Jain Journal 1971 01

SR No.: 520021
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Jain Bhawan Publication
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication
Publication Year: 1971
Total Pages: 54
Language: English
Classification: Magazine, India_Jain Journal, & India
File Size: 3 MB

Page 37

JANUARY, 1971
I know full well, I understand, Sita is flaw-less But, alas! in the face of public wrath am I helpless, So have I arrived at decision aforesaid, by becoming a rock Discard I Sita to uphold the honour of the racial stock. (p. 50)
The rest of the story is, as it should be: Sita is carried in a chariot and left in a dense forest on the other bank of the Ganges, her spirited message to Rama as conveyed through the charioteer, General Kritanta mukha, Sita's taking shelter with Vajrajangha, Rama's visit to the place where Sita was left and his heart-breaking repentence, birth of Sita's twins, Lavanankusa, marriage of Lavana in the same household, trouble over the marriage of Ankusa when the king of Prithvipura refused the hand of her ward to one whose line is not known, the revelation of the line by Narada who arrives on the spot, the determination of two brothers to take revenge against Rama for the wrong done to their mother, the fight, ultimate reconciliation as effected by Narada, reunion and the fire-ordeal. Sita's speech on the occasion is the eternal voice of chastity which has been held high in any part of civilised society. The work ends with a postscript in Canto eight which is the poet's own words about the composition of the work and is not strictly relevant to the theme of Sita's ordeal.
131
The Jaina tradition recognises no incarnation of god-head since this tradition identifies no godhead as such. But the way Rama has been portrayed through Acarya Tulasi's pen, he has been just and fair to him, much more fair than Bhavabhuti on the one hand, and westerners like T. H. Griffith on the other. What Rama did was a harsh duty as a king, though in doing so, as a husband and human being, he exposed himself to the greatest anguish and repentence for his own self. In the poet's words:
But Raghava's heart was filled with upheaval great The heaven was rolling above and the earth was
rolling below. (p. 47)
This is just human. Rama's visit to the place where Sita was discarded at his command and the impact it had on his heart are described more vividly in this work than anywhere else. He fells down in a swoon; his mind is wholly unsettled; he is in utter despair. Unable to bear the pang of separation says Rama:
Bring her soon here, Sita is truly chaste
Whatever the people may say, I won't listen to any one. (p. 155)