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Sita's renunciation
"Blessed be your name O Mahasati Sita", shouted the elated mobs, but...... but Sitā was engrossed in her own thoughts. Then, she spoke in a clear voice, " O Rāma, the illustrious descendant of Dasaratha, inspite of being completely innocent, people tarnished my name, and you abandoned me in the dense forest. I blame neither the people nor you. I suffered at Lanka and then at the dense Simhaninada forest, but I do not blame Rāvana or you. The fire that just now declared my purity is nothing compared to fire of your separation. The fire of seperation charred the innermost depths of my being twice. I know, this is the result of my own karmas. We are born, we commit karmas and suffer from them in the next births, and again and again we add to our karmas. How long will this vicious cycle go on ? I am fed of material life and resolved to accept the ascetic vows that will destroy all my karmas and lead me to salvation." Saying this, she uprooted her long hair and handovered them to Rāma.
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Those who witnessed this solemn moment were reminded of the acceptance of asceticism of the great Tirthankaras. They too uproot all their hair and hand it over to Indra, the emperor of the celestial realms.
The awestruck Rama found this too great to endure. He swooned, but before he regained conciousness, Sita had already reached the kevalagyani saint Jayabhūṣaṇa. There, she took the oaths of renounciation and joined the order of a sadhvi named Suprabha, and practiced austerites and penance. When Rāma regained his conciousness, he did not find Sitā around.
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