After Chandra’s first story, the group was stunned. They had still not gotten over the fact that the moon was speaking to THEM! Before they even had a chance to come to grips with the situation Chandra began speaking again. This time he was telling a tale of true love…..



Sita was motionless as she stood on the balcony from her room that overlooked the city. She had a lot on her mind today. She stared out over the city wondering what her life would be like if she were in love. She knew that the time was coming when her father must decide who to give her away to. The funny thing was that Sita had not found or even seen anyone that she would want to give her to life to. She did not want to leave her family. Her heart was heavy on this day, as she could feel an uncertain change in the air. She couldn’t put her finger on it but something was very different today. Her heart kept trying to tell her something but she didn’t know if she could get enough quiet time just to listen to it. So she stood on the balcony and let her thoughts run. “It will come to me, ” she thought.  "Whatever I am supposed to do will be made evident and it will be the right thing." As she stood there, her servant girls tried to amuse her but failed. They all knew that something was different about this day.

A light breeze began to slowly pick up. It started at the end of the street where Sita was looking and seemed as if it were carrying something to her. She watched the breeze in amazement as it picked up little things along its way. A flower here, a leaf there. It was different than any other breeze she had seen before. It smelled sweet and seemed to calm her heart. It came up to her balcony and made her hair dance wildly. At that moment she began to feel refreshed, even a little better……

After the breeze tousled her beautiful, dark hair Sita caught a glimpse of something that changed her heart forever. There HE was. Coming down the street below her balcony was the most handsome man Sita had ever laid eyes on. Everything she knew and everything she thought she knew about love went out the window. She had never felt this way before. She could not take her eyes off of him. He moved about so gracefully, so confident. He was the kind of man who walked around knowing that people looked up to him, but he did so in a humble way. He carried himself knowing he was being watched. He moved about the town with such ease and had such visible charm it was hard NOT to look at him. Sita knew he was it. She knew before they even spoke. She could feel something coming from him that day, something drawing them to each other.

Sita became extremely restless, even fainting. She could not grasp what had just happened. Her maids fanned her with giant green leaves and cooled her face with fresh water. Nothing helped. Sita lay there knowing she had to see that man again.


That night as she awoke, her father began speaking to her. He entered her room with a tender look on his face and gently awoke his daughter.
“Sita, there is someone I want you to meet. I have found the man you will marry, ” he said. At that moment Sita knew who it was. Her father had arranged for a dinner between the two.
Sita dressed and made herself beautiful for her prince. As she walked into the room, his back was turned. She recognized his soft, dark hair. She knew it was him. As he turned around, his eyes met Sita’s and it was the beginning of something amazing. He looked at her as though he already knew he had her heart, and that she could have his too. It was truly love at first sight. They spent the evening together with her family and could not take their eyes off of each other the entire night. This was true love at its most beautiful.





Author's Note: This is one of my favorite stories in the book. I really wanted to capture the innocent and pure nature of Rama and Sita's love. I also really wanted to show how heavily affected Sita was the first time she ever saw Rama. I think that is one of the most important aspects of their story. Their love was so real and destined that it made Sita lovesick! The aspect of "love at first sight" is also very important because it has a reincarnation theme to it, with Sita having been Lakshmi and Rama having been Vishnu. I also felt it very important to pay attention to the fact that they did not even speak when they fell in love. This is truly one of the best examples of love at first sight. I chose to have them have dinner with Sita's family to make it seem a little more intimate.  In the original story however, Sita's father , Janaka, sets up a contest to see who can lift and string Shiva's bow. Rama ends up breaking the bow and therefore winning Sita's hand in marriage.




Bibliography: 

OU Home | Disclaimer | Copyright | Equal Opportunity | OU Web Policy