SITA: The Peace Within

||Life in Mithilla||

Have you ever heard of a Maithili, Vedhehi, or a Janki sitting at the back of your classroom, asking questions or giggling.Maybe one of them came to play in the park. Or she might be your proxy friend. Read something with her as the protagonist ? Saw her in a movie? Anything would work.

They embody a personality- rather a geographical area in their name.

Mithilla. The capital of Videha region in the vedic period. Still difficult to remember ? Not all of us flourish in our geography class ,do we?But I still expect you to remember the famous river Ganga we mark on the physical map of our country in 6th grade. We stretch it long way from the Gangotri glacier , reaching Uttrakhand and then Utter pradesh. We swiftly take it to Bihar- a bit and then extend it to West Bengal - making it Hugli in India and Padma in Bangladesh. Phew!

But hey come back to Bihar part of this stretch- trace your finger in the north direction and stop on the India-Nepal border, preferably towards the the Nepal side of it- Viola - you found Janakpur- the Capital named on Raja Seerdhwaj Janka and his beloved daughter SITA.

Janakas were the kings of Videha Region for different time periods. Seerdhwaj Janak though carried the legacy forward, but in a special way. He was deemed as the the great-Philosopher King, connected to his land but far away from materialistic attachments.

His thoughts were more connected to the land than air. He conducted debates and knowledgable gatherings inviting Rishis from all across the Aryavrat. The female contribution to his court can't be ignored. One of the navratnas was Mata Gargi - who had competed at par with Rishi Yagnavalkya - the great Indian philosopher who held credit to many great theories of Metaphysics. She was admitted as a Guru in his Ashram and held a great position in Janaka's court.

His materialistic detachment came from the fact that he least cared about having a son. When other Kingdoms were in a quest to get at least a son- Janak did not give much importance to the thought. His queen Sunaina - remained the only consort- even after years of child-less-ness. But this should not be confused with a dislike for children. 

This was not the only problem Mithila faced- before it got it's divine princess. A severe draught held the land of knowledge in its clutches- untill Janak; after 12 years decided to do a Yagya. The citizens faced difficulty, and Janak agreed to trace lines on the barren field with a plough made of gold. The supplies for the past 12 years were maintained by the kingdoms who held Janak in close friendship- and one of those was Ayodhya. Though the connection was pretty much formal in every regard- the families had never met, unknown of the relation they would hold in the future.

As Janak ploughed the field making furrow in the land- something miraculous happened. The clouds thundered much to the citizen's joy. But the thunder was not alone. There was a cry coupled with the falling raindrops and the noisy clouds. It was the cry of a baby girl. Untouched by the plough and held in the furrow, Janak picked her up from the ground and held her close. The whole Mithila stood still- what was heard- was the baby girl wail, as if she had taken birth from the earth. As if she had instructed the clouds to pour the golden liquid. Wasn't it amazing? 

The most scientific of the men would lose their conscious reasoning on such occasions. And we here - have a king and his subjects waiting for a miracle . And guess what ? It happens. And their is a girl behind it - no less than a goddess for them. Janak would have tried to find her parents. Who knows? But no one came. And she became the eldest of the childless King, the one who was discovered from the furrow - SITA.

The one who was the daughter of Janak- Janaknandini
The princess of Janakpur- Janaki
The daughter of Sunaina- Sunaina-suta
The Princess if Videha region - Vedehi
The princess of Mithila- Maithili
The one who was born from earth- Bhumija
The one who was not born from the womb- Ayonija

And if all these incredulous incidents were not enough , Queen Sunaina- gave birth to another daughter Urmila whose name meant waves of passion. Queen Chandrabhaga of  Sankasya, the wife of Janka's younger brother Khushdwaj Janak was also blessed with Mandavi ( the competent one) and Shrutkirti - the youngest ( the one whose fame is world-wide).

The sisters were inseparable just like the bond of the four brothers back at Ayodhya. They learnt to live in an independent society- where queens were respected, the gurus were of the fairer sex, and where the Fathers never demanded a son.

Conclusion:
Sita never experienced  incompetence.
She participated in the court discussions, was present in the upnishad-sabhas and the debate competitions, where females like Mata Gargi never deterred from giving opinions.
She didn't know what was is to not speak your mind. 
She was not taught to live in a veil, rather she was taught to be a queen in every aspect.

What she got was knowledge. Knowledge which influenced her thoughts. Knowledge which made her humble. She won't throw tantrums and would never complain of inadequacies, because she knew what was the value of happiness and the hollowness of materialism.

She went with Ram as she filled the duties of a wife. She debated with him- with utmost knowledge - such that Ram could not deny. So what do you think ? Could she not have debated for her rights when she was exiled the second time with her infants still in her womb? 
She didn't. Because she knew- that for something to change- people have to sacrifice. Debating at the wrong time- never earns you respect. It was the duty of the people of Ayodhya to give her respect. It wasn't Sita's duty to gather some for herself. She did what an ideal Queen would do. Served the wishes of her subjects.

Thanks for reading.