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 rdmo 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
ard Frara afehre Prana a: |
