The Aśoka Vaṭikā, also called the Aśoka Vana (the garden of aśoka trees), is the garden inside Rāvaṇa’s citadel in Laṅkā. Rāvaṇa kept Sītā Devī there as a captive after he carried her away. It was a garden of great beauty. For Sītā it was the saddest place in the world, a golden cage she could not leave.

In the middle of this garden, under a Śiṃśupā tree, Sītā sat in white clothes, thin with grief, watched by hostile rākshasīs. Her devotion to Rāma never failed. Here Hanumān first saw her, here they spoke, and here Sītā stayed untouched when Laṅkā burned around her.

The garden

The Aśoka Vaṭikā was part of Rāvaṇa’s inner palace. It was so beautiful that it was a wonder even among the wonders of Laṅkā. It took its name from the aśoka trees, which stood in bloom. Their flowers were red and bright, and their branches met overhead and made a roof. The garden also held other flowering trees, fruit trees, ponds, streams, swans, deer and birds of every kind. It held pavilions and stone paths. The aśoka trees were always in bloom. Anyone but Sītā would have found it a paradise.

Rāvaṇa placed Sītā in the Aśoka Vana under the guard of rākshasīs. These were female rākshasas of fearful looks. They were set there to stop Sītā from escaping and to win her over to Rāvaṇa, now by coaxing and now by threats.

(Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Sundara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 10; Araṇya Kāṇḍa, Chapter 50.)

Sītā’s condition

Hanumān searched all of Laṅkā through the night. At last he found Sītā in this grove, seated under a single Śiṃśupā tree. She was dressed wholly in white, a sign of mourning and austerity. She was thin and pale and worn out by months of grief and worry. Rākshasīs, guards set by Rāvaṇa, stood around her, and some of them threatened her. In spite of all this she shone. Her beauty and grace, and her nature as a satī (a faithful wife), could be seen plainly even through her grief. The sight of her made Hanumān weep.

The Araṇya Kāṇḍa tells of her sitting beneath a particular aśoka tree, which became the centre of her life as a captive. She thought of Rāma without ceasing.

(Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Sundara Kāṇḍa, Chapters 14–15; Araṇya Kāṇḍa, Chapters 50–51.)

Rāvaṇa’s visits

Rāvaṇa came to the Aśoka Vaṭikā again and again. Each time he pressed Sītā once more, and each time she refused him firmly. He spoke of his own greatness, of the wealth of Laṅkā, and of the honoured life she could have as his queen. He came with all his followers. Women of his household carried lamps and ornaments. He came in the middle of the night, and he tried by turns to win her with soft words and to frighten her with threats.

Sītā met each approach with courage and clear words. She placed a blade of grass between herself and Rāvaṇa as a barrier, and she would not even look at him. The garden that Rāvaṇa meant as a place of pleasure for Sītā became the place of her long and firm refusal.

(Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Sundara Kāṇḍa, Chapters 20–22; Araṇya Kāṇḍa, Chapters 50–51.)

Trijatā’s protection

Among the rākshasīs set to guard Sītā, Trijatā stood out as her protector. When the others threatened and tormented Sītā, Trijatā spoke up for her. Once Sītā was driven to think of ending her own life. Trijatā then told her own dream, which showed Rāma’s victory and Rāvaṇa’s fall. This gave Sītā back her will to go on. For Sītā the Aśoka Vaṭikā was the place of this one friendship among enemies.

(Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Sundara Kāṇḍa, Chapters 26–27.)

The meeting with Hanumān

Under the Śiṃśupā tree in the Aśoka Vaṭikā, Hanumān made himself known to Sītā. All their talk took place in this garden. Hanumān said he was Rāma’s messenger. Sītā doubted him at first. He proved himself with Rāma’s signet ring. They then spoke fully with each other. Hanumān offered to carry her back to Rāma at once, but she did not agree. She gave him the Cūḍāmaṇi as a token. Hanumān came back to the garden for a last meeting after the burning of Laṅkā, and found that she was unharmed.

(Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Sundara Kāṇḍa, Chapters 34–38, 56.)

Unburned in the burning of Laṅkā

Hanumān burned all of Laṅkā. The fire consumed Rāvaṇa’s palaces and all the golden towers of Laṅkā, but it did not touch Sītā. She stayed seated in the Aśoka Vaṭikā under the Śiṃśupā tree. The fire went round the garden and did not enter it. Hanumān was afraid that Sītā might have been burned. When he came back, he found her sitting calmly, unharmed.

(Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Sundara Kāṇḍa, Chapters 54–55.)

Sources

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Sundara Kāṇḍa, Chapters 10–15, 20–22, 26–36, 34–38, 53–56
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Araṇya Kāṇḍa, Chapters 49–51