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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

                                       Ordeal by Fire-2
 

It is a measure of Sri Mythily's purity and blemishlessness, that the entire 
clan of Celestials, (including BrahmA the creator, RudrA the destroyer, Indra 
the chief of dEvAs, KubErA the custodian of all wealth, Yamadharmaraja who 
keeps meticulous count of our good and bad deeds, Varuna the deity of waters, 
et al) turn up the moment Sita enters the fire, to swear by all that they hold 
holy, that Sri Janaki is absolutely free of any blemish and pure as driven 
snow. In fact, they chide Rama for not preventing His beloved from the agni 
parIkshA and tell Him He ought not to behave like an ordinary mortal husband in 
suspecting his wife.

 

As if this chorus of conduct certificates is not enough, the venerated Agni 
BhagavAn too emerges with Sri Sita, (who is totally unaffected by Her fiery 
bath) to add His two-cents' worth. We are told that even the flowers She wore 
around Her neck did not wilt despite their contact with fire. Agni says to Sri 
Rama in a stentorian voice and for all to hear, that Sri Mythily is the purest 
of pure, untainted by stigma of any sort, had not committed any transgression 
by thought, word, deed or sight. Every waking minute She had only Her husband 
in mind and had thoughts for nothing else.

 

Apparently satisfied with all this vouchsafing for Sri Janaki's character by 
the most eminent of beings, Sri Raghava accepts Her with due honour. He also 
provides a detailed justification for His having countenanced Sita's ordeal by 
fire, acknowledging that He had never had any but the highest of opinions about 
His Consort. He proclaims for all world to hear that Sri Mythily is the 
embodiment of purity, whom even the vilest of influences cannot hope to stain. 
He clarifies that Sita could never have thoughts for anyone else, for She is 
verily an inseparable part of Him, as are the  heat and light of the 
Sun-"ananyA hi mayA Sita bhAskarENa prabhA yathA". So saying, Sri Rama reveals 
His unvarying love for His Consort and His unshakeable faith in Her virtue. And 
the divine couple are reunited, with the passing cloud of apparent suspicion 
lifting to reveal the shining sun of love.

 

Though we are eminently unqualified to sit in judgement over divine actions, 
yet a few doubts plague us over the conduct of Sri Rama in this instance.

 

  1.. Since we hear so much throughout the Epic about the professed love of 
Raghava for His princess, how was it possible for Him to suddenly develop a 
doubt about Her character?
 

  1.. What was the need for Sri Rama to reveal His misgivings about Sri Sita's 
chastity in public, that too in before a vast gathering of monkeys and 
rAkshasAs?
 

 

  1.. Even granting Rama's right to suspect a woman who had been in the custody 
of a rAkshasa like Ravana, what was the need for Him to tell Sita to go and 
live with any person of Her choice? Was it not too much of an insult to heap on 
an unblemished woman? 
  2.. Having accused Sri Sita in public about Her conduct, would it not have 
been appropriate for the Prince of Ayodhya to have been satisfied with Her 
eminently reasonable explanations and impassioned assurances and not let Her go 
to the extent of proving Her innocence by entering the fire?
 

  1.. How was it possible for Sri Rama, even granting His anger and suspicion, 
to permit His beloved Sita to adopt the extreme step of ordeal by fire?
 

 

  1.. When there are any number of people standing around ready to do Her 
bidding, why should Sri Sita ask Lakshmana, of all people, to make a fire?
 

  1.. Did it need the combined character certificates of all the celestials for 
Raghava to believe in Sita and to accept Her back into His fold?
 

These and similar misgivings are cleared, once we peruse the words of Sri Rama 
following the unscathed emergence of Sri Sita from the fire, as also the words 
of commentators like Sri Govindaraja, who have a knack of reading and revealing 
the true purport of Sri Valmiki's words. And we are able to find the following 
answers too through a perusal of the aforesaid passages.

 

    1.. There is absolutely no doubt about the boundless love Sri Raghava had 
for His Queen. This is demonstrated in ample measure throughout the Epic. 
However, for Chakravartthi Tirumagan to have unquestioningly accepted Sri 
Mythily, (who had, all said and done, spent a year in the custody of the vilest 
of rAkshasAs with a huge harem) would have attracted adverse comment from the 
undiscerning. Gossip-mongers would have said, "Look at Rama, who is so head 
over heels in love with His wife, that He has accepted Her without question, 
knowing full well that she was abducted and was in the custody of the notorious 
kAmuka Ravana". 
Hence, it was indeed necessary for Sri Rama to appear to enquire into His 
lady's chastity.

 

    1.. The suspicions about Sri Sita's conduct could indeed have been voiced 
and clarifications obtained in private, or before a select audience of trusted 
acolytes. However, the general public would still be unaware of the proceedings 
and might continue to think Sri Raghava's conduct unbecoming of a scion of the 
Ikshvaku dynasty. Since Sita's innocence was proved beyond doubt for everyone 
to see, even the breath of scandal was avoided in the matter.
 

    1.. Commentators clarify that the actual purport of Sri Raghava's words 
about Sita being free to live with Lakshmana, Bharata, et al, is that once 
abandoned by her husband, a woman could seek the support and roof of her 
husband's relatives and friends. It was with this in mind, (that Sita could 
find support from any of the worthies mentioned), that Sri Rama's words were 
uttered and not with any other untoward purport, says Sri Govindaraja ("atra 
LakshmanAdou mana: karaNam nAma anAthAyA: rakshakatvEna tat tat grihE vartanam. 
  BhartrA parityaktAyA: striyA bandhu grihE vAsa vidhAnAt").
    2.. If Sri Rama were to appear to be apparently satisfied by Sita's own 
words of assurance and sworn protests of innocence, it would not have been 
adequate for the assembled public, who would have thought, "What sort of 
justice is this, if the accused person is exonerated based solely on her own 
protestations of innocence?"  Hence some solid proof was needed, if the 
proletariat was to be convinced as to where the rights of the matter lay. The 
agni parIkshA was therefore necessary. Sri Rama makes this clear, saying that 
this was essential for convincing the three worlds-
     "PratyayArttham tu lOkAnAm trayANAm satya samshraya:

      upEkshE VaidEhIm pravisantIm hutAsanam"

 

    1.. Despite His harsh words, Sri Rama was absolutely convinced about Sri 
Sita's impeccable character. He knew too that none of the five elements was 
capable of causing Her harm, since all were under the joint command of Himself 
and His Consort ("bheeshAsmAt VAta: pavatE, bheeshOdEti Soorya:, bheeshmAt 
agnischa indrascha, Mrityu: dhAvati panchama iti"-the Taittiriyopanishad). 
Since no injury could be caused by Fire to Sita who was the embodiment of 
purity, and since it would prove Her to be blemishless beyond doubt, Sri Rama 
didn't feel any qualms about permitting Her to enter the fire.
 

    1.. Sri Sita is ever conscious of the insults She meted out to Lakshmana, 
when he refused to leave the parNashAlA, in response to MArIcha's cry for 
rescue, uttered in Rama's voice. Sri Mythily accuses Lakshmana of having 
improper intentions towards Her, when He tries to convince Her that his brother 
needs no assistance from anyone and is quite capable of defending Himself. It 
was to atone for this inexcusable conduct towards a BhagavatA, that Sri Mythily 
requests him specifically to make a fire for Her to enter and prove Her 
innocence.
 

 

    1.. The Prince of Ayodhya knew His Consort like the palm of His own hand 
and needed no certificates from anyone, however eminent, as to Her character 
and conduct. Yet, since justice had not only to be done but also seem to be 
done, Sri Raghava accepted Sri Sita with these certifications, as they came 
from entities, which the public held in high reverence. As such, it was for 
public consumption, rather than for His own requirement, that Sri Rama waited 
for these celestials to pronounce Sita innocent, before accepting Her.
 

The episode might have been painful to all concerned while it lasted, but both 
Sri Rama and Sri Sita emerge from it with their fame enhanced manifold. Just as 
gold glitters more after passing through fire, Sita too has Her sterling 
qualities reaffirmed beyond doubt, after the ordeal by fire. And it proves too 
that Sri Raghunandana applied the same strict standards of ethics and 
righteousness in His own case, as He did in others', attesting to His 
impartiality and passion for justice and fair play. Detractors might still be 
found, criticising the Prince of Ayodhya for what He said and did on the 
occasion, but for us, as students of Srimad Ramayanam, He would always be the 
shining paragon of virtue, the epitome of all merit and the compulsively 
righteous monarch, who could never do wrong. If some people think the worse of 
the Magnificent Monarch on this count, it shows only their ignorance, for, 
being the embodiment of Dharma (certified as such by even His enemies-"RamO 
vigrahavAn dharma:"), Sri Rama was incapable of wrongdoing. If some of His 
actions appear to us to be incorrect, it is because we apply our own defective 
human standards in judging divine conduct, which we have no business to do.

 

 For, if Rama did it, it must be correct. 

 

Srimate Srivan Satakopa Sri LakshmInrisimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa 
Sri Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

dasan, sadagopan

 

 



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




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