Sītā Kuṇḍa (Rāmasetu)

Sītā Kuṇḍa is a sacred kuṇḍa (pool) in the Setu-kshetra at Rāmasetu. Sītā Devī herself made it. Here Indra was freed from the brahmahatyā (the pāpa of killing a brāhmaṇa) that he took on by slaying the rākshasa Kapālābharaṇa.

Origin: Indra and Kapālābharaṇa

The pool began with an episode in which Indra slew a rākshasa named Kapālābharaṇa in battle. Kapālābharaṇa had the form of a rākshasa and threatened the order of the worlds. But he was really a brāhmaṇa who had been cursed and had taken birth as a rākshasa. When Indra killed him, Indra took on brahmahatyā without knowing it. This is the gravest of all pāpas. Weighed down by it, Indra looked for refuge and a way to atone.

Sītā’s act of compassion

Sītā Devī herself took pity on Indra and acted to lift his brahmahatyā. For this purpose she made a kuṇḍa in the Setu-kshetra. When Indra bathed in the kuṇḍa that Sītā had made, he was completely freed from the pāpa of brahmahatyā. Since then the pool has been called Sītā Kuṇḍa. She made it to free the king of the devas from his pāpa.

Merit of bathing here

Bathing in Sītā Kuṇḍa fulfils all kāmanās (desires). It gives tṛpti (satisfaction) to both the pitṛs (ancestors) and the devas. The tīrtha has the power to free devotees from brahmahatyā and other grave pāpas.

Sources

• Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Brahma Khaṇḍa, Setu Māhātmya, Chapter 11