In the reign of Raja Ram, no one had to suffer any pain, says Sant Tulsidas –
Daihik daivik bhautik tapa/Ram Raj nahin kahuhi byapa,
Sab nar karhin paraspar priti/Chalhin swadharm nirat shruti niti//
In the Ram Rajya, no one isaffected by bodily, divinely caused, or material suffering. All men love each other.Comporting with the boundaries laid down by the Vedas, everyone follows their own dharma.
Ramcharitmanas/Uttar Kand/20(i)
The lives of Sita and Raja Ram could not have been any less charming. The royal couple spent their leisure in the idyllic surrounds of the Ashok Vanika in Ayodhya. Maharishi Balmiki describes the heavenly ambience of that pleasure garden (see Balmiki Ramayan/Uttar Kand/Canto 42). Fruit and flowering trees of at least twenty-five types, adoringly nurtured by highly skilled gardeners, made it a havenfor cuckoos, parrots, swans, cranes, Bhringraaja (long-tailed shrike), and numerous other birds to trill sonorously. Ponds and waterways lent a sheen to the landscape and kept it cool. There were luxurious buildings ornately decorated with precious jewels. Celestial musicians and dancers held recitals of music and dance performances every day, being generously awarded by Raja Ram and Queen Consort Sita.
Raja Ram spent the first half of the day performing religious ceremonies and attending to his royal duties. In the later half, he liked to stay in the inner quarters of the palace. Likewise, Queen Sita also spent the first half of the day in worship and attending to her mothers-in-law. Later in the day she joined Ram in the inner quarters. Thus, they spent the winter season in happy togetherness.
But for Queen Sita, that dream life could not last long. Ram had the habit of spending his free time with friends such as Vijay, Madhumat, Kaashyap, Mangal, Kul, Suraji, Kaleey, Bhadr, Dantvaktr and Sumagadh. Here the atmosphere was free from the exigencies of royal protocol, and the friends shared with Ram all sorts of anecdotes and gossip current in the realm.
One day, Ram asked Bhadra what was going on in the capital-
Ttah kathayam kasyanchid Raghvah sambhavat/
Kah katha nagare Bhadr vartante vishyesh ch//
At that time Lord Raghunath asked in reference to some story, “Bhadr! (Bhadr in Sanskrit is used both as a proper noun as well as a salutation used for men.) What is being discussed in particular in the city and the realm these days?”
Ibid/Canto 43 (iv)
Ram was anxious to know what his subjects said about Sita, his three brothers and himself, because “vaktavytam ch rajano vane rajye vrajanti ch”- if the raja is loose of character and mind, then he in his realm (and in the ashrams of rishi-munis) becomes the subject of ignominy, and his vices are talked about everywhere.
When Ram assured him of his immunity from the kingly rage, Bhadr revealed to him that while people admired Ram for everything he had done in the Lanka War,they could not bring themselves to accept the fact that their raja had brought Sita home after killing her abductor, Ravan. Didn’t Ram feel any amrsh (rage or anger) about Sita’s conduct? (ibid 43(xi-xvi)).
The dye was cast. Ram bade farewell to his friends and asked the nearest doorkeeper to forthwith assemble before him the princes Bharat, Lakshman and Shatrughan. Courtesies were exchanged between them. Then he told his brothers with a heavy heart what Bhadr had said about the public view of Sita’s restitution in the House of Raghus. He knew Sita was spotless.Calling forth Lakshman’s evidence, Ram asserted that Sita had passed through a trial by fire when she was brought to him from her captivity in Lanka. Yet, if an innuendo about Sita was rife among his subjects, he would renounce her rather than cause a slur on the fair name of his dynasty. In announcing his dire resolve, Ram directedLakshman –
Manyantu bhavanto mam yadi machchhasne sthitah/
Itoady niytam Sita kurushv vachanm mam//
If you all respect me and desire to remain under my obedience, then take Sita now to the jungle. Obey my command!
-Ibid/Canto 45(xxii)
Thereupon, Lakshman, his eyes bleary with tears, escorted Sita to an ashram in the jungle across the Ganga River.
Sita, pregnant at that time, was unaware of what had passed between Ram and others behind her back. She was under the impression that Ram had sent her to spend a few days among the asceticsin fulfilment of her own wish (see RAM SETTLES DOWN, DE, 29 Jun). It fell upon Lakshman to tell her that Ram had abandoned her.
But destiny won’t abandon Sita. As she was crying her heart out, a few young inmates of the ashram rushed forth to Maharishi Balmiki to tell him about a desperate woman who needed help. The omniscient sage, who knew the truth of her life, assured her-
Ashramasyavidure me tapasyastapsi sthitah/
Tastvam vatse yatha vatsam palyishyanti nityashah//
“Daughter! A few women ascetics reside near my ashram who are engaged in their austerities. They will look after you as if you weretheir own daughter.”
– Ibid/49(xv)
Having left Sita in the care of the women ascetics, Balmiki left for his own ashram. We all know the rest of the story: of the birth of Luv and Kush, of their careful grooming by Balmiki, and how they landed in their father’s court singing Ram-katha. In Canto 94 of Uttar Kand, the sage not only dexterously intertwines the superb poetic and musical attributes of his work-the Ramayan-but also carries the narration forward. Raja Ram realised that the two youths singing the epic before him in a special assembly of rishi-munis organised for the performance of the Ashwmedha Yagya were but Sita’s sons.
Ram’s reaction was out of the ordinary. Rather than making amends with his abandoned spouse, he issued orders, “Shvh prabhate tu shapathm Maithili Janakatmaja/Karotu parishanmadhye shodhnarthm mamev ch//”- Tomorrow morning, the Princess of Mithila and Janak’s daughter (Sita) may appear before the assembly and take the oath (of her chastity) to clear me of my ignominy (ibid./Canto 95(vi). Not even Rishi Balmiki’s unequivocal assertion that the two youths present in the assembly were his own sons could deter Raja Ram from insisting that Sita should take the utterly humiliating oath.
Sita did take the mortal oath: “BarringRam, I do not know of any other man-if this statement of mine is true, then may Goddess Earth find me a place in Her lap!” And with that,she disappeared into the gaping earth.
Raja Ram got rid of his opprobrium, but in so doing he lost his unimpeachable spouse as well.
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