ramayan af valmiki and Kamban-Aranyakanda-18-Ravanacarrying Seetha

March 13, 2009

18.Ravana carrying Seetha

Seetha was wearing a garment of yellow silk and shining ornaments of gold and she looked like a lightning while Ravana was looking like a volacano with his fiery hued cloth moving in the wind. Valmki further compares the cloth worn by Seetha moving in the air to the red cloud at noon., which is an impossibility. This and the comparison of Seetha to lightning indicated calamity for Ravana. Her face was like a lotus plucked from its soil and lost its lustre. She was shining like a second moon from the dark cloud, symbolized by Ravana, another weird happening serving as a bad omen. Seetha with her golden colour seen with the dark hued Ravana looked like a golden girdle around blue sapphire. The implication is that only silver goes well with blue sapphire and gold seemed out of place.

The speed with which Ravana was going was indicated by the flowers from the head of Seetha scattering on all sides and again falling on Ravana, who is compared by Valmiki to the high mountain of Meru shining with clear stars. Seetha was like a fire in the sky, which is bad omen like a comet. Her ornaments fell down on earth like the stars, says Valmiki, on their merit being exhausted. It is supposed that those who have acquired merit, punya, become stars and after their merits are exhausted they fell down to earth to take rebirth. The pearl garland falling from the neck of Seetha was like Ganges falling from the heavens.

The great wind that rose from the speed of Ravana created big noise in the trees and the birds were chirping loudly as though to reassure Seetha, while the aquatic beings seeing the lotuses shake violently became afraid. The wild animals of the forest ran along as though they wanted to threaten Ravana. The mountains with their high peaks and waterfalls flowing from them seem to cry with uplifted arms. Even the Sun lost his lustre. Thus the whole nature was struck with sorrow on Seetha being carried away.

Seetha tried her level best to dissuade Ravana from taking her away by insulting him and threatening him of dire consequences. She called him a coward in spite of his bragging about his valour earlier, since he came like a thief when Rama and Lakshmana were not there. She said that there was nothing to be proud of in slaying an old bird like Jatayu and he could not stand in front of Rama and that was why he was flying away speedily. Seetha told him that he could not bear the shower of arrows of Rama and Lakshman like a bird caught in a forest fire. She said she will never agree to his wish and would not live long and Ravana was nearing his death and hence he is acting like a man who pursues wrong path at the time of death. mrthyukaale yaThaa marthyo vipareethaani sevathe. Ravana , she said, will not escape from Rama wherever he runs and reminded him that Rama killed 14000 rakshasas with Khara and Dhooshana single handed. But Ravana under the spell of fate that was causing his end, did not pay heed and carried her off.

Seetha was looking on all sides to see whether anyone would come for her resque and saw five monkeys on the top of a hill near the river Pampa and tearing a part of her upper garment, tied her ornaments in it and threw it towards them hoping that they will give it to Rama when he came searching for her. These were Sugriva and his followers hiding in the Rsyamooka hill to escape from Vali. They looked at her and saw what was happening and later Rama heard this from them.

The commentators say that Sugrive looked up and was seen by Seetha and hence he regained his kingdom soon afterwards due to her kataksha which proves that to get the grace of the Lord first one should get the grace of the divine mother.

Ravana was elated in taking her away as he crossed the area of the asrama without opposition not knowing that he was carrying his death in his lap, as though carrying a fierce and poisonous cobra, says Valmiki. `Thaam jahaara susamhrshto raavaNo mrthyum aathmanaH; uthsangenaiva bujageem theekshna dhashtraam mahaavishaam.'

Thus crossing the sea Ravana reached Lanka with Seetha. Valmiki says that the sea was agitated to see the act of Ravana and the waves of the ocean became silent along with the creatures in it. The celestial beings like the siddhas and charanas saw him and predicted his end to happen very soon.