Chāyā Sītā and the Journey to Laṅkā

In the Rājya Khaṇḍa of the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, a Chāyā Sītā (a shadow form of Sītā) is created to stay in Ayodhyā. The real Sītā makes a secret journey to Laṅkā to destroy the asura Mūlakāsura. In this episode Sītā acts as Mahālakshmī and Devī. She is not the queen waiting in the palace. She is the Devī Śakti who herself destroys adharma (the opposite of dharma), using the Caṇḍikāstra.

Sītā’s viraha

Chapter 5 of the Rājya Khaṇḍa opens with Sītā in viraha, a deep longing, in Ayodhyā. This longing is linked to the rising danger from Mūlakāsura and to Sītā’s knowledge of what she must do. The narrative shows her inner state. She knows she must act. She feels the pain that the act brings. She prepares herself with divine resolve.

Her viraha here is cosmic. It is the longing of the divine Śakti for her own purpose to come into being. The text shows Sītā with deep reverence, as a fully aware divine being who chooses her acts from complete sovereignty.

The creation of Chāyā Sītā

For Sītā’s secret journey to Laṅkā, a Chāyā Sītā was created to stay in Ayodhyā. This was a māyā form (a form made by divine power) that matched the real Sītā in every way, in looks and in nature. It lived in the palace and took part in the life of Rāma-rājya. Bhagavān Rāma and all the people of Ayodhyā saw it as Sītā herself, and they saw no change.

This Chāyā Sītā was made so that Sītā was free to act on her own in her divine role. The Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa shows that Sītā never gave up her sovereignty to the needs of household life. She kept working for the cosmic mission even during Rāma-rājya.

The journey to Laṅkā and the slaying of Mūlakāsura

The real Sītā travelled secretly to Laṅkā. There Mūlakāsura had made himself a lasting centre of adharma. Sītā took up the Caṇḍikāstra, the fierce weapon of Caṇḍikā Devī, and destroyed Mūlakāsura. The Caṇḍikāstra is the right weapon for this work. It carries the aspect of the Devī that destroys what ordinary means cannot destroy. Sītā, as Mahālakshmī Devī, is the one who naturally wields it.

After Mūlakāsura was destroyed, Bhagavān Rāma himself went to Laṅkā to see the result and to honour Sītā’s deed. The episode ends with Bhagavān Rāma’s gift of territories. Śatrughna received Mathurā. Bharata received Gāndhāra. The sons of Lakshmaṇa received Gajāśva and Dhanaratna.

Brahmā’s Sītā Stotra

After Mūlakāsura’s death and Bhagavān Rāma’s visit to Laṅkā, Brahmā appeared. He made a stotra (hymn of praise) of nine ślokas in praise of Sītā. It praises her as Mahālakshmī and honours her own act of cosmic destruction. This hymn is called the Brahma-Kṛta Sītā Stotra, “the Sītā Stotra made by Brahmā”. It comes in Chapter 6 and declares Sītā’s divine sovereignty in the words of the Creator.

Sources

• Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Rājya Khaṇḍa, Chapter 5 (Sītā’s viraha and the creation of Chāyā Sītā)
• Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Rājya Khaṇḍa, Chapter 6 (the journey to Laṅkā, the slaying of Mūlakāsura, the gift of territories, and Brahmā’s Sītā Stotra)