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With Vanvas track beginning in SKR , this is an attempt to know what Sita is made of. This is an ode to Sita, the greatest of women.
Janakiprakritihi srishti aadibhuta mahaguNa |
Tapaha siddhiswargasiddhihi abhuutimurtimatamsati ||
(Bhagwan Valmiki in Adbhuta Ramayana, about Sita)
" The daughter of Janaka an embodiment of Prakrti, Is the primordial force,Created even before the five vital elements
She embodies the fruits of penance, and
The accomplishment of ultimate realm
She embodies all accomplishments,
As she herself is righteousness".
This is how Valmiki eulogises Sita,
She is also called 'trihayani' One who appeared in three epochs
Vedavati----Sita-----Draupadi (Krishnaa)
There's another previous incarnation, prior to Vedavati , it is Devavati ( maternal great grandmother of Ravan! )
In Rigveda Sita is the goddess of fertility, she symbolises abundance of earth's produce and is eulogised as :
arvc subhaghe bhava ste vandmahe tav |
yath na subhaghsasi yath na suphalsasi || 4-57
"Auspicious Sita, come thou near;
We venerate and worship thee |
That thou mayst bless and prosper us
And bring us fruits abundantly" ||
In Kausika sutra and Paraskara sutra , Sita is wife of Parajanya (Indra) God of rains .
In Harivamsa purana, she is called as Aaryaa - daughter of earth. Aryaa being the earth.
In Vajasaneyi Samhita, Sita is created by drawing four furrows/ sira and hence the name Sita ( daughter of sira, the plough) If Ahalya , the earth is unploughed land , Sita , the daughter of earth is got when the plough (sira) hits the earth to produce plant life
Sita, thus signifies the importance of blending masculine and feminine energies to achieve harmony in nature , that is the very reason , why Sita and Ram are inseparable.
In Valmiki Ramayana, we see Sita fighting Ravan by her words, her aura is enough to defeat and shatter his ego , that is one of the reason why he couldn't force himself upon her. Whether the curse of Nalakubera existed or not , Ravan could have never hurt her , instead Ravan had to look for a cover of this curse , lest his manhood be questioned .
Another myth is that Sita as Lakshmi is a domesticated Goddess and the answer to that is the legend of Kolhasura , which in turn is related to the legend of Tirupati and fruits of visiting Tirupati is obtained only when a devotee pays obeisance to Kolhapur Ambabai
Lakshmi in her fierce form , equipped with shankha, chakra Gada and riding the Garuda , killed the wily, egoistic Kolhasura and also blessed him that the city would be famous by his name and she would reside there permanently.
Similarly Sita is also known for her martial instincts, whether playing with Haradhanu or her fight with Viradh , her bravery is unquestionable. (Jain legend)
In Adbhuta Ramayana,before Rama fought Lankapati Ravan, a breathtaking war between Rama and Ravan's elder brother, the Ravan of Pushkara (thousand headed one)
Ravan, lord of Pushkara, was far more powerful and lethal than the Lankapati Ravan.
Ram fought a fierce and long battle with him. In this battle, Sita, the motivational force assisted him by taking on the form of goddess Shakti and destroys Ravan's huge army singlehandedly.
After which, Rama eulogised his divine Shakti , Sita by reciting her 1008 auspicious names.
With inputs from book 'Shakti the divini realm' by Vanmali
There's more to come
