Vedavatī at Kurukshetra

Chapter 16 of the Saro Māhātmya in the Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa tells a short but important account of the Vedavatī tīrtha in the pilgrimage circuit of Kurukshetra. Vedavatī was a great tapasvinī (a woman of tapas, austerity) who practised at this place. Rāvaṇa seized her by the hair, and she gave up her body. She was born again as Sītā, daughter of King Janaka and wife of Bhagavān Rāma. The tīrtha that bears her name gives the fruit of a kanyā-yajña and paramapada to those who bathe there.

The Vedavatī tīrtha in the Kurukshetra pilgrimage

The Vedavatī tīrtha lies on the bank of the Sarasvatī, within Kurukshetra. Chapter 16 lists it in the unbroken run of sacred places that a pilgrim (yātrī) meets while going through the circuit. It is called mahimopeta (full of greatness) and it stands near the Śrīkuñja tīrtha on the Sarasvatī.

Vedavatī’s tapas and Rāvaṇa’s wrong

Vedavatī was a great tapasvinī. She did fierce sādhanā (spiritual practice) at Kurukshetra. She had given up all worldly attachment and gave herself fully to her practice. Rāvaṇa, king of the rākshasas, came upon her and was overcome by desire. He seized her by the hair. This was a grave offence against a woman of tapas.

Vedavatī was overcome with sorrow (śoka). She did not stay in a body that the rākshasa king’s rough hands had touched. She performed śarīra-tyāga, the giving up of her body.

Rebirth as Sītā

After she gave up her body at Kurukshetra, Vedavatī was born again as Sītā, daughter of King Janaka and wife of Bhagavān Rāma. The Saro Māhātmya says this directly. She was born with the name Sītā, as the daughter of Janaka (janakasya kanyā), and became known as the wife of Rāma (rāma-patnī).

In this second life, Rāvaṇa kidnapped Sītā, who is called here a patīvratā (a wife of perfect fidelity). Bhagavān Rāma went after him, fought him and slew him. He then made Vibhīshaṇa lord of Laṅkā and brought Sītā back to his home.

The Saro Māhātmya thus shows Vedavatī’s death at Kurukshetra and her rebirth as Sītā as one unbroken act of tapas and sacrifice, which led to the end of Rāvaṇa.

The Vedavatī of the Hāṭakeśvara narrative

The Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 37 to 40, speaks of another Vedavatī, the daughter of Parjanya, who was married at the Hāṭakeśvara gathering. She is a different person from the Vedavatī of Chapter 16.

The fruit of bathing at the Vedavatī tīrtha

The phalaśruti (statement of results) says that those who bathe at the Vedavatī tīrtha on the Sarasvatī bank at Kurukshetra will have all their pāpa (sin) removed. They will gain the fruit of a kanyā-yajña, a yajña that honours the feminine principle. They will reach paramapada, the highest state of moksha (liberation).

Sources

• Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa, Saro Māhātmya, Chapter 16
• Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 37 to 40 (the other Vedavatī, daughter of Parjanya)