Hari Aum.
Om Namo Narayanaya. Om Sri SitaRamabhyam Namah.
We are at that time in the year when Rama navami, the birthday of Lord Rama approaches. This occasion is celebrated by devotees in various ways, for example, through mantra japa, puja, bhajan and so on. The various versions of the Ramayana (including the original one in Sanskrit by sage Valmiki, and other versions in local languages composed by various Gurus and saints over the centuries) are read and reflected upon.
One special ceremony that is conducted in some parts of South India (such as Andhra Pradesh) to commemorate this day is known as the 'Sita Rama Kalyanam'. This involves a celebration of the wedding ('kalyanam' in Sanskrit) of Sita and Rama by re-enacting the entire experience.
To conduct this celebration, a venue is selected and decorated beautifully. The wedding 'guests' are invited (these are the devotees of course). The presence of Lord Rama and Mother Sita is then invoked. They are thus 'brought' to the wedding venue and sacred mantras and hymns are recited by priests to conduct their wedding ceremony! This is usually accompanied by much music and dancing (and of course some good food)! (I am going to attend this ceremony for the first time in my life in around three weeks and am looking forward to it!)
Therefore, I feel this is the perfect time to continue my study of the Valmiki Ramayana and to write about the next section-- which happens to be the wedding of Sita and Rama!
So let us begin!
In the previous section, we saw how Sri Rama won the hand of Princess Sita by breaking the great bow of Lord Shiva Himself. King Janaka, father of Sita, was overwhelmed with happiness and had sent messengers to inform King Dasharatha, father of Rama, of this wonderful event.
Upon receiving this auspicious news, King Dasharatha was filled with immense joy. He immediately accepted the match for his son and the messengers spent the night at his palace. The next day, the King woke up in a state of great excitement and summoned his chief minister, the noble Sumantra. He declared that they must set forth for Mithila as soon as possible. And, in accordance with the royal custom, they would be accompanied by a sizeable portion of their army and a great number of eminent sages.
Sumantra set about following the instructions of the King and quickly ensured that all these arrangements were made. They then set off for Mithila and arrived there after a journey of four days. Hearing of their arrival, King Janaka hastened to meet them. He greeted them with great affection, and declared that he felt very blessed that Sri Rama had won the hand of his daughter, Sita, in marriage. His family was greatly fortunate, he said, to have obtained such a valorous son-in-law from the noble and illustrious family of the Raghus!
King Dasharatha, in turn, stated that he was too was completely overjoyed at the prospect of the marriage of his son to the lovely Princess Sita. He humbly asked Janaka to tell him what needed to be done with regard to arranging the wedding ceremony, saying he would do as instructed. Janaka was astounded at the humility of the King and said that all arrangements would be discussed the next day after his guest had rested for the night.
Sri Rama and Lakshmana, accompanied by sage Vishvamitra, then arrived. The two Princes bowed low and touched the feet of their father to express their respect and love. Seeing them, King Dasharatha was filled with immense happiness and blessed them. The sages on both sides also greeted each other with great affection. The entire atmosphere was one of great jubilation and rejoicing and everyone retired for the night feeling very happy.
The next morning, King Janaka summoned his family priest, Shathananda. He told the priest to tell his younger brother, Kushadhvaja, who lived in the beautiful city of Sankashya, to come forthwith to Mithila to participate in the upcoming wedding. Hearing of this wonderful news, Kushadhvaja travelled swiftly to Mithila and met with his brother.
The process of formalising the marital alliance then began. King Janaka, seated in his court, surrounded by his family, ministers and sages, invited King Dasharatha to attend accompanied by his own entourage of ministers and sages.
Then, the chief sages of both families, namely Vasishtha and Shathananda, were asked to describe the ancestral lineages of the two Kings in full to make it clear to all present that this was a noble and appropriate match. Sage Vasishtha described in detail the descent of the family of the Raghus, right from the demi-god of the Sun to the present. Shathananda then described the lineage of Janaka’s family who were descended from the great King Nimi.
After the lineages of both families had been heard by all, the sages Vashishtha and Vishvamitra addressed King Janaka. They declared that both families had great and noble ancestry and the match between Sri Rama and Princess Sita was entirely appropriate. This being the case, they suggested that the alliance be expanded to include their siblings!
They suggested that Prince Lakshmana be wedded to Princess Urmila, the younger sister of Sita. And also, that Princes Bharata and Shatrughna be married to the cousin sisters of Sita, namely the two daughters of Prince Kushadhvaja! This, they said, would create a wonderful alliance between the two noble families! King Janaka and his brother, Kushadhvaja, were delighted by this proposal and gladly agreed.
King Dasharatha then made arrangements to perform the pre-wedding ceremonies for his four sons. This involved conducting various sacred rites and giving much wealth and gifts in charity.
While this ceremony was being performed, Prince Yudhajit, the maternal uncle of Rama's brother, Bharata (son of Queen Kaikeyi), arrived at Mithila. He affectionately greeted King Dasharatha, saying that his father, the King of Kekeya, was eager to see his grandson, Prince Bharata. He explained that he had gone to see his nephew in Ayodhya, but upon hearing the auspicious news of his upcoming wedding, had come to Mithila to witness the joyous event. King Dasharatha was very pleased to see his brother-in-law and honoured him in every way. He said that Bharata could travel with Yudhajit to Kekeya after the wedding.
The auspicious day of the wedding of Sita and Rama, and their siblings, finally dawned. The wedding venue was decorated exquisitely in a manner befitting the union of the two royal families. Sage Vasishtha, the family priest of King Dasharatha, oversaw all the arrangements. He had pots of gold and silver placed at the altar where the wedding ceremony would be conducted. There were jars made of precious materials and of many colours containing rice, turmeric, darbha (sacred grass), ghee and other materials that were necessary to conduct the wedding ceremony. The wedding pavilion was covered in beautiful flowers and sandal paste. There were many lamps and the air was scented with incense.
The wedding muhurtha (hour selected based upon astrological principles) arrived at last. Sri Rama, and His brothers arrived at the venue and the sages guided them to their places at the altar. Princess Sita and Her sisters then arrived, and the four brides were seated opposite the grooms. The entire atmosphere was divine and everyone watching was filled with immense joy.
It is an ancient custom for the father of the bride to give his daughter's hand in marriage to the groom (this is known as 'kanya danam' in Sanskrit). King Janaka, therefore, accordingly ascended the wedding pavilion. Holding his daughter, Sita's, hand, he placed this in the hand of Rama, declaring that he gave his daughter to Him in marriage.
Requesting Sri Rama to accept Her as His wife, he declared that She was highly fortunate and would help Him conduct His duties in life. He stated that She would ever be devoted to Him alone and would follow Him faithfully like a shadow. At this moment, the demi-gods who were watching from the heavens, played celestial music and showered flowers from the skies upon the divine couple.
King Janaka then placed the hand of his daughter, Urmila, in the hand of Prince Lakshmana, giving her in marriage to him. Then, as the head of the family, and acting on behalf of his brother, he similarly placed the hand of his niece, Mandvi, in that of Bharata, and of her sister, Shrutakirti, in the hand of Shatrughna, thus uniting them in marriage.
The sages then went on to recite the various hymns and wedding vows. Under the guidance of sage Vasishtha, the four Princes, holding the hands of the Princesses, went around the sacred fire, solemnising their marriages. As they did so, musical instruments were played in celebration both upon Earth and in the heavens. As the gandharvas (celestial musicians) played the most enchanting music, and the apsaras (celestial dancers) danced beautifully, the devas (demi-gods) showered heavenly flowers upon Sri Rama, Princess Sita and their families.
Thus was completed the joyous occasion of the wedding of Sri Rama and Mother Sita. This is perhaps the happiest moment in the entire Ramayana. As Their devotees, many of us would like to press the 'pause button' here if we possibly could.
As Their well-wishers, we would say "Do not leave Mithila, O Rama and Sita! Remain here, where You are both safe and well, where You are happy! Do not leave this sacred land. Stay here just a little longer!"
However, the demi-gods had other ideas as we know. They needed some urgent work to be done by Sri Rama, and Sita played a very important role in this. As Their devotees, we wish They could have delayed Their work a little, that They could have remained in Mithila for some more time. However, this was not to be.
The day after the wedding, sage Vishvamitra returned to the Himalayas to continue his austerities. King Dasharatha then affectionately took leave of King Janaka and said that he would now return to Ayodhya accompanied by his sons and their brides. Janaka, lovingly bade his daughter, Sita, and Her sisters farewell, giving them much wealth and jewels as wedding gifts.
Accompanied by the sages, his sons and daughters-in-law, King Dasharatha then left for the kingdom of Ayodhya. As soon as they departed from Mithila, the various challenges began (I will aim to write my next post on the Ramayana in the next couple of weeks).
To be continued......
Om Sri SitaRamabhyam Namah.
Om Namo Narayanaya.
Hari Aum Tat Sat.
