Maa Sita

Tantra has always given great importance to the feminine and the divine feminine has had a pivotal role to play in the formation of Tantra. From Maa Parvati founding the Agama Nigama Tantra, to Maa MahaLakshmi providing all the wealth there is, to Maa MahaSaraswati unraveling the wisdom of the universe. The divine feminine is worshiped by three supreme deities, Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma themselves.

Lord Rama, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, was married to Maa Sita, an incarnation of Maa Mahalaxmi. She was the best daughter, wife, mother and queen anyone could ask for and led by example. She was a complete woman and more. She balanced Her masculine and feminine in a way that most of can only aspire to. It was Her, who began the movement of feminism in the Vedic times where ideally it wasn’t even required due to the respect given to women, but was still needed. In this blog, we discuss Maa Sita’s life in brief and learn valuable life lessons.

The Earth’s Daughter

The kingdom of Mithila was suffering from a 13 year drought. This was when the king’s council went to sage Ashtavakra and asked him for a solution. The sage advised that the king needs to himself plow the fields for it to rain. This was when King Janaka began plowing the fields. He kept plowing till the plow hit a hard surface and upon digging, they discovered a box in which lay a beautiful girl child. Childless that the king was, he immediately adopted this little girl and named her Sita. Sita means a furrow made in the ground by a plow. Soon after Sita was found, the kingdom was blessed with rains and a bountiful harvest. This earned Maa Sita the title of Laxmi as Her arrival brought in prosperity. Being born from the earth, Maa Sita was humble, beautiful, compassionate, loving and ever so patient. She was also resilient, strong and had a knack for creation.

The Devoted Wife

When Maa Sita and Lord Rama met for the first time, She was walking on Her terrace and He was walking below, they saw each other across the floors, and were in love at first sight. They were married through the process of Swayamwar (a tradition where the bride could choose her husband from a gathering of men who would display their skills thus proving their ability as husbands). There is an interesting story related to their wedding as well, which we shall narrate another time. After their wedding, Lord Rama was asked to leave His kingdom and stay in exile for fourteen years by His father. King Dasharath, Lord Rama’s father in the human realm was bound to a promise he had made to his second wife Kaikeyi and Lord Rama respected His father’s word.

As He was leaving for exile, Maa Sita didn’t think twice before joining Him. Here, we are talking about a woman who had lived in the comforts of palaces all Her life, had servants to serve and look after Her, and now, was ready to leave all of that behind to be with Her husband. Everyone, including Lord Rama tried to discourage Her but she wouldn’t have any of it. She said She will be where He is. This was the devotion Maa Sita had for Her husband and their marriage.

The Fierce Warrior

During their exile, Maa Sita was abducted by demon king Ravana and he kept Her in his palace, as a revenge tactic to use against Lord Rama and His younger brother Laxmana who had apparently insulted Ravana’s sister. While this was far from reality, Ravana wanted to protect his sister’s honor and decided abducting Maa Sita would be a good idea. He kept Her in Ashok Vatika, one of the gardens in the kingdom of Lanka, where he would ask Her everyday for consent and everyday She would refuse. During this time, Lord Rama was gathering an army to begin war on Lanka and get His wife back. He had the support of everyone around Him and they went on a journey collecting troops.

Maa Sita on the other hand, was a captive, amongst the demons and no one favored Her there. In this situation, She kept Her cool and stayed calm, She faced Ravana with all fierceness and ensured He couldn’t come near Her and the strength of Her aura ensured that She was protected and safe even when surrounded by enemies. This is the kind of warrior spirit She had that kept Her calm and collected in the face of adversity.

The Single Mother

After the war, when Maa Sita and Lord Rama returned back to their kingdom, they were crowned queen and king. However, being the patriarchal world it was, people in the kingdom had Maa Sita’s chastity since She was captive in Ravana’s kingdom for all that time. By now, Maa Sita was pregnant with twins as She and Lord Rama were planning a family. However, as a king, it was Lord Rama’s responsibility to first put Maa Sita through an Agni Pariksha (a fire ritual to prove one’s chastity) and then exile Her in a forest. Maa Sita without batting an eyelid, went to the forest and stayed there under the guardianship of sage Valmiki where Her twins, Luv and Kush learned all their skills from the sage.

It is to be noted here that Maa Sita performed Her role as a single mother and did a spectacular job at it. In fact, Her sons then grew up and went on to defeat Lord Rama’s army in battle which is also a story for another time.

What happened after, did the couple finally reunite, did Maa Sita renounce the throne, or did She fight for Her rights? These are questions that we shall answer soon, but till then, we learn that Maa Sita broke stereotypes, loved devotionally, fought like a true warrior and didn’t let life’s adversities shake Her spirit.