Sita was the daughter of Janaka, the King of Mithila (modern day Janakpur in Nepal – refer map). Her mother’s name was Sunayana. It was a divine plan to annihilate the Rakshasas (demons or evil forces) that led to her birth in Raja Janaka ’s house. Sita was actually the human incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi (Goddess of Wealth) who is the wife of Lord Vishnu (part of Hindu trinity of Brahma (creator), Vishnu (preserver) and Shiva (destroyer), who incarnated as Shri Ram. Hence the divine couple played the role of being together on the earth as they are in the heavens. The story of Sita’s birth is truly amazing and awe inspiring.

Once upon a time a great famine befell on Janaka ’s kingdom. The subjects were in dire straits and miserable. When the royal priest was consulted, he suggested that the King should conduct a Yagna (a fire sacrifice) and then till the land with a golden plough.

As the King took on the task, he found the plough stuck in the field. No amount of effort would make it move. The earth around the plough was dug out. Lo and behold! A divine baby girl appeared at that spot. Raja Janaka did not have any daughter of his own, so he was overjoyed to find this baby girl. The tip of the plough is called Sita in Sanskrit; hence the baby was named thus. As the daughter of Janaka, she also came to be known as Janaki. Sunayana brought up Sita with a lot of tender care and love. There are many other legends linked to the birth of Sita.

According to one of the tales in the Puranas, the traditional texts of ancient lore, Vedavati, an incarnation of Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth, was observing severe penance in the forest when Ravana beheld her and was captivated by her beauty. He could not resist touching her with his hand, overcome as he was with desire. Vedavati was enraged and cursed him that a woman will be the cause of his death. “In the future, if you ever try to seduce any woman against her wishes, you will be burnt to cinders”, she said. Ravana crept away, hapless. Vedavati used her yogic powers to reduce her own body to ashes. It was she that appeared as Sita from the earth’s depths.

There is yet another legend. Ravana sent a messenger to some sages who were meditating in Dandaka forest and asked them to pay him a tax. The sages declared, all we own is our bodies, the only tax we can give is our blood. They collected the blood from their veins into a ‘matka’ (earthen pot). They sent the matka with a messenger with a word of warning. “This will bring about Ravana’s destruction”.

Their words kindled fear in the heart of Ravana and he sent the pot far, far away, to be buried in the distant land of Mithila in a field. It was from this pot that Vedavati appeared from the land.

When Sita was but a child, she managed to pick up the enormous bow of Shiva in the Mithila armoury. To date, no man or god had been able to move the massive divine bow, which Lord Shiva had used to destroy Tripurasura. Thereafter the bow had been placed in King Janaka ’s armory. When Janaka saw how easily Sita handled the bow with one hand, he decided to search for Sita’s match on the basis of Shiva ’s bow. Any man who can lift this bow will win my Sita’s hand in marriage, he had declared.

On coming of age, Sita’s Swayamwar (ceremony for prospective bridegrooms) was arranged. Mighty warriors like Banasura and Ravana could not even make the bow budge a bit. But young Rama, Prince of Ayodhya, who had arrived with his Guru Vishwamitra, managed to pick the bow with great ease with just one hand. As soon as he picked it up, the bow of Shiva broke into two bits and thus Sita’s hand was given in marriage to Rama.

When Rama was sent to the forest for fourteen years, Sita too followed her husband. In Dandaka forest, when Shoorpanakha tried to convince Rama to marry her, Lakshmana cut her nose and ears off. She ran off to complain to Ravana, her brother and the king of Lanka and reported how asura braves like Khar, Dooshana and Trishara had been decimated along with their armies by Rama and Lakshmana.

To avenge the insult to his sister, Ravana sought the help of Mareech, the man of many miracles. While Sita was alone in the forest, Ravana tricked her and carried her away. But bearing in mind, the curse of Vedavati, he kept Sita in a garden of Ashoka trees in Lanka.

In search of Sita, Rama and Lakshmana met Hanuman and befriended Sugreeva. Hanuman reached Lanka and found Sita. Assisted by Sugreeva, Rama built a bridge over the sea to Lanka and with his vanar sena (monkey army) and crossed over. A mighty battle ensued. Except for Vibheeshan, Ravana ’s brother, who had sought refuge with Rama, the entire clan of Ravana was destroyed in the battle.

This was the reason for the incarnation of Sita. With Rama, Sita returned to Ayodhya.

A washerman’s remark that Rama had accepted Sita even after she had stayed in a strange man’s house stung Rama. As a King, he had to rise above any criticism. Rama sent Lakshmana to abandon Sita in the forest. She was pregnant at that time. She found refuge in the ashram of sage Valmiki, where her twin boys Luv and Kush were born.

When Rama conducted the Ashvamegh Yagna (horse sacrifice) Sage Valmiki sent Luv Kush to narrate the Ramayana he had written, at Rama’s court. When Rama realized that Luv and Kush were his own sons, he called for Sita and asked her to prove her sanctity and purity in the court amidst the crowd. Sita declared, “If I have never thought of any man but Rama, let the earth burst asunder and take me in. suddenly the floor cracked open and seated on a resplendent throne, Sita sank into the earth. The pure character of Sita is an inspiration for all womankind. Her values of being a one-man woman, of sacrifice and virtues make her an ideal in these times when values have become eroded and sacrifice is only become a word in the dictionary.