Sītātīrtha (Gautamī)

Sītātīrtha · sītā-tīrtha, “the tīrtha of Sītā”

Sītātīrtha is a tīrtha on the Gautamī (the Godāvarī), named after Sītā, the wife of Śrī Rāma. It is one of the tīrthas that arose when Śrī Rāma, with Sītā and Lakshmaṇa, came to the Gautamī during his exile and freed his father Daśaratha from naraka. Brahmā tells Nārada of it in the Gautamī Māhātmya of the Brahma Purāṇa: the place where Lakshmaṇa bathed and worshipped Śaṅkara became Lakshmaṇatīrtha, “and so also is the case of Sītātīrtha”. It is able to dispel pāpas of many kinds entirely.

The setting

Brahmā tells Nārada that King Daśaratha suffered in naraka for the deaths of three brāhmaṇas, and that when Śrī Rāma came near the Gautamī, Yama had the king drawn out. Rāma, Lakshmaṇa and Jānakī (Sītā) bathed in the Gautamī. Daśaratha came to them in a body of torment and told them of his three pāpas, and, remembering all that had befallen them, Rāma fell to the ground unconscious.

Then Sītā spoke: “Noble ones do not lament when sorrow comes; they think of remedies, divine or human. Give me the first of these pāpas, and I shall perform its prāyaścitta (expiation) as the śāstras direct. Let Lakshmaṇa take the second, and you the third.” Both brothers said, “So be it.” Daśaratha answered: “You are the daughter of Janaka, the knower of Brahman, not born of any mortal womb, and the wife of Rāma; no wonder you speak so fittingly. But you need not bear any strain. By the bath, the dāna and the offering of piṇḍas at the Gautamī I shall be freed. Women of noble family carry one across the ocean of saṃsāra.”

Śrī Rāma offered his father a piṇḍa of iṅgudī oil-cake, and Daśaratha, freed from the three pāpas, rose to svarga among the devas. Rāma installed Maheśvara and praised him, and Bhagavān Śiva granted his varas; that tīrtha became Rāmatīrtha. Around it the other tīrthas of the account took their names: Śavatīrtha, where the body fell; Bāṇatīrtha, where the arrow fell from the hand of Lakshmaṇa; Lakshmaṇatīrtha, where Lakshmaṇa bathed and worshipped Śaṅkara; and Sītātīrtha.

Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 53

The tīrtha and its phala

As Lakshmaṇatīrtha bears Lakshmaṇa‘s name, so Sītātīrtha bears Sītā‘s. The Purāṇa says it is able to dispel pāpas of many kinds entirely.

Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 53

Sources

• Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 53