Hari Om.
Let us begin the forty fourth sarga of the araNya kAnDam by offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
Having sent rAma to fetch the stunning golden deer and then sent lakshmaNa in response to a deceitful scheme, the gullible sItA was all by herself in the hermitage. She was distraught at the thought of possible danger to rAma in that treacherous forest. She was hoping, aided by lakshmaNa her husband rAma should be back soon. And in the meanwhile, with his scheme working in clock like perfection, the demon king rAvaNa, with his mind bent upon forcibly abducting sItA entered the hermitage in the guise of a wandering recluse. Guise of the form rarely can guise the mind and so he began to extol the peerless beauty of sItA unreservedly. She had no suspicion since the one who came seemed an ochre robed ascetic and she took him at face value and offered him hospitality due to a guest. He peppered her with questions that included what someone as beautiful as her is doing in this forest. She was somewhat hesitant and looked out for rAma and lakshmaNa but saw none of them and instead the green cover of the forests. Onwards…
As rAvaNa asked a range of questions about her, with an intention to abduct her, sItA thought in her mind that being a guest and a brAhmin, it may be inappropriate not to answer him and in doing so she might even incur his wrath. These thoughts ran in her mind for a while and then she began to answer –
“O best of brAhmins, I am the daughter of king janaka, the king of mithilA, my name sItA and I am the wife of rAma. I have been in the clan of ikshvAkus as rAma’s wife for twelve years and enjoyed every kind of luxury that mortals can enjoy. Then in the thirteenth year, the king daSaratha invited the council of tributary kings and other ministers and after consulting them decided to coronate rAma. Everyone approved of it and the consecration was to take place when his wife kaikEyI asked two boons of my father-in-law who was steadfast in observing his vow. One boon was the exile of my husband rAma and the second was the coronation of bharata. My father-in-law offered her riches in place of these two boons but she wouldn’t budge. She threatened to go hungry until death if the king didn’t honor her wishes. At that time my husband was twenty five and I was all of eighteen.
मम भर्तामहातेजा वयसा पञ्चविंशकः।।3.47.10।।
अष्टादश हि वर्षाणि मम जन्मनि गण्यते।
My husband goes by the name rAma in the whole world. He is a repository of virtues, truthful, pure, large eyed, mighty and ever engaged in the welfare of all beings.
रामेति प्रथितो लोके गुणवान्सत्यवान्शुचिः।।3.47.11।।
विशालाक्षो महाबाहुस्सर्वभूतहिते रतः।
The great king daSaratha, overcome by passion towards kaikEyI and to please her didn’t consecrate rAma. When rAma approached his father regarding the coronation, it was kaikEyI who firmly asked my husband to go to the forest for fourteen years and give away the kingdom to bharata and in doing so she said, rAma should ensure the king’s promise is kept and the blemish of untruth doesn’t get to him. My husband, a fearless man of firm vows, just said be it so and started out for the forest.
दद्यान्न प्रतिगृह्णीयात्सत्यं ब्रूयान्न चानृतम्।।3.47.17।।
एतद्ब्राह्मण रामस्य ध्रृवं व्रतमनुत्तमम्।
Always giving and never receiving and always speaking truth and never untruth is the principle by which rAma lives, O brAhmin. His brother, the son of the second mother, lakshmaNa, valorous, slayer of the enemies, followed him and is his companion. Wearing matted locks, the duo, ever righteous along with me set out to the danDaka forest. Thus, the three of us, for the sake of kaikEyI were exiled and have been roaming the deep forests.
Rest a while, O brAhmin, my husband must be coming back soon from the forest having hunted many a deer and boar with variety of meat. What is your name, lineage and what clan do you belong to. Tell me the reason why you are roaming the danDaka forests all by yourself”.
Asked thus by the wife of rAma, the demon king rAvaNa began to answer.
“By whom have the worlds along with gods, humans and demons have been tormented, O sItA, I am that rAvaNa, the lord of the demons. O unblemished one, having seen your golden complexion adorning the silk garments, I have lost interest in my wives. In my city lanka, an island in the middle of the ocean, perched on top of a mountain, I have plenty of great women as my wives whom I have brought from various places as prized possessions. You join them as the best among them. O sItA, served by five thousand servants, fully bedecked with jewels, you can revel in that lanka and roam the gardens with me, if you become my wife. The hardships of the life in forest won’t even be remembered”.
Spoken to thus by rAvaNa, sItA seethed with anger and with rank indifference to the demon reviled him –
“I am the devout follower and consort of that rAma, who is unshakeable as the mighty mountain and unperturbed like the vast ocean. That rAma mighty like indra is my husband.
I am the devout follower and consort of that adorable rAma, who is the repository of virtues, who provides shelter to all like the banyan tree, who is ever established in truth.
I am the devout follower and consort of that rAma, who is mighty armed, broad-chested, has the glorious gait of the lion, lion among men and valorous like a lion.
I am the devout follower and consort of that rAma, whose countenance is like that of the full moon, who is a prince, is self-restrained and whose fame is unrivalled in the world.
महागिरिमिवाकम्प्यम् महेन्द्रसदृशं पतिम् ।
महोदधिमिवाक्षोभ्यम् अहं राममनुव्रता ॥
सर्वलक्षणसम्पन्नम् न्यग्रोधपरिमण्डलम् ।
सत्यसन्धं महाभागम् अहं राममनुव्रता ॥
महाबाहुं महोरस्कम् सिंहविक्रान्तगामिनम् ।
नृसिंहं सिंहसङ्काशम् अहं राममनुव्रता ॥
पूर्णचन्द्राननं रामम् राजवत्सं जितेन्द्रियम् ।
पृथुकीर्तिं महात्मानम् अहं राममनुव्रता ॥
And you jackal, how dare you desire me, a lioness! I cannot be touched by you just like you cannot dare touch the glowing radiance of the Sun. You are desiring the beloved wife of rAma, but you have run out of your luck and are surely hallucinating about the golden trees that those whose end is near see. You are trying to pick fangs from the mouth of a hungry lion or a venomous serpent. You are trying to hurt the giant mountain mandara with your hand, you are trying to be peaceful and alive having consumed the most dreaded poison!
You want to violate the beloved wife of rAghava, it is like you are poking your eye with a needle, you are licking a sharp knife with your tongue, you are trying to swim the ocean with stones tied around your neck, you are attempting to capture the sun and the moon with your bare hands. One who desires the most auspicious consort of rAma is trying to catch the blazing fire with his clothes. You are trying to walk on sharp pointed spears by desiring for the befitting wife of rAma.
And listen, the difference that exists between a jackal and a lion, a tributary of a river and an ocean, a rotten gruel and fine fermented wine, the same difference exists between you and rAma.
The difference that exists between pure gold and lead, between fragrant sandal and mud, between an elephant and a cat, the same difference exists between dAsarathI (rAma) and you.
The difference that exists between garuDa and a crow, between a peacock and a crane, between a swan and vulture, the same difference exists between daSarathI (rAma) and you.
As rAma, equal to indra in valor, stands with his bow and arrow, even you abduct me, I won’t be assimilated by you just like a mosquito cannot assimilate clarified butter”!
Thus sItA, pure in her feelings, blasted the nocturn with wicked and crooked intentions. Her body shook in outrage like the plantain leaf shakes in the assault of the wind. Beholding the frightened sItA, the death-like rAvaNa began to frighten her even more by revealing his name, clan and his exploits.
Here we conclude the forty fourth sarga of the araNya kAnDam of SrImath vAlmiKi rAmAyaNam and humbly offer it at the lotus feet of SrIrAma. Hari: Om!
jAi SrIrAma.
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Next: 3.48. sItA warns the ten-headed braggart
Previous: 3.46. rAvaNa’s endgame begins…
rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 
