Female Indian gods. See what "Sita" is in other dictionaries Hanuman finds Sita

In the Rig Veda, Sita is mentioned only once, in one hymn (Book IV, No. 57), addressed to the patron gods of agriculture. In later Vedic monuments (Paraskara-grihya sutra) Sita is the wife of the god Indra, which, perhaps, is in connection with the rare (only in the Rigveda) epithet of Indra - urvarâpati (lord of the field). In the Taittiriya Brahmana, Sita receives the epithet Savitri. Apparently, this Vedic image reflected a pale remnant of a previously brighter and more developed mythical personification. Due to the oblivion of its original content, mythological creativity tries to associate this image with other, more tenacious and vibrant mythical personalities - Indra, Savitar - but all these attempts are random and short-lived.

Hanuman finds Sita

The asteroid (244) Sita, discovered in 1884, is named after Sita.

see also

Links

Literature

  • "Ramayana" - "Ramayana"
  • “The Tale of Rama” - Literary presentation by E. N. Tyomkin and V. G. Erman

We continue our excursion into Hinduism. Today we will talk about the beautiful companions of the Hindu pantheon and some of their descendants. By the way, many Indian gods and goddesses help in creativity, help remove obstacles and achieve well-being and prosperity. If you want to know the details, then read on ☺

As I already said in the post “Hinduism and the Supreme Indian Gods”, at the top of the Indian “Olympus” there are the Gods Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, who form the Trimurti. Each of them has a wonderful life partner (or even all lives), of divine or human origin, but always with a very difficult fate. After they linked their lives and destiny with their divine spouses, they became Shakti - deities (divine power, light) carrying feminine energy in the universe.

Companion of Brahma

Brahma's wife is the beautiful goddess Saraswati, the patroness of the hearth, fertility, and prosperity. In addition, she favors creators, giving special preference to writers of all stripes and musicians.

Saraswati is often called the river goddess, the goddess of water, moreover, her name translates as “she who flows.” Saraswati is usually depicted as a beautiful woman in white robes, seated on a white lotus flower. It is not difficult to guess that white is her color, symbolizing knowledge and cleansing from blood. Her clothes are rich, but, compared to Lakshmi’s attire, they are very modest (we’ll get to Lakshmi later). Most likely, this indirectly indicates that she is above worldly goods, since she has learned the highest truth. Her symbol is also a light yellow blooming mustard flower, which just begins to form into buds in the spring during the holiday in her honor.

Saraswati, like Brahma, has four arms. And just like her divine husband, in other of them she holds a rosary, naturally white, and the Vedas. In her third hand she holds a vana (national musical instrument), in her fourth hand there is sacred water (after all, she is the goddess of water). Often a white swan swims at Saraswati’s feet, which is also a symbol of her experience and wisdom in knowing the highest truth. Saraswati is sometimes called Hamsavahini, which means "she who uses a swan for transportation."

If you remember, last time I told you that according to one of the theories, humanity appeared as a result of Brahma’s passion for his daughter Vak. This state of affairs does not really suit some believers, which is why Vak is often positioned as one of the incarnations of Saraswati. Her other images can be Rati, Kanti, Savitri and Gayatri. The goddess is very popular in India, sometimes she is even called Mahadevi - the Great Mother. It is believed that if you name your daughter Saraswati, she will study diligently, and there will be prosperity and contentment in her future home.

Companion of Vishnu

As we remember, Vishnu came to earth 9 times in different avatars and each time his wife was Lakshmi, naturally, in her different incarnations. The most famous and revered are Sita (when Vishnu was Rama) and Rukmini (Vishnu - Krishna).

But no matter how they call her in one form or another, no one doubts that this is Lakshmi. Lakshmi emerged from the depths of the Comic Ocean along with other treasures, so many revere her as a divine treasure. She, like a true woman, is both the strength and weakness of her chosen one, which has been repeatedly reflected in folk art, for example in Ramayat. Often her image overshadows Saraswati, as well as Vishnu Brahma, and it is to her that the role of the Great Mother Mahadevi is shifted.

Lakshmi is traditionally depicted sitting on a pink or red lotus flower as a beautiful young woman, younger than Saraswati, wearing beautiful expensive clothes and jewelry. She usually uses a white owl as a means of transportation. She, like other gods, has four arms, but no obligatory objects that she holds can be distinguished. Sometimes she is depicted with lotuses, sometimes with gold coins - whatever the artist’s imagination allows. Lakshmi is incredibly popular in India because, in addition to being the wife of the supreme deity, she is also the patron of wealth, good fortune, luck, light, knowledge, wisdom, light, courage and fertility. She is a welcome guest in any home.

Surprisingly, but true, in order to earn her favor, the following actions, already familiar to us, are mandatory. The Goddess does not accept clutter, if your house is full of garbage, dust, unused things, do not expect her to visit you. The air in the house should be fresh, there must be water in a decanter, a house plant (if there is no garden), candles and incense. The most favorable area for placing the image of Lakshmi is the south-eastern part of the house. If you remember my post, then according to Chinese tradition, the wealth zone is located there, and the minimum measures to attract it come down to cleaning and ventilation. There is reason to think...

The offspring of Lakshmi and Vishnu is the god of love Kama. We have all heard a lot or a little about the Kama Sutra, and so, if translated literally, it means “the rules of love (lust).” By the way, poor Kama was seriously injured by the god Shiva, which brought upon the latter the serious wrath of Vishnu and Lakshmi. Kama fired an arrow of passion at Shiva when he was in deep asceticism and many years of meditation in order to attract his attention to the beautiful daughter of the king of the Himalayas, Parvati. This angered Shiva so much that he incinerated Kama with his third eye. Under pressure from Vishnu, Lakshmi and other gods, he was forced to agree to the rebirth of the god of love. Despite all his efforts, Kama was revived to life by ananga (incorporeal) and now he is everywhere.

Shiva's companions

Here we are gradually approaching the love affairs of the great ascetic Shiva. There were many of them, depending on the form of its manifestation. Religious scholars did not agree on whether this woman was alone or not.

Here I will talk about them as different, because if all this diversity of forms and essences is “shoved” into one character, I’m afraid I will get confused myself. Naturally, I won’t be able to write about them all, so we’ll focus on the most revered ones.

Devi - "goddess". Devi is especially revered among followers of tantra. Goddess Devi "contains the whole world in her womb", she "lights the lamp of wisdom" and "brings joy to the heart of Shiva, her Lord." Today in India, rituals dedicated to Devi are often performed on the eve of marriage, and, as we understand, no one is interested in the religion of the couple ☺

Sati – “true, immaculate.” Sati was the daughter of king (god?) Daksha. On the day of her coming of age, he sent out an invitation to all the gods, with the exception of Shiva, so that Sati could choose a worthy husband. He believed that Shiva was behaving unworthy of the gods, damaging their name and essence. When Sati entered the hall and did not see the only one whom she worshiped and whose wife she dreamed of becoming, she offered him a prayer asking him to accept the wedding garland. Shiva accepted her gift and Dakshi had no choice but to marry Sati to him. But the story didn't end there. Dakshi decided to arrange a huge sacrifice in honor of the gods, again depriving Shiva of his attention. This act outraged Sati and she came to his house without an invitation, claiming that Shiva is the god above all gods. Defending her husband's honor, she herself stepped into the sacrificial fire and burned in its flames...

Upon learning of the death of his beloved, Shiva was distraught with grief. With his servants, he came to Daksha's palace and killed him and his followers. After that, with the body of his beloved in his arms, he danced his divine dance 7 times around all the worlds. The crazy rhythm of his dance brought destruction and sadness to everything around, the scale of the disaster reached such a volume that they forced Vishnu to intervene, who, in order to stop this crazy dance, cut Sati’s body into several parts and they fell to the ground. After this, Shiva came to his senses, repented of killing Daksha and even gave him back his life (though with the head of a goat, since his original one was lost).

Uma – “Graceful.” There is a version that she is the rebirth of the goddess Sati, but skeptics are inclined to believe that Sati’s body was cut into several parts and fell in different places, so that she could not be reborn in a single image. Her name is sometimes associated with Barhma, since she is his intermediary in communication with other gods. Based on this, Uma is the patroness of oratory. Uma also became the cause of a divine conflict when the servants of Brahma found her in the arms of Shiva in the sacred forest. He was so angry that he doomed any male, regardless of his species, to turn into a female as soon as he entered the forest territory.

Parvati - "mountain". Another possible rebirth of Sati, daughter of King Himvan, ruler of the Himalayas. The girl loved Shiva very much, but he did not pay any attention to her and was completely absorbed in meditation and asceticism. In the end, the Gods could not stand the suffering of the beautiful Parvati and sent Kama to awaken passion and desire in him, for which, the poor fellow, he paid. Having noticed the beauty and devotion of the girl, Shiva nevertheless considered her unworthy, and she was forced to perform difficult ascetic feats for many years in order to achieve his favor. Ultimately, she succeeded and became not only Shiva's beloved wife, but also the mother of his son Ganesh.

Ganesha is one of the most popular characters, even in countries where the main religion is Buddhism, he is still revered. For example, in the north of the Thai city of Chiang Mai there is an absolutely stunning one. It is very easy to distinguish him from all other gods - he is the only one with an elephant's head. By the way, according to one version, he was deprived of his human head by his own father Shiva, who did not recognize his son in the grown-up Ganesha and was jealous of Parvati. In order to revive his son, he ordered the servants to kill the first animal they came across and bring its head to the palace. By coincidence, it turned out to be the head of a baby elephant, which Shiva attached in place of his son’s head in order to resurrect him and calm the inconsolable Parvati.

Ganesha uses a white mouse as a means of transportation, so Hindus do not favor cats - since they eat mice and cause Ganesha’s wrath. And no one wants his anger; on the contrary, they crave his favor. After all, Ganesha is considered the patron of prosperity, the remover of obstacles, he helps to increase earnings and profits, and also stimulates success in school and profession. For these purposes, a figurine of Ganesh is often placed on the desktop or at the cash register, and special mantras are also chanted, for example: OM GAM GANAPATAYA NAMAH or OM SRI GANESHAYA NAMAH.

Durga - “unapproachable”. There are many legends associated with the appearance of Durga, but one of the most popular is the following. One day, the king of the giants, Mahisha, defeated the gods, deprived them of everything and expelled them from their homes. Then Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva combined their powers and released dazzling rays of light from their eyes, from which emerged a warrior goddess with three eyes and eighteen arms. Then each of the gods gave her his weapon: Brahma - a rosary and a jug of water, Vishnu - a throwing disc, Shiva - a trident, Varuna - a conch, Agni - a dart, Vayu - a bow, Surya - a quiver of arrows, Indra - lightning, Kubera - a mace , Kala – shield and sword, Vishwakarma – battle axe. Mahisha was inflamed with passion for Durga and wanted to make her his wife, but he said that he would submit only to the one who defeats her in battle. She jumped off her tiger and jumped on the back of Mahishi, who had taken the form of a bull to fight. With her feet she struck the bull's head with such crushing force that he fell unconscious to the ground. After this, Durga cut off his head with a sword.

Kali – “black”. Probably the most controversial goddess of the Hindu pantheon, one of the most beautiful and at the same time dangerous. Her skin is black, she is a great warrior and a great dancer, like her husband Shiva. She is usually depicted in expensive clothing with a necklace of skulls and a belt made of severed hands. Most often, she has four hands: in one she holds a bloody sword, in the other - the head of a defeated enemy, and the other two hands bless her subjects. That is, it simultaneously brings both death and immortality. During the battle, she pulls out her tongue to drink the blood of her victims (by the way, according to many theories, Kali is the prototype of Lilith and vampires). Sometimes she is depicted with one foot on her chest and the other on the thigh of a prostrate Shiva. This is explained by the following legend. Having defeated the giant Raktvija, she began to dance in joy, and her dance was so passionate and unbridled that it threatened to destroy the earth and the whole world. The gods tried to persuade her, but everything was in vain. Then Shiva lay down at her feet, and Kali continued to dance until she saw her own husband under her feet. She was ashamed of her own fury and the disrespect shown to the great god that she stopped dead in her tracks. By the way, Shiva forgave her quite easily.

Among Shiva’s companions there are also Jagadgauri, Chinnamustaka, Tara, Muktakesi, Dasabhuja, Singhavanini, Mahishamandini, Jagaddhatri, Ambika, Bhavani, Pithivi, etc., you can’t remember them all ☺ .

Well, perhaps that’s the end of the fairy tale, whoever read to the end - well done ☺! I hope you found it interesting.

On the day of the appearance of Srimati Sita devi, we will tell the amazing story about Lord Ramachandra and His consort Srimati Sita devi, which was told to the world by the great sage Valmiki in his mystical work "Ramayana", containing all the wisdom and depth of the Vedas. You can spend your whole life studying the Vedas, or you can just listen to or read the Ramayana. By listening or reading this story, you will be saved from all misfortunes. This bestows long life, victory and strength. Those who are without children will be able to conceive children. Those who want fame will get fame. Those who read or listen to it with faith will achieve all four goals of human life: dharma, artha, kama, moksha. Ramayana helps you make the right decisions in life.

You will receive all the blessings of Lord Vishnu as Rama, who will be discussed, is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. You will also receive the blessings of the Goddess of prosperity, luck and love - Lakshmiji, the consort of Lord Vishnu. Sita devi, the eternal consort of Lord Ramacandra, is an incarnation of Lakshmi devi.


Sita is compared to the moonlight, giving coolness, and her husband Rama (Ramachandra) is compared to a beautiful month. Moonlight always follows the Moon.

Sita is the beloved wife of Rama, the daughter of King Janaki, “born not of man.” Sita is the personification of a perfect woman, portrayed as the ideal of female purity, and therefore one of the translations of Sita is snow-white.

According to Janaka, the king of Videha, Sita (Sanskrit Sîtâ = furrow, personification of furrow and agriculture) emerged from the furrow of his plow while he was plowing the place of sacrifice.

Janaka had no children, so he was ordered to commit halahoma yagya. It consists of taking a plow and drawing a line around the palace with this plow. While the plow is moving, it gets stuck in the mud, and every time it gets stuck in the mud, one has to donate gold to the Brahmins. The plow gets stuck every time it moves, so you have to give gold. When all the Brahmins are happy with what they have been given, the plow moves on and when it gets stuck, the Brahmins must receive more gold.

This is how Janaka did charity and received many blessings, so it helps in the birth of children. Janaka plowed the land and distributed gold to the brahmanas. The plow got stuck in one place, and after all the gold was given to the brahmanas, it still did not go further.

“There must be some big rock in the ground,” everyone said.

And so they dug in this place and found a casket there. And inside this casket was a girl who became known as Janaka - the daughter of Janaka.

Due to this supernatural manner of birth, Sita is called Aionidja(Ayonijâ = not born from the womb). Other names for Sita are Bhumija(Bhumi = earth), Dharanisura(Dharani = earth, actually “carrier”), Parthivi(Prthivî = earth, actually "broad") - all indicate its origin, meaning "daughter of the earth".

One day I made a furrow in a field, and from there
The child of indescribable beauty looked - oh, miracle!
For the father's heart, the best is not knowing joy,
I named the girl Sita and princess Videhi.

Maharaja raised the girl as his daughter: “Her name is Sita, and she is the very life and soul of every inhabitant of Mithila, even a flower and an insect, not to mention people, because she is bhakti embodied. She is the most beautiful girl in all creation."

ABOUT The sage told about Sita's childhood fun Vishwamitra, telling the story of how little Sita was playing with a ball and it rolled behind her bow. This bow could not be moved by 5,000 people, but she lifted it very calmly. Of all the inhabitants of Mithila, only Sita could move the heavy casket, inside which the bow of Shiva was kept, so her father Janaka could only marry her to someone who was as strong as Sita.

A wonderful story happened to Sita when She was already six years old. One day Sita Devi was walking with her friends in the forest. The girls tried their best to reach the high growing branch and pick the flower, but they couldn’t do anything. Then Sita went to the palace and quietly entered the room where the famous bow of Lord Shiva, with which He fought with Lord Vishnu, lay. “Little” Sita easily took this bow and quietly left the room. The guard standing nearby couldn’t believe his eyes and immediately ran to the king. And Sitaji shot at the twig and calmly put the bow in place. The ministers who had gathered on this extraordinary occasion said to Janaka: “O king, Maha-Lakshmi lives with you. By all indications this is evident. How are you going to marry Her off? If She is Lakshmiji, then you need to find Sri Narayana, Her Eternal Consort.”


First meeting of Sita and Rama took place in Janaki Maharaj's garden. In this garden, Lord Rama and Srimati Sita exchanged glances for the first time, and at that moment They gave Their hearts to each other. With beautiful lotus eyes, like those of a young chamois, she saw the subtle graceful beauty of Rama.

With beautiful lotus eyes, like those of a young chamois, she saw the subtle graceful beauty of Rama. More than anything else, Sita wanted Rama to become the Lord of Her heart. About this, even before meeting Rama in her father’s house, Sita addressed prayers to Durga.

In an amazing way, Prince Ramachandra found a wife.

In those distant times, there was a custom in India - swayamvar, according to which, in order for the bride to choose a groom, competitions were appointed in her honor. Young men gathered at them, they competed in archery, wrestling, and javelin throwing. To the winner, if, of course, he was to his liking, the bride put a garland around his neck - by this she let him know that she agreed to become his wife.

And soon Sita’s father decided that it was time to marry off his daughter. Janaka promised to give his beloved daughter to the one who could pull the string of the sacred bow of Lord Shiva.

Rama also came to Medhila to participate in the competition. When Vishwamitra Muni, Rama and Lakshmana saw this bow, they froze in admiration. Extraordinary, gigantic and indescribably beautiful, the bow was skillfully decorated with heavenly emeralds, silver, gold, rubies, diamonds and pearls. Made by Vishwakarma himself, the heavenly gunsmith, especially for Lord Shiva, the bow sparkled like rock crystal in the sun, shimmering with the wondrous colors of the northern lights. No one has ever touched it except the great Shambhu.

Rama meanwhile approached the bow and, with his palms folded in reverence, offered humble obeisances to this expansion of Lord Shiva. Ramachandra looked at his guru, Vishwamitra Muni, because without the blessing of the Guru, Rama believed, no one could ever do anything worthy.

Rama slowly raised his bow and, spreading his powerful shoulders, began to pull the string. The black, shiny, heavy tree yielded to strong hands - the string separated further and further from the shaft, and finally the bow could not stand it - there was a crack like a thunderclap, the roofs of the houses trembled - the bow shattered in half. Shouts of joy filled the square.

Maharaja Janaka called Sita to come down, and she appeared before Lord Ramacandra to present him with the vijaya-mala of the winner - a fragrant garland of golden flowers, intended only for the one who becomes her husband. She stood in front of Rama, looking at his lotus feet. Then she decided to look into his eyes, and when their eyes met, the eternal love union of Sita-Rama, Sri Sri Radhika-Govinda, immediately manifested itself...

Vasishtha Muni, at an auspicious hour called Vijaya, began the wedding ceremony, very beautiful, very magnificent. King Janaka placed his daughter's hand in Rama's, saying, “I give my daughter Sita to You, my dear Rama. Sita is dearer to me than my life and soul, and I promise that she will serve You with great devotion and follow You wherever You go, like Your shadow. Whatever Your fate may be, my daughter will always be by Your side. Please take her as your wife! In all my life I have never seen a more worthy groom for my virtuous and chaste Sita.”

Giving Sita's hand to Ramachandra, Janaka and Vasishtha poured sacred water to seal the marriage. Sita was overjoyed because this was the kind of husband she wanted. The same could be said about Rama. They couldn't take their eyes off each other. Time simply ceased to exist when they were together.

However, their happiness was short-lived and, like many lovers, they had to go through serious trials. Palace machinations force Rama to go into exile for fourteen years in the Dandakaranya forest, and faithful Sita, the eternal wife of Lord Ramachandra, goes after Him.

Just as moonlight comes from the Moon, so Sita follows her beloved Rama. Sita renounced the luxury of Ayodhya and was therefore able to be with Rama in “exile.” She steadfastly endured all the hardships and hardships: staying close to the prince meant for her to be happy.





Rama, Sita and Lakshmana settled in a small reed hut in the thicket of the Dandaka forest. The brothers never lacked either courage or courage. Lotus-eyed Rama lived for ten years with Sita and Lakshmana, moving from one monastery to another, protecting the hermits from predatory animals, rakshasas and poisonous reptiles.

Another test was Lila abduction of Sita by the evil demon Ravana.

When Rama, Lakshmana and Sita were in Panchavati during their exile, the demon Maricha, on the orders of Ravana, the king of demons who ruled Lanka, turned into a golden deer and was walking nearby. Sita was fascinated by the golden deer and convinced Rama to catch it, even though Rama dissuaded her.



When Rama chased the deer and shot the fatal arrow at it, the demon assumed his true form and shouted the names of Lakshmana and Sita in the weakened voice of Rama. Hearing Rama's voice, Sita forced Lakshmana to go to Rama's aid. Before leaving the hut, Lakshmana drew a line around it and told Sita not to cross it. He declared that no one would be able to cross this line and enter the hut.

Meanwhile, Ravana came there, taking the form of a brahmana, and began begging for alms. When Sita offered him food from behind the line drawn by Lakshmana, he refused to accept the food, prompting her to cross the line and give him the offering. Since he pretended to be suffering from hunger pangs, Sita, being very compassionate and caring, crossed the line and offered food to the “brahmana”. Then Ravana assumed his true form, grabbed her and took her away on his celestial chariot to Lanka.

The lesson from the story of the abduction of Sita is that a woman, no matter how powerful she may be in the material world, should always be protected. Once a woman is left without protection, she falls into the hands of rakshasas like Ravana. Before her marriage, Sita was under the protection of her father, Janaki. And when she got married, her husband began to take care of her. Thus, a woman should always be under someone's protection. According to Vedic rules, a woman is not capable of being independent (asamaksam) because she is not able to protect herself. When she fixed her dreamy gaze on the golden deer and was captivated by it, she lost the Presence of Rama.

Although Sita was imprisoned by Ravana in the Ashoka Grove, he did not dare to touch her, because he knew that he would be incinerated. He wanted to subdue her by intimidating and threatening her. But Sita never even looked at him.


When he began to defame Rama, Sita took a blade of grass and said: “You are so pathetic and wicked. You are not worth even this blade of grass. How can you defame Rama?”

In fact, Sita caused the curse and death of Ravana.

In her previous incarnation, she was a young girl whose name was Masulunji. Ravana, having killed her father, tried to take her by force. Masulunji called out to Sri Hari and with his name on her lips she managed to escape. She reached the place in the forest where the rishis were reciting the Vedas. Since she appeared before them while they were chanting the Vedas, they gave her the name Vedavati. Arriving at the Himalayas, she sat there with her eyes closed, concentrating her thoughts on Sri Hari. When Ravana disturbed her meditation, Masulunji vowed that she would cause his death in her next incarnation and, with her mystical power, burned herself, dissolving in fire (Agni). Sita was born from the ashes. She is also called Vaidehi, that is, the one who has no attachment to the body.



To protect Sita, Agni replaced Sita with Vedavati, and took Sita with him and left him under the protection of his wife Svahadevi. Ravana took Vedavati to Lanka, mistaking her for Sita. He kidnapped the shadow of Sita, that is, Maya-Sita. Maya Sita is an image of Sita, non-different from Her. The only difference is that no one can touch the Divine Sita while under the control of lust, passion and anger. She placed Her Original Form in the fire and hid Her divinity.

According to Brahma's blessing, only a man could kill Ravana, since he was invulnerable to the devas and asuras. Vishnu comes to this world in the form of a man - Prince Ramachandra. Ravana constantly harassed others, but when his cup of sins overflowed and he went so far as to attack Sitadevi herself, Lord Ramachandra killed him.

"Srimad Bhagavatam" Canto 9. "Liberation" TEXT 23:

“Having reprimanded Ravana, Lord Ramachandra put an arrow on the string of His bow, took aim and released this arrow, which, like lightning, struck the heart of the demon. Seeing this, Ravana’s subordinates filled the air with cries: “Woe to us, woe! What a misfortune!” Meanwhile, Ravana, vomiting blood from all ten mouths, fell from the airship to the ground, just as a pious man, having exhausted the stock of his good deeds, falls from the heavenly planet back to Earth."


The chaste wife of Ravana Mandodari lamentingly says :

"O darling of fate, overcome by lust, you were unable to appreciate the power of Sita. Cursed by her, you lost all greatness and died at the hand of Lord Ramacandra."(SB Canto 9. TEXT 27)

The commentary to this text says:

“Not only Sita is powerful, but any woman who follows in her footsteps also becomes equally powerful. There are many examples of this in the Vedic scriptures. But whenever they talk about an ideal chaste woman, the name of Sita’s mother is mentioned.

Mandodari, the wife of Ravana, was also very chaste. Draupadi is also one of the five most chaste women. If men should follow the example of great souls like Brahma and Narada, then women should follow in the footsteps of ideal wives like Sita, Mandodari and Draupadi. By maintaining chastity and remaining faithful to her husband, a woman gains incredible, supernatural power.

Moral rules say that a man should not look lustfully at other people's wives. Matrivat para-dareshu: an intelligent man treats another man's wife as his own mother... Ravana was condemned not only by Lord Ramachandra, but also by Ravana's wife, Mandodari. Since she was chaste, she knew the power of any chaste woman, especially one like Sitadevi."

Evil dissipated, peace and tranquility reigned in the Universe. Monkeys entered Lanka. Hanuman found the beautiful Sita and told her about the death of her kidnapper. Finally, Rama met his beloved wife. He told her that he had avenged the insult and killed Ravana, but could not take her back, since she had stayed too long in the house of another: after all, Ravana had touched her and desecrated her with his gaze. Rama never doubted her loyalty and love for a moment, but in order to avoid misunderstandings, they test of Sita's loyalty by fire.

Lakshman prepared a fire. Many people froze in horror... When the fire flared up, Sita respectfully walked around Rama. Then, approaching the fire, she bowed to the brahmanas and demigods.

After this she offered a prayer to Agni: “O god of fire, if my heart has always remained faithful to Rama, may the god of Fire grant me his protection! If I am pure and unsullied before Rama, may the great Agni, the eyewitness of all things, protect me from unrighteous blasphemy!”

Sita, with folded palms and downcast eyes, entered the copper-crimson flame. Among the restless tongues of fire, her beauty shone like molten gold. And after some time, the god of fire himself, Agni, carried her out of the fire unharmed, saying: “This is your wife Sita, there is not a single spot on her, she is sinless. She was never unfaithful to you, neither in thoughts, nor in words, nor even in her eyes.Trust me and accept this jewel among women.”

Rama said that even without any test he was confident in the purity of his wife. It was important for Him to prove her innocence to others. The lifestyle of a ruler must be exemplary.

He approached Sita, looked into her beautiful eyes full of tears, He dreamed about this moment for a very long time, and quietly said:

“O daughter of the Earth! O my beautiful Sita! How could you even think for a second that I doubted you! I walked all over this country to see your beautiful face again. Was I tormented by unbearable pain from separation from you? My dear love, I know that you are pure and innocent, I love you very much and could not wait for this moment!”

Srila Visvanatha Chakravarti Thakura and Srila Sanatana Goswami said that the happiness of separation is greater than the greatest happiness of meeting.

Lord Ramacandra's separation from Sita is spiritual in nature and is called vipralambha. This is a manifestation of the hladini-sakti of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, which is classified as sringara-rasa, the race of conjugal love in the spiritual world.

In the spiritual world, the Supreme Lord enjoys all kinds of loving relationships, exhibiting the symptoms of spiritual experiences such as sattvika, sanchari, vilapa, murccha and unmada. Therefore, when Lord Ramacandra was separated from Sita, all these spiritual symptoms appeared in Him.

The Lord is not impersonal or devoid of energy. He is sac-chid-ananda-vigraha, the eternal embodiment of knowledge and bliss. Spiritual bliss manifests itself in Him in all its diversity of signs. Separation from his beloved is also one of the manifestations of His spiritual bliss. As Srila Svarupa Damodara Goswami explains, radha-krishna-pranaya-vikritir hladini-saktih: The loving relationship of Radha and Krishna is a manifestation of the Lord's pleasure potency.

The Lord is the original cause of all pleasure, the center of bliss. In this way Lord Ramacandra revealed both spiritual and material truth. In a material sense, attachment to a woman brings suffering, but in a spiritual sense, the feeling of separation of the Lord from His energy of pleasure only increases the spiritual bliss of the Lord. (Sh.B 9.10.11)

Appearance of Srimati Sita Devi, wife of Lord Sri Rama, Sita Devi, 25 qualities of Sita Devi, Mother Sita, Ramayana, Lord Rama, wife of Lord Rama, Sita Devi, Sita.Appearance of Srimati Sita Devi, wife of Lord Sri Rama, Sita Devi, 25 qualities Sita Devi, Mother Sita, Ramayana, Lord Rama, wife of Lord Rama, Sita Devi, Sita. Appearance of Srimati Sita Devi, wife of Lord Sri Rama, Sita Devi, 25 qualities of Sita Devi, Mother Sita, Ramayana, Lord Rama, wife of Lord Rama, Sita Devi, Sita. Appearance of Srimati Sita Devi, wife of Lord Sri Rama, Sita Devi, 25 qualities of Sita Devi, Mother Sita, Ramayana, Lord Rama, wife of Lord Rama, Sita Devi, Sita. Appearance of Srimati Sita Devi, wife of Lord Sri Rama, Sita Devi, 25 qualities of Sita Devi, Mother Sita, Ramayana, Lord Rama, wife of Lord Rama, Sita Devi, Sita.

Sita devi is the wife of Rama, She is none other than the expansion of Lakshmi devi, the goddess of fortune. All the luck in the world is the energy of Sita. But what is luck? – It’s not just money, it’s all the good things – health, fame, comfort, strong friendship, close-knit family. Luck is everything good in this world, and failure is losing it all. Lakshmi devi appeared as goddess Sita. Everyone knows that Sita is meant exclusively for Rama. What is love? Love means helping Sita in Her love for Rama, isn't that what the people of Ayodhya - Hanuman, Sugriva, Lakshman - did? Their only desire was to see Sita and Rama happy. But Ravana wanted Sita for himself. This is kama or lust. In Chaitanya Charitamrita, Krishnadasa Kaviraj Goswami describes that love is the natural inclination of the soul to desire to please God, but when it instead seeks to enjoy His property out of its own selfish desires, such love is nothing but lust. Love and lust are the same energy, the same inclination. If this energy is directed towards God, it is prema, otherwise it is kama, or lust. (from a lecture by Radhanatha Swami) Sita's Prayer. (Sita said this prayer even before her marriage, in Her father’s house. She prayed for a meeting with Rama, the Lord of Her heart...) 1. jaya jaya girivararAja kiSori| jaya maheSa mukha canda cakori jaya gajabadana khadAnana mAtA| jagata janani dAmini duti gAtA "Glory, glory! To the beautiful young daughter of the King of the Mountains! Like the Chakora bird, which never takes its eyes off the Moon, you never take your eyes off the moon-like face of your husband, Lord Shiva! Glory to you, O mother of Ganesha and Karttikeya !The whole universe and all living beings are your radiance!.. 2. Nahin taba Adi madya avasana| amita prabAu bedu nahin jAna bhava bhava vibhava parAbhava kArini| viSva vimohani svabasa vihArini You are the basis of this world! Even the Vedas cannot describe your glory in its entirety! You are everything: birth, death, and liberation! You are the sovereign mistress of this world, you play with it the way you want! 3. sevata tohi sulabha phala cAri| varadAyanI tripurAri piyArI devi pUji pada kamala tumhAre| sura nara muni saba hohin sukhAre O Devi! At your feet are gods, men and sages. They all seek your glance, which gives happiness. You are ready to fulfill all their desires, but your only desire is the joy of your husband! 4. mora manoratha jAnahun nIken| basahu sadA sura pura sabahI ken kInhe-un pragata na kArana tehIn| asa kahi carana gahe vaidehin O Durga Ma! I cannot speak out loud about my desire, but I am sure you know my heart, you know all my dreams and hopes, you know my thirst! And there is no need for words. Therefore, this Sita, daughter of Videha, simply bows down at your lotus feet!" 5. vinaya prema basa bhai bhavAnI| khasi mAla murati musukAnI sAdara siyan prasAdu sira dhareu| bolI gauri haraSu hiyan bhareu Bhavani, the Lady of this world heard the call of Sita, filled with pure love to Rama. And the Goddess showed a garland, which Sita immediately picked up and put on her neck as the most precious gift. And then Gauri filled Sita's heart with joy, saying: 6. sunu siya satya asIsa hamAri| puji hi mana kAmanA tumhArI nArada vacana sadA Wuci sAcA| so baru milihi jAhin manu rAcA "O Sita! Listen! I see your heart. There is only one desire in it!.. Therefore, accept my blessing: soon the one you dream of will become your husband..."

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Rama and Sita

A long time ago in India there lived a powerful king - a raja. He ruled a rich and powerful state, with its capital in the city of Ayodhya. He had several wives and several sons, the eldest son was named Rama, one of the youngest was Lakshmana. These two brothers loved each other very much.

It happened one day that Rama was in the capital of a neighboring state. Driving past the palace of the local rajah, he saw a girl of extraordinary beauty in one of the windows.
- Who is this? - Rama asked the merchant women who were sitting at the palace gates.
- This is Sita, the daughter of our ruler!
Rama turned his horse to look at the girl again, but when he found himself under the window again, it was already tightly closed.

Rama returned to Ayodhya and told his brother about this meeting.
“It seems to me that I fell in love with her at first sight,” he admitted. - What should I do, Lakshmana? Maybe I should tell my father and mother about everything? Or - no, it behooves a man to wait...

And in those distant times in India there was a custom - swayamvar, according to which, in order for the bride to choose a groom, competitions were appointed in her honor. Young men gathered at them, they competed in archery, wrestling, and javelin throwing. To the winner, if, of course, he was to his liking, the bride put a wreath around his neck - by this she let him know that she agreed to become his wife.

And soon Sita’s father decided that it was time to marry off his daughter. As soon as this news reached Ayodhya, Rama and Lakshmana began to prepare for their journey. On the appointed day, early in the morning, they were already driving their chariots into the city where Sita lived. Here everything was ready for the holiday, colorful flags fluttered on every corner, music played, and sweet smoke curled over the fireplaces where food was being heated. Chariots decorated with flowers rolled through the streets every now and then. The impatient roar of the crowd could be heard from the main square.
- How can we not be late! Let's hurry up the horses! - Lakshmana shouted.
They entered the city square. Here everything was ready for the competition: Sita and her father were sitting in a gazebo decorated with flowers, opposite them stood a group of suitors who had come from all over India. The crowd clogged the surrounding streets.

The drums thundered and fell silent. The king stood up and made a sign demanding silence.
“Many years ago,” he began, “one of my ancestors received a bow as a gift from the omnipotent god Shiva.” It was so heavy and strong that no one could ever lift or pull it. Today this bow will be brought to the square. Whoever can bend it will become my daughter's husband. I said!

With these words, the king nodded to the servants. They rushed to the palace and soon returned, bending under the weight of an unusual burden. Seeing how big the bow was and how thick its string was, the suitors became despondent. The servants dragged the bow to the middle of the square, laid it on the ground and left. The suitors began to approach him one by one. The youngest tried the force first. They approached the bow, took hold of it, tensed their muscles, sweat streamed down their faces, but no one was able to lift it off the ground even by a finger. Then the older grooms performed. These were real strongmen. They went out into the middle of the square, proud of their height, the strength of their arms and their previous exploits. Some of them managed to lift the end of the shaft and even grab the string, but... the bow fell, and the string remained motionless.

And suddenly there was a murmur in the crowd. A black-bearded warrior emerged from the line of suitors. His eyes burned with a cruel fire. He walked over to the bow and lifted it off the ground without any visible effort. Everyone gasped, the king rose from his seat, and Sita felt fear penetrate her heart.
- Who is this? - the city residents asked each other.

The warrior rested the end of the bow on the ground, grabbed the shaft with one hand, and placed the palm of the other on the string. Thick crooked fingers dug into her, the muscles of her arms tensed and became like stones. The string began to slowly retract. Sorrowful cries were heard among the suitors.
- Isn’t it Ravana himself who is invincible? - they started talking in the crowd.

The hero strained all his strength. The veins in his forehead bulged and the ends of his bow began to draw closer together. But... there was a ringing sound, similar to the ringing of a saber, the bowstring tore out of his hands, the bow straightened and fell to the ground. And then the hero let out a terrible roar. He stamped his feet and roared like a wounded elephant. His eyes became bloodshot, his appearance, so clear and clear, became unsteady. The body lost its previous shape, instead of one head ten grew, and two arms turned into twenty.

Woe, woe to us! This is true Ravana, the king of the rakshasas, the demon among demons, the lord of those who wander at night, the warrior who knows no pity! - shouted in the crowd.
Before the frightened Sita had time to see the one who almost became her husband, the rakshasa rose into the air and disappeared, like a column of dust scattered by the wind disappears.

And then Rama entered the square. He walked up to the bow, slowly raised it and, spreading his powerful shoulders, began to pull the string. The black, shiny, heavy tree yielded to strong hands - the string separated further and further from the shaft, and finally the bow could not stand it: there was a crack like a thunderclap, the roofs of the houses trembled - the bow shattered in half.

Shouts of joy filled the square.
- He won! Glory to the prince of Ayodhya! - the crowd shouted.
The king stood up, raising his hands in greeting, and Sita came out of the gazebo, approached Rama and, with downcast eyes, laid a wreath on him.

They played a wedding. Rama returned to his father's palace and began to help him rule. Sita came with him to Ayodhya.

Continued >>>
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Information sources: Sakharnov S.V. "Why does the whale have a big mouth: Fairy tales and stories." L. Lenizdat. 1987



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