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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 a woman 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 makesis that Rama, in abandoning Her at Ayodhya, is verily leaving Her at the mercyof 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 terms this 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 the Lord 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 againstHis 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 MarIcha takes 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 lastfelled by Sri Rama, the asurA lets out a great cry, in Rama’s voice, apparentlycalling 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 of Rama for succour, little realising that it is another ruse by the rAkshasa to 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 prowess and 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 brothercould 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 life of 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 knows the 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 tune with the highest standards of propriety. His attitude is one of devotion and dedication, with not even a breath of impropriety aboutit. 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 all the 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’sapparently desperate cry for assistance. Imagine any devout wife’s mental state when she finds her husband in mortal danger and an avowedly attached younger brothernot 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 and seeks a message for Sri Rama, Sri Janaki sends Her beloved a short message of 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 on Ilaya 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 that could 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 the fire, 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 Sri Hanuman, 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 the two 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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