Pain of being RAM and SITA

Avatar like Ram and Sita were necessary to provide human status to Vaanars, then treated as animals, and reduce atrocities on females by abolishing draconian law having religious sanctity, like Agni Pariksha, which were used to prove chastity of females, in which females sometimes died.

Shri Ram and Devi Sita were incarnation of Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi respectively. They came on this earth at a very critical time, when Hindu Dharm was threatened by sheer magnitude of quantum of Adharm. Vaanars were treated as animals, although they have developed through the process of evolution. The then developed world (or Kingdoms, as one would like to call them; read Hindu History..Start of a New Kalp) refused to recognize them as Humans in spite of Lord Parashuram’s fierce combats, and punishments.

Females were most shabbily treated and exploited by the Kingdoms. Any male who wanted to get rid of his wife has to charge his wife with adultery and the then so called Dharm (or Adharm?)would take care of the rest. She would be forced to pass the dreadful Agni Pariksha test where she would usually die. On the other hand Rakshas, being Human flesh eaters, were causing havoc in the forest, where Rishis and these Vaanars dwelled.

We all know that Lord Vishnu COMES on this earth to correct the Adharm excesses, as and when Adharm reaches gigantic proportion and becomes unmanageable.

However this is not always without pain. If one reads Ramayan, one could feel the pain, which must have been felt, by both Shri Ram and Mata Sita, during their journey through this earth.

Shri Ram was banished for fourteen years and Mata Sita accompanied him. Whether the banishment was engineered by Shri Ram could be debatable, but the pain that followed was certainly NOT. Staying in forest for a Prince and a Princess for 14 years is painful by any standard. And then the regular fight with Rakshas. And, finally the abduction of Mata Sita; As if this was not enough, the pain of watching Sita tormented by Agni Pariksha, and then disownment of pregnant Sita, after she came back to Ayodhya and became Queen of Ayodhya.

Ramayan is full of pain for both Ram and Sita. Yet we have not appreciated their sufferings and pain for Humanity. We simply remember them by burning the effigy of Ravan during Dusshera, and also remember them, as and when we need their blessings. However apart from all the pain they got in their life time the new pain that they are getting is much more serious.

People of Kalyug are not appreciating that the pain they suffered was to establish Dharm, and Dharm can only be established by providing examples. Both Shri Ram and Mata Sita were not allowed to say that they were incarnation of Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi, they were supposed to act and behave as normal human being, which they did. The establishment of Dharm or abolition of Adharm was only carried out by them by their exemplary behavior.

People tend to forget that after the disfiguring of Surpnakha, Ravan was bound to fight with Ram even if Sita was not abducted. But after the abduction of Sita, the existing maryada was such that Ram was forced to ask for Agni Pariksha, although he was there to abolish Agni Pariksha.

Let us summarize the sequence of events:

The first thing one would notice is that a new Kalp had started with Satya Yug. There were some people whose several generations have sailed over water and had entered this new Yug. Others were evolving through the process of evolution like Vaanars. It was early time for human development.

There were certain draconian laws and tests, which existing at those times. Some such laws/tests were not followed by general public, but they nevertheless became religious belief and were considered noblest as everyone could not follow them. Agni pariksha was one such test. People and religious leaders were forcing females, charged with adultery to take this test, in which such females would invariably die. Since the belief had become religious, it was important to abolish it, and abolish it in such a way, that people of all time to come should remember this. For this a very powerful and highly respectable person was needed. And what better person than Chakravarti Samraat Shri Ram, who, also established RAMRAJYA.

MY humble submission is that Hindus by and large are afraid to accept Shri Ram as human incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Once we accept Shri Ram as Avatar, who came on this earth for establishing Dharm, all important events in which he was involved, as human, would provide a Dharm. We will then have no problem in accepting that Shri Ram and Mata Sita were performing LEELA.

Now how did Ram abolish Agni Pariksha as an ADHARM?

Agni pariksha at that time was the finest and noblest Maryada(or tradition) to determine the chastity of a woman. Now how could Ram declare this as Adharm? As victorious army chief he asked Sita for Agni pariksha, but as soon as he became King, he decided the ALLEGED VOLUNTARY stay of Sita at Raven’s place on the basis of physical evidence only, and after, declaring Agni Pariksha as ADHARM(read : AGNI PARIKSHA OF SITA ....FACTS).

Mata Sita was disowned by Shri Ram, so that females never ever have to suffer the fear and pain of dreadful Agni Pariksha.