Canto I – Sita Abandoned
It is in this book of the aftermath that sage Valmiki recounts the whole previous history of Ravana, the king of the rakshasas. It is also in this book that the painful episode of Ram’s repudiation of Sita is told. We may well wonder at the intentions of the sage in doing this. Maybe he wanted to compare the polaric differences in the towering personalities of the two men, who loved Sita so passionately. One, the lusty, powerful: rakshasa— Ravana, who was prepared to exterminate his entire race, his brothers, his friends and even his own sons, in order to quench his thirst for another man’s wife. Next, the divine personality of Ram: who made the heart-rending decision to subdue his passion for his lawfully wedded wife, and place his duty to his subjects first, who was prepared to sacrifice the one he loved most, on the altar of the cosmic law of dharma, which proclaims that a king should put God first, his country next and his own personal desires last. Ravana perished with the rest of his tribe while the land of Kosala flourished under the rule of its saintly king.
Thus did many years pass while Ram reigned with Sita by his side, helped by his beloved brothers and able ministers. There was an Ashoka grove attached to their palace, which was even more beautiful than the one in Lanka. Fragrant trees like the champaka, Kadamba, ashoka and sandalwood were there and fruit trees like mango and pomegranate. After finishing his day’s work, Ram would often walk in these fragrant gardens with his adorable queen. One day while they were thus sitting in the garden and talking to each other, Ram noticed that his wife showed all signs of pregnancy. She was wearing a glistening red robe and her skin glowed with an ethereal beauty.
Ram was delighted and taking both her hands in his, he led her gently to an arbour in the grove and seated her tenderly on a jewelled seat. He offered her the nectar of many flowers, untouched by bees, in a golden goblet. With his own hands he raised the glass to her lips and made her sip the delightful concoction. He embraced his alluring wife with great love and asked her: “My darling one! I see that you are with child. This is the only thing which we lack in our lives. How radiant you look! I have no doubt that the child will be a wonderful infant. Tell me, my dearest love, how can I make you more happy? Is there some wish of yours which is still to be fulfilled? Ask for anything and it shall be yours”.
Sita raised her lotus face to his and whispered, “My Lord, I consider myself to be the luckiest woman alive. What further wish can your wife have, than to be beside you all the time”?
But Ram insisted, “My lovely one. I want to make you even happier than you are now, if that were possible. Tell me something which I can do for you. I am longing to shower you with everything, for it is said that a pregnant woman should have all her whims humoured”.
Sita turned her beautiful eyes on him and said, “Do you remember the forest near Chitrakoota where we used to wander, hand in hand? Do you remember the sages and their wives and the peace of their hermitages? I have a great desire to go and visit them once again and eat the wild fruits and roots and drink the pure waters of the Ganga and perhaps even stay there for a day or two”.
Ram looked adoringly at his beloved wife. There was nothing he could deny her. If anything, his love for her had increased with the passing years. He had never felt the desire to take another consort, as the rest of the kings used to do. In fact, the very idea was abhorrent to him. Sita was the most charming woman he had ever known and he desired none other.
Holding her hands in his, he looked deep into her eyes and said, “0 Vaidehi, my beloved wife, you shall certainly go there if that is what you wish. In fact, I will send you there tomorrow”.
Having given his promise to the princess of Mithila, Ram left her and went to the outer courtyard to talk with his friends. In the course of their light banter, he turned to his friend Bhadra and asked, “Tell me Bhadra, what do the people say about me and Sita and my brothers? Kings are always a butt of criticism for the common folk”.
Bhadra folded his palms and said, “Sire, people speak only good about you. Sometimes they discuss the events of past years, when you achieved the impossible, by killing the demon king, Ravana and rescuing the princess of Videha. Your exploits are recounted with great enthusiasm by everyone “What else do they say, Bhadra. Tell me all. Why do you avert your d face? Is there something, which you feel should not be reported to me? ~ Have no fear? I want to know the good and the bad. No king can afford to ignore what people say of him, so tell me”.
In a faltering, low tone, Bhadra said, “They also remark that though your action in having killed the rakshasa, is to be applauded, your conduct with regard to your wife, is shameful. How could the king have accepted a woman who had been kept on Ravana’s lap and who had lived in his palace for so many months? How can the queen forge the indignities which she must have suffered? We will have to put with similar insults. Our wives will be able to go as they please as we will be forced to condone them. As the king, so the subjects’! This is what the people say, in their ignorance”.
Ram’s whole face changed when he heard this slanderous accusation against him and his immaculate wife. He could not speak a word. His friends tried to comfort him and said, “Your Majesty, it is the nature of common people to speak ill of the nobility. A king need not pay heed to such false accusations”.
Ram hardly heard what they were saying. Taking leave of then in his usual, courteous manner, he went to the garden and sat immersed in thought. He decided that it was his duty to check on this matter before coming to a decision. That evening, he wore the clothes of an ordinary citizen of Ayodhya and went incognito on a tour of the city. As luck would have it, as he passed the house of a washer-man, in one of the small streets of the city, he heard the sound of raised voices and went close to the door of the house and stood outside listening. The husband was berating his wife. “I have heard reports of your indecent behaviour. You have been seen talking to the nobleman who comes for a walk down this street. You may go back to your own home. I will not keep you here any longer. I belong to a respectable family and will not keep a loose woman as my wife. You are free to go where you please”.
The poor woman pleaded that she was totally innocent and had only answered some questions, the man had put to her. The washerman replied sternly, “Do you think I am Ram to tolerate such behaviour? He is the king and can do as he pleases. But, as for me, I will never keep a wife who has been seen with another man”
