Rama
is Dead?
Listen my child-
The cool earthen sod sticks to Sita's soft golden brown skin as
she sits silently in Asoka Grove. Her deep meditative breaths
would fool any passerby into believing she had elevated her mind and
body into a realm free of worry and stress. Sita's eyes were
lowered toward the earth, leaving only slits out of which two beautiful
black drusy crystals peered. While Sita looked very stoic, each
breath
was increasingly more torturous than the one before it. Her
imagination tore at her sanity and her soul writhed with desire for her
Rama. As evening spread her wings and began to cover Lanka, a
warm glow seemed to emit from fair Sita's feeble frame.
Heavy
breathing accompanied by the thudding of hurried feet became louder and
louder in Sita's ears until the old rakshasi Trijata was before
her. Trijata slowly knelt down beside Sita, groaning, as beads of
sweat collected and dripped from her forehead. Sita looked up at
Trijata and said, "Do tell me what troubles you, Trijata." Trijata
shook her
head, gathered her voice and responded, "The men of this war will do
their part, but it is destiny who wields the blade of truth. The
outcome is in her hands alone." Sita, confused by Trijata's
statement, insisted she continue. Trijata exclaimed, "Do not let
sorrow devour your heart, for what I come to tell you may be from
misted eyes glazed over by Indrajit, and the illusions he wields with
the power of MAYA." Sita's face tightened and with that Trijata
continued "As the blanket of night tucked in the city of Lanka, I
walked onto the palace wall and peered out across the battlefield into
a sea of mangled, motionless flesh and fur. My eyes darted to and
fro until they landed upon your beloved Rama and Lankshama. Their
still figures were laden with arrows puncturing every part of their
body." Sita's once golden face appeared pale and ashen like the
moon overhead. Her heart quivered and her body felt weak but she
remained still, her eyes dry. Before Sita could speak, the rash,
cackling, chatter of rakshasis came thundering down the hallway,
followed by the demons themselves. The smallest of them let out a
high-pitched screech as his slithering voice demanded, "Come with us,
sad, pitiful, Sita. We have a gift for you." Sita slowly
rose and silently followed the demons. They led Sita and Trijata
down a
dimly lit undulating path to a clearing where a large gold-trimmed
chariot hovered inches above the ground. Upon seeing the chariot,
Trijata's eyes flashed. She knew this was no ordinary chariot,
but the flower chariot Pushpaka. This chariot wielded a unique
power that could be very advantageous. The rakshasis jumped about
laughing, fighting and pushing one another as Sita and Trijata
carefully stepped onto the chariot. The chariot rose and the
battlefield came into view. The rajkshasis began to yell, "He is
dead!
He is dead! Rama has been destroyed by the Demon King!" As the
wicked demons frolicked and rejoiced, Trajita smiled and yelled out,
"You fools! Your lies and Ravana’s illusions are revealed by your
stupidity. Sita is no widow, for if she was, then this chariot
would not carry her." The jovial smirks that once adorned their
faces slowly faded as they realized the truth behind her words.
Sweet relief rushed over Sita and Trijata as they stepped off the
chariot and back onto the ground.
Author's Note:
This story is an example of
how
Maya has the ability to influence anyone. Additionally, this
story
shows an incident where Ravana failed in his attempts to utilize
Maya.
Sita and Trajata did not believe Rama was dead and determined that he
was, in fact, alive through their clever use of their situation.
In telling the story
I
focused more on Buck's version of the story because I liked the fact
that the chariot aided them in determining that what they were seeing
was an illusion. I really like this story for Sita never allows
herself to be fully taken in by what Trijata tells her about
Rama. I
attempted to subtly emphasize this without directly stating it by
downplaying Sita's role. I hope the story gives a better understanding
of what Maya is and how it can be utilized. Maya is very
powerful; it
can delude your mind into accepting what you are seeing and
experiencing but through continuously reanalyzing and questioning your
surroundings you can remain uninfluenced. By not initially
accepting
everything at face value you are less likely to find yourself living a
life where Maya dominates. Trijata plays a crucial role in this
story
by telling us of the chariot and in doing so reveals the Maya.
Image
Information
Title: Sita Cloth
Web Source: ExoticIndianArt
Bibliography
Buck, William. Ramayana.
Berkeley: University of California Press, 1976.
