Episode 9 - Anjaneya finds Sita in the Asoka Garden

The brightness of various trees lighted up the whole place. The Asoka Garden was comparable to the Nandana garden of Lord Indra and the Chaitraratham of Kubera, God of Wealth, in its magnificence and splendour. As his search continued, Anjaneya at last found an emaciated lady in old dusty clothes surrounded by Rakshasis. Though she was beautiful, her beauty was masked by lack of nourishment and she looked like a flame of fire surrounded by smoke. She was seated on the floor and was sighing like a deer separated from its clan and surrounded by hounds. Nevertheless, she was pleasant to look at like the moon. Snatched away from her loving husband and terrified by her abductor, the demon king, she was like fame brought down by false rumour.

Though Anjaneya had a little doubt about the identity of the lady at the beginning, he finally decided that she was the very Sita he was looking for, depending upon her appearance and traits. He thought: “Though Sita has been separated from Rama physically, she stands permanently fixed in his heart. Rama is undergoing great suffering for four reasons, viz., by his pity that a woman is lost, by his compassion that a woman dependent on him has been abducted, by sorrow that he has lost his wife and by the pangs of separation attending a lover. Rama and Sita are equally attractive physically and otherwise, and they reside in each other’s heart. Neither can live without the other. Rama is doing the impossible by living, even for a moment, without Sita.” So thinking, Anjaneya was pleased that he was able to find Sita at last and he also thought of Rama in admiration.

Hanuman once again reflected on the noble qualities of Sita and shed tears. He thought: “If a chaste jewel of a woman like Sita, well liked by elders and respected by well-disciplined Lakshmana, is to suffer, fate is insurmountable. Rama has killed 14,000 Rakshasas in Janasthan, besides the Commanders, Khara, Dushana and Trisira, for her sake. He has killed Vali, the Vanara King and installed Sugriva, his brother, on the throne. I have crossed the ocean for her sake. Even if Rama turns the planet earth upside down for the sake of Sita, there is nothing wrong. If there were a comparison between kingship of the three worlds and the possession of Sita, the value of all the worlds would not be equal to 1/16th of the value of Sita, Janaka’s daughter, who rose from the earth on her own, shining. Because of her extraordinary attachment to her husband, Rama, she has accompanied him into the forest, of her own choice, sacrificing the royal life of pleasure. Without any companions except her own husband, she has found happiness only in serving him and sharing his troubles. Golden in colour and always smiling as she speaks, Sita is now undergoing all kinds of unmerited misery. She is thinking only of Rama, unmindful of the Rakshasis or the trees surrounding her and surviving only on the thought of the possibility of meeting Rama. It is true that the husband is the greatest ornament for a woman and without her husband, even Sita lacks lustre.”

“Finding Sita, Rama will feel that he has got back his kingdom. Sita has been encountering all kinds of troubles, one after another, without respite. The beautiful Asoka trees and the shining moon in the star-lit sky only add to the sorrow of Sita pining for her loving husband.”

The moon in his resplendent form and cool rays appeared to be assisting Anjaneya in his mission. Hanuman, again, began to survey the whole scene. The noble lady, Sita, was surrounded by terrible Rakshasis. Some of them had disproportionate and disjointed physical features. Some were physically handicapped with only one eye or only one ear or no ears and so on. Some had very long or very short or crooked limbs. Some had faces like those of pigs, asses, elephants, oxen, horses or camels. They were always drinking and eating meat and their bodies were smeared with blood and particles of flesh. They bore weapons and were seated round the tree, guarding Sita. Amidst the Rakshasis, Sita looked like a star fallen from the sky.

Due to lack of regular bath and change of clothes, Sita did not appear to be shining even as she was shining by her natural beauty. With dark eyes like those of a little deer and dusty clothes, she wore a sad face and yet she was not overwhelmed by misery, knowing Rama’s valour and being protected by her own character. She was exhaling hot airs and appeared to be destroying the trees around. She looked like a bundle of sorrows and a wave of misery. However, Sita was physically in tact and even without any external ornaments, she was shining; and knowing this, Hanuman shed tears of joy and, in his mind, saluted Rama and Lakshmana.

Note: The inevitability of the role of cruel fate even in the lives of the pure is illustrated by the poet.