Ayodhya. She was welcomed with pomp and ceremony. She lived happily in Ayodhya with her husband and the extended family.
When his coronation was abandoned, Ram accepted his exile for fourteens years to uphold his father’s pledge to his stepmother Kaikeyi. Ram decided to go alone to the forest to live a life of ascetic. When Sita became aware of his decision, she insisted on accompanying him. Ram attempted to dissuade her but she remained adamant to follow him. She was willing to sacrifice her life if she was separated from her husband. Eventually, she went to the forest with Ram and Lakshman. She wore the dress of ascetics, the similar as Ram and Lakshman had donned.
On the way, Sita offered prayers to River Ganga. They crossed the river by a boat. After crossing the river, Ram wished to give to the boatman the fare, but he had nothing valuable to give. Sita realised his predicament, and immediately took out her ring and presented it to Ram to pay the fare.
While roaming in the forest, Sita along with Ram and Lakshman came upon the Ashram of sage Atri. Sita met the sage’s wife Anusuya who was an accomplished ascetic. Anusuya gifted Sita divine dresses, which always remained fresh, clean and spotless. Sita listened to her discourse on the roles and responsibilities of women. Sita also visited other sages throughout her wandering.
During the later part of exile, the trio made their residence in Panchvati on the banks of River Godavari. There they met the bird Jatayu, who became a friend.
Once Surpanakha, a sister of Ravan, visited their Ashram. She threatened to devour Sita in order to free Ram for herself. Lakshman disfigured her by cutting her nose. This led to a direct confrontation with demonic forces, headed by Ravan.
Sita saw a golden deer strolling around her dwelling during her stay in Panchvati. It was the demon Marich who had changed his appearance through illusion. Ravan had sent him to attract Sita’s attention. Sita was charmed by the deer’s beauty and insisted on having it. Ram went to catch the deer, instructing Lakshman to ensure Sita’s safety.
Soon they heard a distress call in the voice of Ram. Sita became alarmed and sent Lakshman away to help Ram. In the meantime, Ravan, in the disguise of an ascetic appeared before Sita. On the pretext of asking for alms, he kidnapped her. Jatayu noticed Ravan’s offence and fought against him to free Sita from his captivity, but was killed.
Ravan carried Sita away to his capital Lanka, and kept her in the Ashokvan. During the kidnapping flight, Sita dropped on a hill some personal items that later became useful in finding her whereabouts.
Sita spent her time in Ashokvan reminiscing the past and hoping to get rescued by his powerful husband. Sentries kept her under their close observation, and threatened and harassed her. Ravan persuaded her to accept him as her husband, but Sita always derided him for his transgression.
When Ram and Lakshman returned to their Ashram after killing the illusory deer, they could not find Sita. They started their search for her in the forest. During this time, Ram met Hanuman, who introduced him to Sugreev. Both Ram and Sugreev became friends and committed to help each other. Sugreev showed Ram the items, which were dropped from the sky and had been found on the hills. Ram recognised those items that belonged to Sita. After becoming a king, Sugreev led the search for Sita. He sent his followers in all directions to locate her.
The team that included Hanuman was sent to the South. Hanuman flew over the sea, landed in Lanka and found Sita in the Ashokvan. He hid in a tree and dropped the ring that Ram had given to him, as his token to present to her. Hanuman then appeared before Sita and disclosed the purpose of his visit to her. Sita recognised the ring and trusted Hanuman. Sita was so impressed with Hanuman that she blessed him with immortal life. Sita gave Hanuman her crest jewel to deliver to Ram, as a symbol of his meeting with her.
With the help of monkeys and bears, Ram built a bridge, which connected mainland India to Lanka, and landed with his army on its shores. A war was declared, and Ravan and other demon warriors were killed. Vibhishan, a brother of Ravan, who had defected to Ram before the war, was coronated the king of Lanka.
Sita was freed from captivity. She was brought to Ram to unite with him. However, Ram looked contemptuously at her and demanded that she prove her innocence and purity. Sita asked Lakshman to fetch wood and prepare the fire. Lakshman followed her wish. Sita entered into the burning fire and came out of it unharmed. Ram felt relieved and welcomed his wife with love and respect.
The time of their exile was close to end. They boarded the Pushpak Viman, an aerial carrier, and departed for Ayodhya. En route, Ram showed Sita the places where major events had occurred during her captivity.
Sita along with Ram and Lakshman returned to Ayodhya after completing the duration of banishment. Bharat, the acting king and his entourage welcomed them. Ram was crowned as the king and Sita as the queen of Ayodhya. They ruled for many years and their rule, known as Ram Rajya, became an ideal model of governance for subsequent generations.
The Uttarkand of Valmiki Ramayan contains additional episodes including the second exile of Sita. When she became pregnant, she expressed her desire to visit the forest and enjoy natural beauty. In the meantime, Ram became aware of a remark by a washerman who berated Sita’s purity due to her living in other man’s house.
Although his trust and love to Sita never wavered, Ram decided to send her to the forest to allay misconceptions among his subjects. As instructed by Ram, Lakshman drove her to the forest and left her alone. Disciples of sage Valmiki spotted her and informed their preceptor about the lonely woman. Valmiki learned about her situation through his divine vision and welcomed Sita to his Ashram. In due course she gave birth to twin brothers Lav and Kush. Sita raised her sons alone. They grew up valiant and intelligent. Valmiki taught them the Ramayan, which they sang melodiously.
During Sita’s exile, Ram performed a royal sacrifice in which a golden statue represented her. The twins attended the ceremony as singers of Ramayan. They met Ram and claimed they were his sons. Their mother Sita had been unjustly exiled. Ram demanded that let Sita prove her innocence in front of the citizens of Ayodhya. Sage Valmiki brought Sita to Ram’s court. In front of the audience, Sita sought refuge in the earth if she was truthful and chaste. Immediately, the earth opened and Sita entered into it.
Various other stories relating to Sita are also popular. According to a tale in Padma Puran, Sita heard a pair of parrots talking about her marriage with Ram when she was young. The parrots had overheard the story in Valmiki’s Ashram where they resided. Sita was fascinated by their account. She caught them and placed in a cage. She wished to keep them until her marriage to test the accuracy of their tale.
The female parrot was pregnant. She requested Sita to release them, as they were made to roam freely in the sky. Sita released the male but kept the female in captivity. The female soon died due to separation from her partner. Before dying, she cursed Sita to be separated from her husband when she became pregnant. The male parrot was also heartbroken and died. He was born as a washerman in Ayodhya in his next life. It was the same person who spread gossip about Sita.
Sita is believed to be an incarnation of goddess Lakshmi. She appeared on the earth to help Ram, the Vishnu incarnate to destroy demonic forces. She is worshipped along with Ram in temples across the world.