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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

Sita's Sins, Big and Small-2`
 

We saw Sri Mythily ruing Her insult to Raghava, that He was verily awoman in a 
man's garb, afraid and incapable of protecting His spouse against the terrors 
of the jungle. This is perhaps the worst insult that could be hurled at the 
personification of bravery and virility that was Sri Rama. Another unjust 
accusation She makes is that Rama, in abandoning Her at Ayodhya, is verily 
leaving Her at the mercy of others, practically selling Her away to others, 
verily like a shameless dancer-"sailUsha iva mAm Rama: parEbhyO dhAtum 
icchasi". Sri Janaki realises this and attributes Her travails in the Asoka 
vanam partly to this apachAram to the Lord. However, She termsthis offence a 
small one-"dushkritam kinchit". If such an unjustifiable insult could be termed 
little, what could be the one She considers great?

 

Sri Ramanuja, while seeking extinguishment of all sins, lists them in the 
ascending order of gravity-"bhagavat apachAra, bhAgavata apachAra, asahya 
apachArAn". Grievous as bhagavat apacharAm (insult to the Lord) is, graver 
still is bhAgavata apachAram (offending Emperuman's devotees). While theLord 
readily forgives any transgression aimed at Him, He is extremely reluctant to 
take a lenient view of bhAgavata apachAram, as His votaries are dearer to Him 
than Himself and are His very life-breath ("Mama prANA hi PAndavA:"). Just as 
worship of bhAgavatAs is dearer to the Lord than veneration offered to Himself 
(" tasmAt parataram prOktam tadeeya ArAdhanam subham"), so too offences against 
His devotees attract His severe displeasure and render the offender liable for 
exemplary punishment.

 

It is with this in view that Sri Janaki says "dushkritam mahat" (great sin), 
referring to Her words of anger and anguish hurled at the innocent Lakshmana, 
whose devotion to his elder brother is beyond question. When MarIchatakes the 
form of a magnificent golden deer and lures away Sri Raghava, intent on 
satisfying Sita's desire of possessing the mAyamAn, Sri Raghava instructs 
Lakshmana to guard Sita till His (Rama's) return. After a long chase, when 
MarIcha is at last felled by Sri Rama, the asurA lets out a great cry, in 
Rama's voice, apparently calling out in distress to Sita and Lakshmana, in the 
hope that Lakshmana would be misled by this and rush to the rescue of his 
distressed brother, leaving Sita alone and an easy prey to the waiting Ravana.

 

While Lakshmana, knowing the true might of his invincible brother and refusing 
to be misled by the machinations of the rAkshasa, stays put at the Ashramam, 
Sri Sita is extremely distressed at the apparently impassioned cry ofRama for 
succour, little realising that it is another ruse by the rAkshasato lure 
Lakshmana too away. She implores Lakshmana to rush to Rama's rescue, in reply 
to which the former gives Her a vivid account of Rama's prowessand His 
invincibility. Neither mortals, nor dEvAs, nor other beings like pisAchAs, 
GandharvAs, YakshAs, kinnarAs etc. are capable of vanquishing Rama, avers Sri 
Lakshmana. He pooh-poohs Sita's suggestion that his brother could be in 
distress, absolutely unshakeable in his conviction about Rama's insuperability.

 

True to Her feminine susceptibilities to emotion, Sri Mythily is equally 
convinced that Her husband is in distress. Her helplessness and worry turn into 
anger at Lakshmana, who refuses to go after Rama, leaving Her alone. When 
repeated entreaties and instructions to rush to Rama's rescue fall on 
apparently unreceptive ears, with Lakshmana sticking to his stand, Sri Mythily, 
prompted by all-consuming worry and beside Herself with fear for the lifeof Her 
beloved, accuses Lakshmana of deliberately contriving to do away with Rama, so 
that he (Lakshmana) could satisfy his long-cherished inappropriate intentions 
vis-à-vis Mythili. Not stopping with this, Sita drags in innocent Bharata too, 
accusing the younger brothers of conspiring against their unsuspecting elder.

 

Even to a casual student of Srimad Ramayana, it would be evident as to how 
close Rama and Lakshmana are, right from childhood-("bAlyAt prabhruti 
susnigdha:"). Each is the other's life-breath ("bahi: prANa ivApara:"). They do 
not eat or sleep without each other's company. For all practical purposes, they 
are the same entity, albeit with two separate bodies. Hence each knowsthe other 
inside out and can bear no harm to come to the other. When Rama is denied the 
throne, it is Lakshmana who is more exercised and threatens all sort of mayhem 
against those responsible for the conspiracy. Thus Lakshmana's devotion and 
sincerity towards his elder brother are axiomatic and beyond question. It is 
this ideal fraternal relationship that Sri Mythily casts aspersions on, in Her 
anger.

 

Similarly, Lakshmana's behaviour towards Sri Sita is impeccable and in tunewith 
the highest standards of propriety. His attitude is one of devotion and 
dedication, with not even a breath of impropriety about it. This comes to the 
fore when he confesses to Sri Rama his inability to identify any of the 
ornaments worn by Janaki, except those on Her feet, because He constantly 
worships Her tiruvadi and never looks up at Her face-"noopurE tu abhijAnAmi, 
nityam pAdAbja sEvanAt". It is this paragon of propriety that Sita accuses of 
harbouring inappropriate notions.

 

Anger is akin to temporary insanity and clouds reason, leading to further 
deterioration in conduct and speech-"krOdhAt bhavati sammOha:". And when 
distress combines with anger, we often know not what we say or do. When the 
distress relates to danger, real or perceived, to a loved one, it becomes 
allthe more malignant and prompts unreasonable conduct, which we would 
otherwise never even dream of, when in full possession of our senses. Reason 
deserts the angry person, and, bereft of the guiding lamp of reason, the angry 
one is blinded and says and does abnormal things.

 

Similar is the predicament of Sri Mythily too, for Her normal regard for 
Lakshmana is boundless and She treats him verily as Her own progeny. In 
interactions with everybody, She praises Lakshmana sky high and speaks almost 
jealously of the relationship between the brothers. Sri Mythili's words of 
accusation must therefore be viewed against the background of the perceived 
danger to Rama's life and Lakshmana's apparent inactivity despite hearing 
Rama's apparently desperate cry for assistance. Imagine any devout wife's 
mental state when she finds her husband in mortal danger and an avowedly 
attached younger brother not rushing to the husband's rescue despite 
impassioned entreaties. This is what made Mythily speak to Lakshmana as She 
did. Inexcusable as Her words may sound, the extenuating circumstances offer 
adequate mitigation for Her conduct. 

 

The mills of God may grind slow in ordinary cases, but as for bhAgavata 
apachAra is concerned, they grind with expedition and mete out exemplary 
penalty, as was proved in Sri Sita's case-immediately as the mortally offended 
Lakshmana left, Ravana appeared on the scene, abducted the hapless Mythily and 
imprisoned Her in Lanka, plunging Her in a whirlpool of suffering and sorrow. 
During Her long and lonely days and nights in the Asoka vanikA, Sri Janaki 
recalls time and again with remorse, Her cruel words addressed to Lakshmana , 
of the unimaginable hurt they would have caused the innocent and devoted 
younger brother. When Tiruvadi makes his appearance on the scene andseeks a 
message for Sri Rama, Sri Janaki sends Her beloved a short messageof one sloka, 
but waxes eloquent while inquiring about Sri Lakshmana, in all of eight slokas.

 

"Convey my inquiries to Lakshmana, who sacrificed all palatial luxury and 
princely comfort for a life of servitude with Sri Rama in the inhospitable 
jungle. Hasn't he given up his all, his father, mother, newly wed wife and 
unimaginable riches, solely for the sake of his brother? He has indeed treated 
me with unparalleled devotion, akin to that shown by a dutiful son towards his 
beloved mother. He is verily like a surrogate farther to Sri Rama, always 
caring for His welfare and always ready to be of all sorts of service. He is 
indeed dearer to my husband than I am, any day. Such a mahApurusha, 
unbelievably delicate and soft-spoken for all his prowess and parAkrama, so 
kind, pure of heart and unblemished, would indeed be hard to find. Do convey my 
inquiries to dear Lakshmana!" says Sri Janaki, heaping encomiums onIlaya 
Perumal, making up for the horrible insults hurled at him in a moment of fear 
and anger. 

 

Any sin is washed off through observance of the appropriate atonement 
(PrAyaschittam). It is perhaps to rid Herself of the two sins, the only two 
thatcould be laid at Her doorstep throughout Her life, that Sri Sita decides to 
undergo an ordeal by fire. When Sri Rama refuses to accept Her back into His 
fold after setting Her free from Ravana's prison, though any number of options 
is open to Sita to establish Her purity, She opts to go in for the hard option 
of entering the fire. Perhaps She finds it to be adequate atonement for the 
bhagavat and bhAgavata apachArAs She considers Herself guilty of. And it is 
indeed significant that She requests Lakshmana to prepare thefire, indicating a 
desire to undergo punishment at the hands of one She had offended earlier. 
Otherwise, the ideal person to have made a fire was SriHanuman, with his proven 
penchant for pyrotechnics, displayed in full measure in the burning of Lanka.

 

Piratti's sins, if they could be called such, were prompted by extreme Bhagavat 
bhakti. The intolerance of even the thought of anything untoward happening to 
the Lord and inability to countenance any delay in initiating rescue operations 
in that regard, were what occasioned the cruel remarks addressed to Lakshmana, 
while in the case of Sri Rama, the derogatory references were the result of an 
apprehension of being parted from Him for an interminably long fourteen years, 
when it would have been hard for Her to be away from Him for even fourteen 
seconds. Thus we are inclined to conclude that thetwo occasions of 
inappropriate conduct on the part of Piratti were indeed ruses to show us all 
the ill effects of anger and anguish, even if promptedby the best of 
considerations.

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana 
Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

Dasan, sadagopan

 

 

 

 



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