06 Feb 2005
[In the Valmiki Ramayana, after the war, Rama asks Sita to marry Bharata or Vibhishana and become the queen. Rama also left Sita later on, when some fellow said that Sita was characterless. Is this justified on the part of Lord Rama?]
You people can never understand the Lord. You are viewing Lord Rama as an ordinary human being. You are prejudiced because you are a lady [the questioner was a lady] and you are sympathizing Sita. But if you analyze carefully, Rama showed a favor to Sita in these two incidents. If you read the Sundara Kanda chapter of the same Valmiki Ramayana, Sita says to Rama “O Rama! You will go to Ayodhya and you will marry several ladies since you are the king. But I will die here in your memory” (Piturnidesam…). Sita committed a sin by abusing the Lord by her words. [Lord Rama had sworn to not take any other woman as His wife. He was most faithful to His wife Sita. Yet Sita implied that He was unfaithful]. That sin was washed away by Rama by telling her that she should marry Bharata or Vibhishana and become the queen.
In the Aranya Kanda chapter, when the Lord Rama killed the golden deer, the demon Mareecha cried for help imitating Rama’s voice. [Sita thought that Rama was in danger and asked Lakshamana to go and help. Lakshmana was aware that it was a trick of Mareecha and refused to go. He insisted on staying by her side, for her protection, as ordered by Rama]. Then Sita scolded Lakshmana as a characterless person, who was attracted to her. [In saying so, she had abused Lakshmana, who was most pure]. Abusing a devotee of God is a greater sin (Bhaagavata Apachara) than abusing the Lord (Bhagavat Apachara). Therefore a similar blame on Sita was thrown by the washerman and Sita was punished for that blame. This happened by the will of the Lord. Since Sita was punished here itself for her sins, she could go directly to Vaikuntha without having to go to hell for her sins. Sita was the incarnation of Maha Lakshmi and so it would not look proper if she went to hell. Rama cleared her file [of Karma; sins] here itself, so that she could go to Vaikuntha directly.