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SriRangaSri List Archive: Message 00217 Jul 2004

 
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Dear Sri Sadagopan Iyengar,

We will continue our little playacting on the subject
that was begun in my earlier posting.

------------------------------------------------------

Although I rise to present the case for the
prosecution, I shall leave the actual performance of
the task to 'Sita-pirAtti' herself. She has spoken so
forcefully and movingly, I should say, on her own
behalf in the pages of Srimadh Valmiki Ramayana,
especially in the "uttara-kAnda". It is there on
record for all to see (students of Ramayana must make
it a point in fact to read through the entire "kAnda",
especially 'sargas' 45 thro' 97 -- at least in a good
Tamil/English translation even if not in the original.
I usually refer to "Lectures on the Ramayana" by
Srinivasa Sastry and "The Ramayana" by Sri
N.Raghunathan). We will merely reproduce it here. 

The words of Sita were spoken to Lakshmana on the
banks of the River Ganges, far away from the city of
Ayodhya, but very near a forest-reserve of Vedic
'rshi-s' and monks. 

Sita-pirAtti at that time was pregnant with Sri Rama's
children. She had no idea at all why she'd been
brought to the spot by Lakshmana all the way from
Ayodhya. 

Suddenly, Lakshmana broke down and wept. "Why do you
weep?" asked Sita surprised. 

It was then that Lakshmana broke the news to her that,
under orders of King Rama, henceforth she must remain
in the company of forest-'rshi-s' and must never
return to Rama or Ayodhya for at least 12 years. With
eyes brimming with hot tears and a heart bursting with
sorrow, Lakshmana explained to Sita-pirAtti the King
of Ayodhya had banished her to exile. Ordinary
subjects in the land of Ayodhya, he said, were still
carrying on a widespread whispering campaign to again
besmirch her fair name in the "agni-parIksha" event
long, long ago in Lanka. 

When she heard this, Sita-pirAtti felt the world
around her simply crumble. She was aghast. So many
years after her innocence had been proven through
"agni-pravEsa", the cloud of suspicion and black
doubt, she realized, still hung over Ayodhya! Above
all else, Sri Rama too had chosen to take cognizance
of it, and once again, wanted to disown her and banish
her out of sight.

Sita-pirAtti sank... but only for a brief moment.

Gathering herself up quickly and, with a mighty effort
of will, she spoke in a calm and composed voice to
Lakshmana. It was an intense but dignified speech...
the best probably one can find in all of the Valmiki
Ramayana. It is that speech which we shall reproduce
below for the benefit and edification of the Court.

After we have finished hearing Sita-pirAtti, the
Prosecution will next duly proceed to frame charges
against the defendant. Thereafter, I shall rest my
case. 
                 ***********

VOICE OF SITA-PIRATTI:

"Why do you weep, LakshmaNa? Do not weep for me. Here
me, LakshmaNa, my last word to you. I was born to be
unhappy. The spirit of sorrow is incarnate in me by
the will of the Creator. So far as I can see, my
conduct has been pure. I have not deserved to be
abandoned by my lord and master. It is clear that I
must have committed some atrocious sin in my previous
birth. May be, I cruelly parted a man from his loving
wife. 

PROSECUTION COMMENTS:
*** (Readers should carefully note above, what Sita
says  -- "I have not deserved to be abandoned by my
lord and master". There is no more clear and damning
indictment of Rama's injustice in the "agni-parIksha"
afair than this statement of Sita-pirAtti. 

It is also significant to note that even at this late
point of time in the Ramayana, "sita-piratti" DOES NOT
talk of her sad plight being the result of any divine
retribution for the so-called words of "apachAram" she
once hurled at Lakshmana in the "mAreecha" affair. 

Throughout the Ramayana, such a thought never even
occured to her! This is very, very significant indeed.
If ever at all Sita had felt guilty, even secretly
guilty about having wronged Lakshmana in the
"aranya-kAnda", she MUST have been troubled in
conscience at sometime or other. But the fact is, Sita
never did so. And that is because she was utterly
blameless in that particular episode of the
"aranya-kAnda". 

It had been just temporary madness that seized her
back then. She had said all sorts of harsh things to
Lakshmana in that frenzied moment. Rama too had
realized it and had forgiven her long, long ago for it
as seen in the pages of the "aranya-kAnda". 

No, never, Sita's plight was never the result of any
wrongdoing done unto Lakshmana. We see Sita here
suspecting rather that it is due perhaps to something
worse in a "previous birth", but she knows not exactly
what. 

All this clearly proves that the usual
"traditionalist" commentary that Sita's predicament in
the "agni-parIksha" affair was divine punishment meted
out to her by Rama for wrong done unto Lakshmana in
the "mAreecha" affair --- that commentary is pure
speculation and absolutely baseless myth.)***

VOICE OF SITA-PIRATTI:

"Lakshmana, when last I lived in hermitages, I was
with Rama and in devoted service to him, and hence I
did not feel any privation or hardship. Tell me now,
how shall I explai my presence here, all alone, to
these 'rshi-s'? What crime shall I own up to as being
the cause of my exile here? They will all only say
this to themselves, "Our King Rama is the very soul of
justice (dharma). Why has he discarded his queen
again?"

PROSECUTION COMMENTS:
*** (See how prescient is Sita-pirAtti! Even as far
back as in the "trEta-yuga", she correctly anticipated
the facile argument that would forever prevail amongst
the people of the world, for generations and
generations to come to this very day! Her fear was
"Even the good-hearted "rshis" of the forest will find
it hard to believe I'm blameless! They would however
have no similar difficulty in believing Rama, since
Rama, after all, can do no wrong. If good "rshis"
won't believe me, there is no doubt mortals of the
world will blindly follow suit too!". 

In fact, it precisely that standard but glib argument
-- and Sita-pirAtti's worst fear -- which Sri
Sadagopan Iyengar, hon'ble defense counsel, put
forward in that infamous statement of his -- "If it
was done by Rama, it must be right!").***

VOICE OF SITA:

"Ah Lakshmana, I have no use for life, and may end it
here in the waters of the Ganga. But I have in me the
proper seed of the royal family and hence will not
kill myself. Well, leave me then to my fate. Only I
have something to say still. Take back my message to
Ayodhya.

"First, my prostrations, my humble prostrations, at
the feet of my mothers-in-law as well as then at the
feet of the King. Tell Him then on my behalf, O
Lakshmana, this:  "You know Dharma and practise it at
all risks. In your heart you will admit my character
is without a stain. I have never been false to you
whether in mind or in body. Yet because your subjects
suspect my purity, you throw me out. 

"So be it. I submit."

"You honour and love your people, the same as you
honour and love your brothers. If to preserve your
good name among them, I must be sacrificed, I am
content to be sacrificed. As you serve your subjects,
so I serve you, not less but more. This body of mine
is nothing. TO me as to any woman, the husband is
everything, he is kindred, he is preceptor, he is God.
My duty is to be of use to him and in his service to
lay down my life, if need be.

"Only please take good note of my body, O Lakshmana.
It bears obvious signs of pregnancy. Rama knows this
well, but still it is better that you witness my
condition with your own eyes, and relate it back to
the King and to the people of Ayodhya, so that there
are no dark doubts in their minds later on..."

PROSECUTION COMMENTS:
It is clear from SIta's own words and assessment as to
what were Sri Rama's true motives in the
"agni-parIksha" episode. 

It was not to punish Sita for her alleged misdemeanour
towards Lakshmana in the "aranya-kAnda". (The
so-called "misdemeanour" is but a figment of
"traditonalist" commentators). It was not to uphold
some high-faluting principle of "dharma" or anything. 

It was simply to "look good" as a King in the eyes of
his vast numbers of subjects in the kingdom... As Sita
herself says above: "You honour and love your people,
the same as you honour and love your brothers. If to
preserve your good name among them, I must be
sacrificed, I am content to be sacrificed". 

In order to "look good" in the eyes of the subjects,
we saw that Sri Rama was willing to sacrifice
"pirAtti" not once, (as in the "yuddha-kAnda") but
also again, the second time, in the "uttara-kAnda"
above. Further, as if insult was not enough to add to
injury, Sri Rama was willing to sacrifice her on a
third occasion yet again, also in the "uttara-kAnda".
That we will see below: 

In the final chapters of the "uttara-kAndam", there is
one very moving event in which Sita speaks as she is 
compelled to defend her purity again. Sita's two sons,
Lava and Kusha, were both recognized for who they were
in the palace of Ayodhya, and coming to know who their
mother really was, Rama asked that Sita be brought to
his presence in the palace. Valmiki himself decided to
accompany Sita into Lord Rama's presence. 

But before Valmiki can do that, Rama's asks that Sita
swear publicly about her purity. He commands that she
must appear before the royal assembly, and the general
public too, and take before all of them a solemn oath
or 'sapatha' testifying that she is un-tainted. Rama
makes that a pre-condition to a meeting with Sita in
the presence of Valmiki.

Sita refuses pointblank. Hear what our "pirAtti", who
by then had already donned the saffron robes of a
forest 'sAdhvi', a forest-renunciate, says (VII.97.
15-21):

VOICE OF SITA-PIRATTI:

"As I have never let my thought wander away from Rama,
so let my mother Earth ("bhumi-devi") give me an
opening. I will go back to where I came from. This
earth is not for me, nor this husband, nor these
subjects whom no proof can ever convince".

PROSECUTION COMMENTS:
The "uttara-kAnda" ends with the scene of the Earth
opening up and a celestial throne appearing therefrom
and Mother Earth beckoning Sita-pirAtti with the most
poignant words in the Ramayana:

"My daughter, come back to me. You have had enough of
this earth".

*******************************************************

We shall now leave Sita-pirAtti alone... and return to
our own "mundane" discussions.

The question of Sita-pirAtti's chastity arose in the
Ramayana on 3 different and separate occasions -- once
on the battle-field of Lanka in the "yuddha-kAnda";
the second, at the beginning of the "uttara-kAnda"
when Rama ordered Lakshmana to take her and leave her
in the forests among "rshi-s"; and finally, at the end
of the "uttara-kAnda", when Rama wanted her to take a
public oath of virtue before appearing in his presence
with Valmiki.

Now, the prosecution wishes to pose this question to
the honb'le defense-counsel:

If on the first occasion, the "agni-parIksha" of the
"yuddha-kAnda", it is claimed Sita-pirAtti  received
due punishment for her purported misdemeanour against
Lakshmana in the "mAricha" episode, what about the 2nd
and 3rd instances in the "uttara-kAnda"? When Rama
again dealt her severe punishment on the same charge
as the very first one i.e. her suspected purity, what
was his great motive? 

Can the defense-counsel please elaborate? 

I say, he cannot because he and his band of so-called
"traditionalist" commentators will have run out of
ideas and imagination in concocting flimsy, facile and
fallacious grounds of arguments on which somehow they
can make their desperate case stand: 

        "If Rama did it, it must be right!"  

               ****************

My Lord, "amicus curie", and members of the jury!

The Prosecution now seeks a brief adjournment. We have
not yet concluded our arguments. In our next posting,
which will be final and brief, the prosecution will
frame clear charges against the defendent. Until then
we beseech the Defense-counsel please not to interrupt
proceedings. 

I beg too the court's patience and time.

Yours faithfully,

dAsan,

Sudarshan
Counsel for My most gracious Lady, "Sita-pirAtti"



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