“By this symbol, O best of the monkeys, the daughter of Janaka will be able, without any fear, to properly understand that you have come from My presence.” (Lord Rama speaking to Hanuman, Valmiki Ramayana, Kishkindha Kand, 44.13)

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अनेन त्वां हरिश्रेष्ठ चिह्नेन जनकात्मजा
मत्सकाशादनुप्राप्तमनुद्विग्नाऽनुपश्यति

anena tvāṃ hariśreṣṭha cihnena janakātmajā
matsakāśādanuprāptamanudvignāʼnupaśyati

“Forgive me for the randomness of the following question. The Sanskrit word just struck me, after I casually glanced over it. I personally find these words to be fascinating. The process of translating into the local language is often like deconstructing a puzzle. Rather than play video games, work on a painting or a craft, or watch television to pass the time, simply taking a single Sanskrit term and analyzing the component parts can be a really blissful, engaging way to pass the time; although the time commitment might be significant.

“The word in question today is janakatmaja. I am particularly fond of this name. I like that there are different words to address a single important personality. In this case, we are talking about Sita Devi. Even that name is special; it refers to how she was born. She was found in the ground. She emerged from a furrow, while a king was doing something nice. The king was ploughing a field. He was preparing for a religious sacrifice, yajna.

“Normally, you have to get everything perfect on the front-side. You have to choose the appropriate location. In this case, there was the field, kshetra. You have to gather the appropriate paraphernalia. Then you need to set aside a time. Get a fire going. Make sure expert priests are sitting in front of that fire. These are brahmanas specifically trained in yajna. If it is your yajna, of your choosing, then you need to sit alongside them. It is not merely a spectator sport. You have to participate.

“After everything is done, then maybe you will get what you are looking for. It may be many years later that the boons arrive, that they become manifest. In Janaka’s case, the greatest gift was there immediately. As part of the preparation, prior to a single oblation being dropped in the sacrificial fire, he was blessed with a baby daughter. As if to remove any doubt on the matter, a voice from the heavens confirmed that this girl belonged to the king. He was safe in taking her home.

“Back to the topic of deconstructing Sanskrit, is there not a contradiction with the name janakatmaja? We say that this refers to the daughter of Janaka, and that is based on the term atmaja. Try to deconstruct further. Atma refers to the self. It can refer to the body or the mind, as well. Atma is the individual. Ja refers to birth. To take birth from the atma is to be an offspring. This is a female offspring, and so Sita is the daughter of Janaka.

“The problem is, she was not born to Janaka. There was no link in DNA. Do you see what I am saying? How can an adopted daughter be considered atmaja? We are not making up this term, either. Shri Rama uses it to describe His wife. Are people just being polite? Do they not want to mention the elephant in the room, that Sita is adopted?”

In many instances, the adopted children receive more love, attention, care, and affection than the biological children in similar circumstances. For Janaka, the love was immediate. This was particularly extraordinary given his position as a well-respected yogi. If there is one characteristic most associated with advancement in yoga, it is detachment. You are within a body but not affected by it. You are trapped inside this temporary covering but behave as if you are liberated. You are not swayed by the ups and downs of life. Janaka was so advanced in yoga that he was known as Videha. This is like saying he was without a body.

At the same time, Janaka worked. That expert yogi was working on the day he found Sita. He maintained his status as a yogi. This can only mean that Janaka was working with detachment. He was following prescribed duties to set a good example. He was a respected leader, after all.

कर्मणैव हि संसिद्धिमास्थिता जनकादयः
लोकसङ्ग्रहमेवापि सम्पश्यन्कर्तुमर्हसि

karmaṇaiva hi saṁsiddhim
āsthitā janakādayaḥ
loka-saṅgraham evāpi
sampaśyan kartum arhasi

“Even kings like Janaka and others attained the perfectional stage by performance of prescribed duties. Therefore, just for the sake of educating the people in general, you should perform your work.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 3.20)

Janaka developed affection immediately upon finding the baby girl. He was a father from the very beginning, in a relationship that was not anticipated. The couple was childless at the time. The baby girl was raised with care and attention in the community. The name Janakatmaja glorifies Janaka, as Sita Devi is actually the goddess of fortune. As Sita is known by that name, she is always linked to that respected leader.

अनपत्येन च स्नेहादङ्कमारोप्य च स्वयम्
ममेयं तनयेत्युक्त्वा स्नेहो मयि निपातितः

anapatyena ca snehādaṅkamāropya ca svayam
mameyaṃ tanayetyuktvā sneho mayi nipātitaḥ

“Since he was childless, and due to affection for me, he placed me on his lap and said, ‘This is my child.’ Thus he developed feelings of love and affection for me.” (Sita Devi speaking to Anasuya, Valmiki Ramayana, Ayodhya Kand, 118.30)

It was Janaka who raised Sita.  It was Janaka who established the contest of the bow. It was Janaka who agreed to abide by the rules of that contest. It was Janaka who received Rama as a son-in-law. These things could only take place if Sita was indeed the daughter of Janaka, in all righteousness, dharma.

अन्तरिक्षे च वागुक्ताऽप्रतिमाऽमानुषी किल
एवमेतन्नरपते धर्मेण तनया तव

antarikṣe ca vāguktāʼpratimāʼmānuṣī kila
evametannarapate dharmeṇa tanayā tava

“Then a voice, sounding like a human being, was heard from the sky which said, ‘O king, this child is rightfully your daughter.’”  (Sita Devi speaking to Anasuya, Valmiki Ramayana, Ayodhya Kand, 118.31)

In Closing:

With janakatmaja the name,
How to adopted child the same?

Because that leader like yogi the best,
With beautiful daughter blessed.

After tilling carefully the ground,
Confirmed by heavenly sound.

Though not born directly to him,
With instant love and affection to brim.

Categories: questions

Tags: dailyprompt, fatherhood, parenting, poem, poems, poetry, ramayana