Ravana’s Abduction of Sita
Question: Swami, Ravana’s abduction of Sita is a very heartbreaking episode in the Ramayana. How is it that Sita wanted a golden deer, which is so uncharacteristic of her? How strange is it that Lakshmana, who was directed to guard her, couldn’t ultimately prevent the abduction? Would you please explain the significance of this episode to all of us who are otherwise thoroughly confused about its inner meaning?
Bhagavan: The abduction episode conveys many secrets. An incarnation of God or an avatar always sets examples for others to emulate. Every action of His is very subtle and has lots of things to teach. These subtleties are not easily understood just by going through the book.
Despite the fact that both her father, Janaka, and father-in-law, Dasaratha, were emperors, Sita gave up queenly comforts and riches to follow Rama to the forest and embrace an austere life. She had overcome kama [desire] and so she could be near Rama. But her fascination for the ‘golden deer’ simply means that she had given in to desire, which was the cause of her separation from Rama.
So, where there is kama, there wouldn’t be Rama. And, where there is Rama, kama cannot exist. There is another lesson in this episode. Rama commanded Lakshmana to take care of Sita during His absence. Lakshmana was supposed to be there near Sita in obedience to His command. But Lakshmana could not bear the accusations of Sita, and the evil motives she attributed to him. So, he left Sita alone to look for Rama who Sita feared was in danger. This was the result of her mistaking the voice of a rakshasa [demon] as that of Rama calling out to her and Lakshmana.
On learning about Subahu’s [a demon sent by Ravana] death, Ravana commanded Maricha [another demon] to avenge him against Rama. Preferring to die at Rama’s hands rather than at Ravana’s, Maricha disguised himself as a golden deer. Although this granted temporary success to Ravana and to Rama’s master plan, Maricha himself was killed by Rama in the process. It is then that Ravana came and kidnapped Sita who was alone.
In one sense, Lakshmana could be considered responsible for separation of Sita from Rama. Lakshmana repented till the end of his life for his neglect of the duty that Rama assigned to him…
In fact, you will also notice that earlier, sage Bharadwaja while hosting Rama, Lakshmana, and Sita at his hermitage, encouraged them to continue their journey into the forest. This was because he could foresee the upcoming events. Had they continued to stay at Bharadwaja’s hermitage, Ravana could not have abducted Sita. There wouldn’t have been a war and the consequent death of Ravana. Bharadwaja knew fully well that Rama was God incarnate, and yet he directed Him to proceed further, paving the way for the execution of the divine master plan, viz., the killing of Ravana. Thus, all the episodes in this great epic convey many human values besides revealing the secrets of the Rama Avatar.
Condensed from Satyopnishad, Vol. 2
