The Hindu’s Faith Column | Plight of Sita at Asokavana

Children will feel disgusted if anybody speaks ill of their parents, and a disciple will feel sorry if any slanders are hurled at his Guru. Devotees will become upset if anyone indulges in the vilification of God. A woman cannot tolerate any derogatory remarks about her husband.

Tenderness of heart, compassion of the extreme type, fidelity, wisdom of the most genuine kind, courage of the heart, and endurance are all qualities that make Sita a harmonious abode.

Sri Damodara Dikshitar said in a discourse that Sita was upset while kept captive at Asokavana. All that Sita looked upon was hateful, and all that she heard from Ravana was murderous in the extreme. Ravana and the demons not only threatened her but dispraised her beloved husband, Rama.

Sita felt her family was tormented like people struggling in a capsized boat. Sita told Ravana, ”However independent I am, I did not get permission from Rama. Otherwise, I would burn and reduce you to ashes. It would be a disgrace to Rama if I had killed you.” She said destiny would follow people in different forms, and it came to her through a golden deer.

Sita plunged into a sea of sorrow. She said she could not be separated from Rama. She advised Ravana not to violate dharma and tread the path of sin. She pleaded with Ravana to restore her to Rama, but Ravana paid no heed.

Sita lamented that she talked ill of Lakshmana and Bharatha and is suffering now. She bemoaned that Rama need not save her as her husband but as a personality in whom the blood of mercy runs.

Though overwhelmed by grief, she had the faith and belief that Rama and Lakshmana would rescue her one day. So strong was her belief, and she was sure of relief.