To all those people who think Ram suspected Sita, I have only one comment. Read the original epic written by Sage Valmiki. All these interpolations, interpretations, movie adaptations, etc have not done justice to the characters of Ram or Sita.
In the epic, Ram never doubted Sita, but they got separated due to many reasons, some of them spiritual, some of them physical.
There are so many reasons behind Sita's agni pariksha. Some saints say that it was not the real Sita who was kidnapped but a shadow form of her, and the real Sita was kept in the protection of Agnidev, which is why Ram needed to have an "Agni pariksha" done to have his real Sita return.
As for Valmiki's version, yes it was the real Sita kidnapped. However, it is also stressed that Sita is Goddess Earth's daughter, and she was immune to the nature's elements. Fire, water, wind, etc could not harm her or even make her uncomfortable. It's why she was able to bear 10 months in Lanka in Ravan's gardens, despite there being terrible winds and rains. Any ordinary woman would have perished exposed to such elements, but wind and rain never once touched Sita even during the monsoons. Likewise, fire could also not harm her. Ram knew this fact very well, so Sita's agni pariksha was more to prove to the world how great and pure his wife was, than being an insult to her. Ram could never bear people talking ill of his wife, so the Agni pariksha was all a drama for the world, but in his heart he knew Sita was pure, and Sita too was aware of his love.
As for Uttar Kand, we have to understand the duties of a King during those times. We absolutely cannot think with our modern kali yug mindset when reading and trying to understand Ramayan. A king during those times was a servant to the people, and if there was unrest among the people due to whatever reason, it was his duty to eradicate it.
Let me give you some short and straight facts from Valmiki Ramayan. So many movie adaptations have completely butchered Ram's character by portraying him "abandoning" Sita in the forests without a care to her protection, but it's NOT how it happened.
1) Ram never exiled Sita. He left her in the care of Valmiki until the rumors died down so that he could prove to his people that Sita was pure and worthy of being queen. Ram was a King, he was not only Sita's husband, so he could not disregard his people's opinion. As a King, he had to think about the situation through their POV and as Sita's husband, he took care of her safety and comfort as well. When Sita revealed her pregnancy to Ram, Ram granted her any boon she wanted in his happiness, and she told him she wanted to live among the sages for some time, because during their vanvaas they were always moving from one place to another and never had time to stay with the sages in their ashram.
2) Ram never told Lakshman to leave Sita in the jungles (as portrayed by all movies and shows). He told him to drop her off in Valmiki's ashram, where sage Valmiki would care for her during her pregnany and afterwards. Ram knew where Sita was all the time. He never abandoned her to the wolves as so many people think.
3) Also, Ram never exiled her because of one dhobi. The dhobi was merely a catalyst in Ram trying to find out what his entire kingdom thought and felt. The dhobi caused Ram to look at the situation through a bigger lens and find out what others were saying as well. He went into the kingdom and listened to everyone's words, so it was never "one dhobi" who changed everything. That is such a dramatic and OTT twist that the movies first brought in, but never existed in the book.
4) In Valmiki's Ramayan, there was no concept of "Vandevi". Sita was known by her original identity only. All the people of the ashram knew her as Sita, and they knew her sons were Ram's heirs. There was no battle between Luv Kush and Ram. When Ram announced the Ashvamedha Yagna, Luv Kush and Valmiki went to attend as guests, and later revealed that they were Sita's sons.
5) Ram always knew about his children growing up in Valmiki's ashram. There was no "secrecy" involved. He may not have known how they looked, but when Luv Kush revealed themselves as Sita's sons to him in the yagna, he understood immediately.
6) When Sita returned to Goddess Earth in the end, it was not because she was "frustrated" with Ram or society, but because she felt her role in this incarnation was over. She says as much in the verses that describe the event. Ram called Sita from Valmiki's ashram, deeming that her "leave of absence" from Ayodhya was sufficient to quell the rumors, and asked her to make a vow of purity in front of the citizens. This was not because HE doubted her, but because he wanted the citizens to accept her as their queen once again. For her part, Sita never desired to be queen. She deemed her incarnation came to an end, and returned to Vaikunta as Goddess Lakshmi through the Earth.
So READ Valmiki Ramayan before making any conclusions. Don't base your assumptions on movies or hearsay. The actual Uttar Kand was not as bad as what so many movies portray, or what so many people think. Ram never ever ever ever ever doubted Sita. Even when she was not in Ayodhya, he never remarried. Instead he created a golden statue of Sita and instilled that in her place. There is no one in history who loved their wife as much as Ram loved Sita.
Also, it's downright ridiculous to point fingers at God with our limited human understanding. Ram was not any ordinary human. He was an incarnation of God and he DID know his divinity every step of the way (there are so many examples throughout the epic). Sita was no crybaby as portrayed by media. She was a strong fierce woman who was Ram's other half in every respect. Both of them were incarnations of Lakshmi Narayan, so don't point fingers at them as if they were ordinary human beings. We have to remember that their incarnations happened eons ago in a society that was very very different from ours, so the decisions they took, the examples they gave, were according to that society. In the end of the day, they are still God's incarnations and we cannot judge them as we would humans.
I always say this. Before judging God or his incarnations, first become God and then talk. 😎
Edited by ..RamKiJanaki.. - 8 years ago
