If the Lord and His consort have enacted the entire Ramayana to relieve the celestial beings and the world of the fear of Ravana, it is also true that they stage many inset plays in the course of their incarnation for specific purposes.
One such crucial enactment takes place after the killing of Ravana, when everyone looks forward to the reunion of Rama with Sita, pointed out Sri R. Krishnamurthy Sastrigal in a lecture. Valmiki says that Rama goes into deep meditation for a while and there is a visible transformation in His demeanour. Rama orders Vibhishana to bring Sita to their presence. Sita, who is joyous at Rama’s victory and is eager to meet Him without any further delay, is asked to wear auspicious clothes and jewellery. Though she wishes to see Rama in the state of penance she had upheld during the period of separation, she accedes to Rama’s wishes. But when she enters His presence, she is alarmed to see Rama’s stern face.
The entire atmosphere is charged with an air of uneasy fear that creates an uncomfortable distance between Rama and those such as Lakshmana and Hanuman, who are devoted to Him at all times. Rama casts aspersions on Sita who has already suffered much. He says: “I fought to establish my greatness and save you. I cannot accept you. You may go wherever you want.” Sita rises in her dignity and poses sharp questions to Rama, but finding that He is immovable in His stance, she asks Lakshmana to light a fire into which she enters. Agni cannot match her fire of chastity and gives her back to Rama unharmed.
Rama enacts this drama along with Sita to show to the world that virtue has to fight for space and recognition amid the ubiquitous prevalence of vice. Rama foresees the tendencies and reactions of the human mind that might question the truth of Sita’s purity and chastity and finds the way to protect Sita from any ignominy henceforth. The Vedantic standpoint that meditation alone can reveal the Supreme Truth sans Maya is reinforced.
