Ramayana of Valmiki and Kamban- sundarakanda

[Guest guest]

8. Seetha"s despair and the dream of Thrijata.

 

After Ravana left the rakshasis started advising Seetha to forget

Rama and accept Ravana as her husband, praising Ravana and denouncing Rama as a mere human being and one

without kingdom and riches as compared with Ravana who was the master of all

the worlds. Seetha replied that she was to Rama like Arundhathi to Vasishta,

Rohini to Chandhra, Lopaamudhra to Agasthya, Sukanya to Syavana, Savitri to

Sathyavaan, Nala to Dhamayanthi and others like them. The rakshasis became

angry and started threatening her that they would eat her if she did not listen

to them. Seetha told them that they could do as they wish but she would never

agree to their proposals. Thus saying Seetha wept and went and stood under the

sismsupa tree on which Hanuman was hidden among the branches. She lamented that

it was true that no one could die before their time and hence she was still

alive after being separated from Rama. Expecting that the rakshasis were going

to eat her as they threatened, she thought that she was going to be destroyed

like a ship in the mid-ocean, without support tossed by a strong wind. She

wondered what evil deed had she done to deserve that fate and felt helpless as

she could not even take off her life without the permission of her husband

because she was a part and parcel of him.

 

She told the rakshasis to cut her to pieces or eat her but she

would never touch Ravana even with her

left foot. She wondered why was it that Rama, who killed Khara and Dhooshana

and their army single handed and killed Viradha, did not come and rescue her till then. She

thought that perhaps Rama did not know

her being in Lanka or else he would have destroyed the rakshasa and Ravana by

then.

 

Then Seetha said within a short time Rama and Lakshnman would come

and destroy Lanka along with rakshasaa and in every house there will be crying

even as she was crying then. This was not a curse from Seetha but she was only

predicting what was going to happen.

 

Seetha thought that she would be killed and eaten by the rakshasas

since Rama did not seem to come and perhaps he had forgotten or forsaken her

and had become a real sage renouncing all attachments. She even thought in a

weak moment that the rakshasas might have killed Rama and Lakshmana by

employing some kind of deception. These are the feelings Valmiki attributed to

her acting as a human being .She went to the verge of despair says Valmiki and

was thinking seriously of putting an end to her life.

 

At that time Thrijata , the daughter of Vibheehsana who was

sleeping got up by the clamour of the

rakshasis threatening Seetha and said to them that they could eat themselves

but would never be able to harm Seetha. She told them that she had a dream in

which she saw Rama wearing a garland of white flowers and a garment of white

silk. And was coming with Lakshmana on a palanquin made of ivory born by

thousand swans and flying in the sky. Seetha was seen, on the top of a white mountain

surrounded by the sea, similarly clad

and Rama getting down ascended a white elephant and came to her.

Seetha got on the elephant and sat on the lap of Rama. She got up from his

lap and touched the sun and the moon

with her hands. Then Rama went away towards north with Lakshmana and Seetha.

 

According to svapnasastra, climbing on bull, elephant, top of a

house, peak of a mountain and trees are supposed to bring good fortune and

grasping the moon and the sun by hands will result in winning a kingdom.

 

Thrijata said that she also saw Ravana with shaved head and smeared with oil, wearing red garment and

drunk, falling down from the pudshpaka vimana and going towards south on a chariot drawn by

donkeys. Kumbakarna and others were also seen going towards the south , the direction

of Yama, god of death and Vibheeshana adorned with white umbrella and white

garments was seen going in the sky with four ministers. She also saw a monkey a

messenger of Rama burning Lanka.

 

Hence she cautioned the

rakshasis from tormenting Seetha as Rama would not tolerate it. As the dream

signified the victory of Rama and union of Seetha with him and the destruction

of Ravanaa along with the rakshasas she told the ralshasis to beg forgiveness

of Seetha if they wanted to survive. She also said that there were good omens

that Seetha was going to be happy soon.

 

But thinking on the short time limit set by Ravana, Seetha became

disheartened and thought of committing suicide by hanging from the branch of

the simsupa tree by her long hair and grasping her hair looked up at the branch

above. At that , moment she became aware of some good omens which indicated

that the end of her sufferings was near. Her left eye and left shoulder

throbbed, and her left thigh throbbing as though Rama was in front. A bird entering into its nest was chirping again and

again as though consoling Seetha and welcoming Rama. Seetha was encouraged by

all this and became expectant of some good news which she was about to hear.