Sītā and Rāma (Devī Bhāgavata)
The Devī Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa tells the story of Rāma and Sītā in Skanda 3, Chapters 28 to 30. It follows the main course of the Rāmāyaṇa. It adds that Sītā is a portion of Ramā (Mahālakshmī), that Indra came in disguise to feed Sītā in Laṅkā, and that Rāma kept the Navarātri pūjā of Śrī Devī at Kishkindhā before the war and received her blessing of victory.
Sītā as a portion of Ramā
The account begins with Janamejaya asking Vyāsa about Rāma and Sītā in connection with the worship of Devī. Vyāsa says that Sītā was no ordinary being. She is called ramāṃśa-sañjātā, born from the aṃśa (divine portion) of Ramā, that is, Śrī Mahālakshmī herself. The name Jānakī (Janaka’s daughter) points only to her human parentage. In her own nature she is Lakshmī’s own śakti come down to earth.
Nārada confirms this. In a former life Sītā was a ṛshi-kanyā (a ṛshi’s daughter) who did great tapas with the aim of being born as a portion of Lakshmī and becoming the wife of Vishṇu’s avatāra on earth. Janaka found her while ploughing the earth. This was itself the fruit of her earlier tapas, and her coming out of the earth shows the link between Bhūdevī (Earth Devī) and Lakshmī. (Skanda 3, Chapter 28)
The Rāmāyaṇa in outline
Ayodhyā and the exile. King Daśaratha had four sons: Rāma, son of Kausalyā; Bharata, son of Kaikeyī; and Lakshmaṇa and Śatrughna, sons of Sumitrā. They are described in their royal youth. Viśvāmitra came and took Rāma and Lakshmaṇa to guard his yajña from the rākshasas Tāṭakā and Mārīca. The boys went on to Mithilā. There Rāma broke Śiva’s bow at the svayaṃvara, won Sītā as his wife, and all four brothers were married. Later Kaikeyī’s boons sent Rāma into fourteen years of exile in the forest, and Bharata ruled with Rāma’s sandals in his place.
Forest life and the deer. In the Daṇḍakāraṇya, Rāma and Sītā lived peacefully with Lakshmaṇa. Mārīca came in the form of a golden deer (kañcana-mṛga) and drew Rāma away. Sītā, charmed by the golden deer’s beauty, insisted that Rāma chase it. Mārīca then called out in Rāma’s voice, and Sītā sent Lakshmaṇa after him. (Skanda 3, Chapter 28)
Sītā’s refusal and the abduction
Rāvaṇa came in the disguise of an ascetic. Sītā was alone in the parṇaśālā (leaf hut), and she faced him without fear. She said to him: “O Paulastya! Why do you speak such shameful words, drunk with desire? I am not a kulaṭā. I was born in Janaka’s noble line. Daśamukha, go back to Laṅkā. If you do not, Rāma will slay you. Perhaps your death is written because of me.”
Saying this, she moved toward the sacred fire inside the hut. Rāvaṇa then took his rākshasa form and seized the frightened Sītā, who cried again and again, “O Rāma! O Lakshmaṇa!” He put her in his chariot and flew towards Laṅkā. The old vulture-king Jaṭāyu met Rāvaṇa on the way. A fierce fight followed, but Rāvaṇa killed Jaṭāyu and took Sītā to Laṅkā. He placed her under the Aśoka tree, guarded by rākshasī women. (Skanda 3, Chapter 29)
Indra brings food to Sītā
This account has one element not found everywhere: Indra comes to help Sītā in her captivity in Laṅkā. The rākshasī guards watched her, and many threats and pleas were used to break her will, yet Sītā stayed firm in her purity and in her love for Rāma.
The Devī Bhāgavata says that Indra felt pity for Janaka’s daughter, a portion of Lakshmī, who was suffering so much. He came in the form of an old man (vṛddha) and gave her food. This kindness of Indra kept Sītā alive in body. Her own tapas-śakti and the strength of her loyalty to her husband (pātivratya-bala) kept her alive in spirit through the long years of captivity. (Skanda 3, Chapter 29)
Rāma’s search and the friendship with Sugrīva
Rāma and Lakshmaṇa found Sītā gone, and the dying Jaṭāyu told them the truth. They went south. Kabandha was killed by Rāma’s arrow and was freed from his śāpa (a curse). At Kishkindhā, on Kabandha’s advice, Rāma made friends with Sugrīva, slew Vāli and made Sugrīva king of the vānaras. Hanumān was sent to search for Sītā and found her in Laṅkā. The great army of vānaras gathered. (Skanda 3, Chapter 29)
Rāma’s Navarātri pūjā to Devī
The Devī Bhāgavata’s account of the Śāradīya Navarātri is the most important part of its Rāmāyaṇa. This is the autumn nine-night pūjā of Devī, kept by Rāma before he crossed to Laṅkā for the final war.
At Kishkindhā, once the vānara army had gathered, Nārada came to Rāma and told him that the time of the Śāradīya Navarātri was near. Nārada said: “O Rāghava, worship Devī in the nine holy nights. Parāśakti is the source of all power, including your own. She who gave the Trimūrti their śaktis will give you victory over Rāvaṇa if you honour her with devotion.”
Rāma carried out the whole Navarātri pūjā with vidhi (the proper rules). He fasted, prayed, offered flowers, performed homa and meditated on Devī’s form, with full śraddhā and bhakti through the nine nights. On the tenth day, Vijaya-daśamī, Śrī Devī was so pleased with Rāma’s pūjā that she appeared before him and gave him the vara of victory. She gave him the instructions and the divine weapons (divya-astras) he needed to defeat Rāvaṇa.
So it was Devī’s own blessing, won through the Navarātri pūjā, that gave Rāma his strength in the war. The bridge (setu) was built across the ocean, Laṅkā was reached, and in the great battle Rāma slew Rāvaṇa. Sītā was won back, her purity was tested by fire, and she was reunited with Rāma. (Skanda 3, Chapter 30)
Devī’s grace in the Rāmāyaṇa
In the Devī Bhāgavata, Rāma’s whole victory is credited to the grace of Śrī Devī, gained through the devotion of Navarātri. This account comes in Skanda 3 straight after the chapters on the Navarātri vidhi (Chapters 26 and 27). The Devī Bhāgavata also holds that Sītā, as a portion of Lakshmī, is part of Devī’s own manifestation. In this way the Rāmāyaṇa shows Devī’s śakti working through Rāma, the devotee and warrior, and through Sītā, the śakti come down to earth.
Sources
- Devī Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, Skanda 3, Chapters 28 to 30