Different Aspects of Sita Vanvaas

Hare Krishna

The episode of Lord Rama sending away Sita to Vanvaas, is one of the most challenging aspect of Lord Ram’s pastimes. It deludes the intelligence of many persons and forces them to bring down Lord Ram from the pedestal of the Supreme Lord to a common man who could not do justice to His wife. All these pastimes of the Lord are already planned and there are many causes (external and confidential) behind each of them. Many eternally liberated souls are already aware and part of these pastimes and they play different roles as per Lord’s order.

Let’s see the different aspects of Lord Ram sending away Mother Sita to Vanvaas.

1. It was not Lord Ram who sent away Sita to forest but its mother Sita who requested Him to send her away to exile. Inspite of passing the test of Fire and even after all the demigods like Lord Brahma certified her purity, still people of Ayodhya were questioning Sita’s purity. When she heard the allegations of her subjects that Lord Rama had accepted her even after she spent so much time on Ravan’s territory in his Lanka (which was considered immoral during those times), she decided to part ways with Lord Rama & His Kingdom to ensure there not even a tinge of stain on Lord’s character which is an epitome of morality.  Mother Sita felt that nothing would ever convince the public of Her innocence and purity. If she neglected such people and continued to live with Lord, then it would appear that He is too attached to His wife and it would have gone the same way down in the history to us. So the only way she could figure was to live separately from Lord Ram so that no ever can ever question Lord’s integrity and detachment in pursuing His duty as the King.

2. The whole Ramayana is infused with the spirit of sacrifice – a spirit that attains its pinnacle in the separation of Rama and Sita. The mood throughout the epic is not of demanding one’s rights, but of sacrificing one’s rights for a higher cause. When Rama was exiled because of the promise of his father Dasharatha, Rama didn’t demand his rights as the rightful successor. On hearing about Ram’s exile, Sita too didn’t claim to live in royal comforts and willingly even insistently, sacrificed those comforts for accompanying her husband to the forest. Same is the case with almost all the characters, be it Laxman, Bharat, Hanuman or others. Importantly, none of these characters saw themselves as helpless victims deprived of their rights; they saw themselves as conscious servitor of Lord who chose to sacrifice their rights for a higher cause. In that same spirit, Sita, on being forsaken, didn’t see herself as a victim of a judgmental husband. Though Lord Ram insisted her to neglect the thoughts of public, but She gracefully, even gallantly, accepted the necessary sacrifice. Finally Lord Ram as King had no other choice than to order Laxman to send Sita into exile.

3. Another aspect of this pastime is based on past-life causes. The Valmiki Ramayana offers one more explanation. The epic (6.51.15) mentions an ancient curse that ordained the separation of Vishnu and Lakshmi. Bhrugu Muni, once cursed Lord Vishnu to take multiple births in the material world and, in one such birth, he is to be separated from his wife. Of course, Lord as the Supreme Being is not subject to anyone’s curse. Still, he accepted it out of reverence to the sage and for furthering his own pastimes. The enactment of that curse resulted in the chain of events that led to the separation of Rama and Sita.

All above are external reason, now let’s analyze some confidential reasons for this pastime.

1. When Sita was sent to Vanvaas, at that time Valimiki had already started writing the Ramayan. Mother Sita wanted to spread the glories of Lord Ram through preaching of epic Ramayan. Like Vyasdeva wrote Srimad Bhagvatam and empowered his son Shukhdev Goswami to distribute it further similarly Mother Sita wished to take up the task of preaching of Glories of Lord Ram to all cities and town herself. She empowered Lov and Kush and on order of Saint Valmiki they spread the glories of Lord Ram everywhere. Mother Sita being Bhakti personified vested her energy in their son Lov-Kush, who narrated the virtues of Lord in such powerful and attractive way that hit directly the right chords of heart and make that person immediately  devotee of Lord, whoever listens to them. What to say of normal public, even when Lord Ram when listened to his pastimes from Lov-Kush, became so ecstatic. Even in Ramayana serial also, episode of Lov-Kush singing the glories of Ram made everyone overjoyed. It was all due to Mother Sita training them personally to spread virtues of Lord Ram with assistance of Saint Valmiki in his ashram.

5. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has referred to Love in separation as the highest form of Bhakti known as Viraha-Bhakti. Separation intensifies our love very much. For instance, going outside our homes and roaming freely was always taken for granted, but now after we are put in lockdown in our homes, our mind is eagerly waiting to go outside and roam freely. Similarly when devotee gets separated from Lord then his/her mind keeps on thinking about Lord with focused & deepened feelings which augments the love drastically. It is not the case with Mother Sita only, but even Krishna disappeared in between the Rasa-Lila to intensify the love of Gopis. Krishna left Radharani to deepen her love, gave darshan for a moment to Narada Muni, Dhruv and then disappeared. When Lord was separated from them, they all became so eager to meet the Lord and not even for a moment they could resist thinking of Lord. Separation does to love what wind does to fire – spreads it more and more. When separated from Lord Ram, Sita relished such intense devotion. Externally such separation seems like agony, but internally it is the peak of spiritual ecstasy.

As heat and light can never be separated from Fire and is its intrinsic nature, similarly Mother Sita being power of Lord and can never be separated from Lord even for a moment.

सुनु गिरिजा हरिचरित सुहाए। बिपुल बिसद निगमागम गाए॥ हरि अवतार हेतु जेहि होई। इदमित्थं कहि जाइ न सोई॥1॥
हे पार्वती! सुनो, वेद-शास्त्रों ने श्री हरि के सुंदर, विस्तृत और निर्मल चरित्रों का गान किया है। हरि का अवतार जिस कारण से होता है, वह कारण 'बस यही है' ऐसा नहीं कहा जा सकता (अनेकों कारण हो सकते हैं और ऐसे भी हो सकते हैं, जिन्हें कोई जान ही नहीं सकता)॥1॥

Generally seeing the emotional scene of Lord banishing Sita, its human tendency to get carried away by emotions over the right thing and consequently unwise persons see this act of Lord Ram as violation of moral principles. Largely with little knowledge of scriptures we misunderstand the real definition of morality and immorality and tweak them as per our intentions. Had Lord Ram being immoral, then why Saint Valmiki in whose ashram Mother Sita was residing had continued his work of writing glories of Lord Ram’s virtues in Ramayan. Even Lord Shiva who considered Lord Ram as his Master would have forsaken his meditation on Lord Ram names on pretext of this act. All scriptures compiled after Lord Ram pastimes would not have mentioned his glories. But we can see that all saints, religions still glorify Lord and His name. Because they all knew that Lord can never be wrong in any of his dealings and pastimes. It is us who with our limited knowledge and vision and under the influence of Maya are unable to comprehend them in a right way. Same things Lord justifies in Bhagvat Gita as in below slokas

BG 9.11: Fools deride Me when I descend in the human form. They do not know My transcendental nature as the Supreme Lord of all that be.

BG 7.25: I am never manifest to the foolish and unintelligent. For them I am covered by My internal potency, and therefore they do not know that I am unborn and infallible(Here infallible means, Lord cannot fall from his position. May be it is opulence, moral principles, power or anything.)

BG 7.13: Deluded by the three modes [goodness, passion and ignorance], the whole world does not know Me, who am above the modes and inexhaustible.

Further, what can be said about us when even the topmost personalities like Lord Shiva, Brahma and other comes under illusion of His Maya. Same thing is confirmed by Lord Shiva as below in Ramchritmanas

चरित राम के सगुन भवानी । तर्कि न जाहिं बुद्धि बल बानी ⁠।⁠। अस बिचारि जे तग्य बिरागी । रामहि भजहिं तर्क सब त्यागी ⁠।⁠।
हे भवानी! श्रीरामजीकी इन सगुण लीलाओंके विषयमें बुद्धि और वाणी के बलसे तर्क (निर्णय) नहीं किया जा सकता।ऐसा विचारकर जो तत्त्वज्ञानी और विरक्त पुरुष हैं वे सब तर्क(शंका) छोड़कर श्रीरामजीका भजन ही करते हैं ⁠।⁠।⁠

माया बस मतिमंद अभागी। हृदयँ जमनिका बहुबिधि लागी॥ ते सठ हठ बस संसय करहीं। निज अग्यान राम पर धरहीं॥
हे गरुड़जी! श्री हरि के विषय में मोह की कल्पना भी ऐसी ही है, भगवान्‌ में तो स्वप्न में भी अज्ञान का प्रसंग (अवसर) नहीं है, किंतु जो माया के वश, मंदबुद्धि और भाग्यहीन हैं और जिनके हृदय पर अनेकों प्रकार के परदे पड़े हैं॥ वे मूर्ख हठ के वश होकर संदेह करते हैं और अपना अज्ञान श्री रामजी पर आरोपित करते हैं॥

अति बिचित्र रघुपति चरित जानहिं परम सुजान। जे मतिमंद बिमोह बस हृदयँ धरहिं कछु आन॥49॥
श्री रघुनाथजी का चरित्र बड़ा ही विचित्र है, उसको पहुँचे हुए ज्ञानीजन ही जानते हैं। जो मंदबुद्धि हैं, वे तो विशेष रूप से मोह के वश होकर हृदय में कुछ दूसरी ही बात समझ बैठते हैं॥

And Finally he gives his verdict to Mother Parvati

राम अतर्क्य बुद्धि मन बानी। मत हमार अस सुनहि सयानी॥

हे सयानी! सुनो, हमारा मत तो यह है कि बुद्धि, मन और वाणी से श्री रामचन्द्रजी की तर्कना नहीं की जा सकती।

सुर नर मुनि कोउ नाहिं जेहि न मोह माया प्रबल। अस बिचारि मन माहिं भजिअ महामाया पतिहि॥
देवता, मनुष्य और मुनियों में ऐसा कोई नहीं है, जिसे भगवान की महान बलवती माया मोहित न कर दे। मन में ऐसा विचारकर उस महामाया के स्वामी (प्रेरक) श्री भगवान का भजन करना चाहिए॥

As Krishna says in Gita(18.55)

bhaktyā mām abhijānāti, yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ| tato māṁ tattvato jñātvā, viśate tad-anantaram

One can understand Me as I am, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of Me by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God.

So request you to shun all your doubts regarding any pastimes of Lord and pray to Him with all humility. He will give you required intelligence to understand his greatness in correct way and once we know How much great GOD is, then all this doubts will automatically vanished by light of Knowledge and we will inevitably inclined in preaching his glories and love him unconditionally.

कलिजुग जोग न जग्य न ग्याना । एक अधार राम गुन गाना ॥ 

सब भरोस तजि जो भज रामहि । प्रेम समेत गाव गुन ग्रामहि ॥

सोइ भव तर कछु संसय नाहीं ।
In the age of Kali neither Yoga (concentration of mind), nor the performance of sacrifices nor spiritual wisdom is of any avail; one's only hope lies in singing Śrī Rāma's glories. Giving up all other hopes, whosoever worships Śrī Rāma and fondly chants His glories undoubtedly crosses the ocean of transmigration.