Chapter 48 - Sita’s Lamentations

Seeing her lord lying on the earth as also the valiant Lakshmana, Sita, in the grief that overwhelmed her, gave voice to her complaint, saying:—

“The soothsayers, reading the lineaments of my body, prophesized thus:—

‘You shaft bear sons and never be widowed!’—now that Rama has been slain, their words have proved to be untrue I Since Rama is slain, those who predicted that I should be the companion and consort of the performer of great sacrifices, have uttered a falsehood! Now that Rama has been slain, those soothsayers, who told me I should be highly honoured by the wives of warriors and kings, are proved not to have spoken truly! Now that Rama has been slain, the astrologers among the brahmins, who openly foretold happiness for me, are proved to have spoken falsely!

“Yet I bear the marks of the lotus on my feet by which high-born women receive the supreme consecration with their lords at their coronation nor do I find in myself any marks of ill-fortune which betoken widowhood in those who are ill-starred, yet all the auspicious signs appear to be rendered void for me! These marks of the lotus, said to be of good augury by the Pundits, have no meaning for me, now that Rama is slain!

“My locks are fine, of even length and dark, my eyebrows meet, my legs are round and smooth, my teeth evenly separated, the comers of my eyes are shaped like the conch, my breasts, hands, feet and thighs well proportioned, my nails smooth and polished, my fingers well-shaped, my breasts touch each other and have depressed nipples, my navel too is deeply indented, my bosom well-formed, my complexion has the sheen of a pearl, the down on my skin is soft. It is said I possess the twelve auspicious signs: my feet and hands are without hollows and marked with the barley corn and my smile is langorous. Thus did those, who interpret the marks of youthful maidens, speak of me.

“Having purified Janasthana, received the tidings of my fate and crossed the impassable ocean, those two brothers have perished in the imprint of a cow’s hoof. Did they not recollect (that they possessed) the arrows of Varuna, Agni, Indra and Vayu, as also the Brahmashira weapon?

“By means of magic arts, an invisible foe has slain those two, Rama and Lakshmana, my protectors, who are equal to Vasava in combat and I am now bereft of any support. Nay, if he had come into Rama’s presence, he would not have returned alive even were he possessed of the swiftness of thought but since Rama and his brother are lying struck down on the battlefield, there is no burden too heavy for death to shoulder! Fate is inexorable. I do not weep so much for Rama and Lakshmana or for myself or my mother but for my unfortunate mother-in-law, Kaushalya, who dwells constantly on her son’s return after fulfilling his vows, she who asks herself, ‘When shall I behold Lakshmana and Sita with Raghava once more?’”

Thus did Janaki lament and Trijata said to her:—“Do not despair, O Goddess, your lord lives! I will tell you what powerful considerations have convinced me that those two brothers, Rama and Lakshmana still live, O Queen. They are, that resolution and martial ardour do not animate the faces of soldiers who have lost their leader, neither would the celestial car, Pushpaka, have brought you hither, O Vaidehi, if those two heroes had succumbed. An army that sees its valiant commander fall is bereft of courage and wanders aimlessly about on the battlefield like a ship which has lost its rudder. Yet there is neither confusion nor disorder among the intrepid forces that mount guard over the two Kakutsthas. I am pointing this out to you on account of mine affection for you. These auspicious omens should re-assure you fully, for know well, the two Kakutsthas are not dead, I hasten to tell you this out of love for you.

“I have never spoken what is not true to you nor shall I ever do so, O Maithili, for by your conduct and natural gaiety you have found a place in my heart! Nay, those two warriors are not able to be vanquished even by the Gods and Asuras with their leaders. This is what I have observed and communicate to you. Yea, there is a great marvel to be seen, O Maithili; behold how, fallen under those shafts and deprived of their senses, their beauty has not deserted them.

“In the natural course, when men have lost their lives, their features exhibit appalling alteration, it is therefore impossible that these two do not still live. Banish your grief on account of Rama and Lakshmana, abandon your sorrow, O Daughter of Janaka!”

At these words, Sita, who resembled a daughter of the Gods, with joined palms, exclaimed “May it be so!”

Meanwhile the Chariot Pushpaka, swift as the wind, had returned and the plaintive Sita re-entered the city with Trijata, whereupon descending from the car, she entered the Ashoka Grove with the female titans.

Having returned to the royal enclosure planted with innumerable trees, Sita, recalling the two princes whom she had just seen, became a prey to extreme grief.