“Or what will Sugriva or the assembled monkeys or the two sons of Dasharatha say to me when I return to Kishkindha? If going there, I say to Kakutstha [Rama] the supremely detestable news that I have not found Sita,… Read More ›
valmiki
The Sword of Devotion
“Or I think that maybe she was taken to Ravana’s home and is crying very softly there like a caged myna. How can that wife of Rama, who is born in Janaka’s family and has a slender waist and eyes… Read More ›
Quitting the Body
“Meditating on Shri Rama’s face, which resembles the full moon and has eyes like lotus petals, that poor lady must have died. Maithili [Sita], descending from Videha kings, must have given up her body while greatly lamenting, ‘O Rama and… Read More ›
Highest Standing
“Or while advancing higher and higher over the ocean, trying to break free that daughter of Janaka surely fell into the sea. Alas, while trying to protect her chastity, cut off from her relatives, Sita, the very chaste wife, has… Read More ›
Tilting the Scales
“Listen Rama, I will now tell You where You, Sita and Lakshmana should reside. Those whose ears are like oceans which are constantly replenished by, and never overflow from, streams represented by stories of Your wonderful activities – in their… Read More ›
Thinking The Worst
“Is it possible that Sita – the princess of Videha who hails from Mithila and is the daughter of King Janaka – is together with that wretched Ravana after being forced by him? I think that maybe when the Rakshasa… Read More ›
Combing The Earth
“I have searched all this earth: pools, ponds, lakes, streams, rivers, marshes, woods and difficult to access mountains – but still I do not see Sita. Sampati, the king of vultures, said that Sita was here in Ravana’s abode, but… Read More ›
If At First You Don’t Succeed
“Indeed, perseverance is what always propels one to pursue all profitable objects. It makes the actions it inspires in living beings successful.” (Hanuman, Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara Kand, 12.11) anirvedo hi satatam sarva artheṣu pravartakaḥ | karoti saphalam jantoḥ karma yac… Read More ›
Perseverance
“Perseverance is the root of good fortune. Perseverance leads to supreme happiness. Therefore I will search again, in those areas where I have not searched already.” (Hanuman, Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara Kand, 12.10) anirvedaḥ śriyo mūlam anirvedaḥ param sukham | bhūyas… Read More ›
Beyond Complacency
“Thus I have with a pure mind searched the entire inside of Ravana’s apartment. Yet I still do not see Sita.” (Hanuman, Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara Kand, 11.44) tad idam mārgitam tāvat śuddhena manasā mayā || rāvaṇa antaḥ puram sarvam dṛśyate… Read More ›