Text 12] The Pastimes of Lord Ramacandra 61

jndpanartham punar nitya-
sambandhah svatmanah sriyah

ayodhyaya vinirgacchan
sarva-lokasya cesvarah

pratyaksar tu sriya sardham
Jagamanddir avyayah

naksatra-mdsa-ganitam
trayodasa-sahasrakam

brahmaloka-samam cakre
samastam ksiti-mandalam

ramo ramo rama iti
sarvesam abhavat tada

sarvoramamayo loko
yada rdmas tv apdlayat

It was actually impossible for Ravana to take away Sita. The form of Sita
taken by Ravana was an illusory representation of mother Sita—mdya-
sita. When Sita was tested in the fire, this mayd-sita was burnt, and the
real Sita came out of the fire.

A further understanding to be derived from this example is that a
woman, however powerful she may be in the material world, must be
given protection, for as soon as she is unprotected she will be exploited
by Raksasas like Ravana. Here the words vaideha-raja-duhitari indicate
that before mother Sita was married to Lord Ramacandra she was pro-
tected by her father, Vaideha-raja. And when she was married she was
protected by her husband. Therefore the conclusion is that a woman
should always be protected. According to the Vedic rule, there is no scope
for a woman’s being independent (asamaksam), for a woman cannot
protect herself independently.

TEXT 12

aed Para ates rarest: |
