Jain Journal 1970 10

Author(s): Jain Bhawan Publication
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 41

OCTOBER, 1970
85
was advised by his mother to give up resistance and seek Ravana's help. So the city fell and Rama and Laksmana entered it in triumph. Viradhita was crowned king of the city. But Rama was restless.
Meanwhile Ravana was trying his best to win over Sita but Sita would listen to nothing. He employed his first queen Mandodari to pacify Sita and win her over to him. Mandodari tried her best, sometimes extolling Ravana in superlative terms and sometimes threatening to strangle her if she did not accede. Even this failed. When Ravana appeared in person, Sita asked him to seek protection at Rama's feet. This enraged the mighty king and threats were intensified to terrorise Sita into submission. When Vibhisana came to know of all this he came to Sita and spoke words of consolation.
Vibhisana asked Sita all about herself. “Say, ye beautiful lady, wherefrom have you been brought here and why do ye weep ? Who may be your husband and who your father-in-law or brother-in-law ? How is it that you are picked up alone from the forest ? And what induced you to come to the forest ?' Sita heard these words and discovered in Vibhisana a friend and a well-wisher. She revealed her identity and narrated the whole episode.
Vibhisana now approached Ravana with a request to release and return Sita. This enraged Ravana still more.
Ravana now personally tried to tempt Sita. One day he lifted her up in his air-chariot to give her an aerial view of Lanka and to impress upon her his own affluence and strength. But Sita was not to be won over in any way. In disgust Ravana gave up all his efforts.
But Ravana was restless in his passion. He was getting thin every day. This worried his ministers who built a magic fortress round Lanka in the form of Asali vidyā as a safety measure.
Here ends the Ayodhyā-kānda.
To be continued