Sita - Wikipedia Jump to content Main menu Main menu move to sidebar hide Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Special pages Search Search Appearance Donate Create account Log in Personal tools Donate Create account Log in Contents move to sidebar hide (Top) 1 Etymology and other names 2 Legends Toggle Legends subsection 2.1 Birth and early life 2.2 Marriage to Rama 2.3 Exile and abduction 2.4 Later years and second exile 3 Speeches and symbolism 4 Literature Toggle Literature subsection 4.1 Sita and Radha 5 In other versions Toggle In other versions subsection 5.1 Janaki Ramayana 5.2 Adbhut Ramayana 5.3 Mahaviracharita 5.4 Saptakanda Ramayana 6 Iconography 7 Outside Hinduism Toggle Outside Hinduism subsection 7.1 Jainism 7.2 Buddhism 8 Portrayal and assessment 9 Temples 10 Worship and festivals Toggle Worship and festivals subsection 10.1 Hymns 10.2 Festivals 10.2.1 Sita Navami 10.2.2 Vivaha Panchami 10.2.3 Ramlila and Dussehra 10.2.4 Diwali 10.2.5 Vasanthotsavam 11 Outside the Indian subcontinent Toggle Outside the Indian subcontinent subsection 11.1 Indonesia 11.1.1 Wayang story 11.2 Cambodia 11.3 In other countries 12 Influence and depiction Toggle Influence and depiction subsection 12.1 Paintings 12.2 Music 12.3 Dance and art forms 12.4 Culture 12.5 In popular culture 12.5.1 Films 12.5.2 Television 12.5.3 Plays 12.5.4 Books 12.5.5 Others 13 See also 14 References Toggle References subsection 14.1 Citations 14.2 Sources 15 Further reading 16 External links Toggle the table of contents Sita 64 languages Alemannisch العربية مصرى অসমীয়া Bikol Central भोजपुरी বাংলা Català Čeština Deutsch डोटेली Esperanto Español Euskara فارسی Suomi Français ગુજરાતી हिन्दी Bahasa Indonesia Italiano 日本語 Jawa ქართული ភាសាខ្មែរ ಕನ್ನಡ 한국어 کٲشُر Lietuvių मैथिली മലയാളം ꯃꯤꯇꯩ ꯂꯣꯟ मराठी Bahasa Melayu नेपाली Nederlands Norsk nynorsk Norsk bokmål ଓଡ଼ିଆ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ Polski پنجابی Português Русский संस्कृतम् Саха тыла Scots سنڌي සිංහල Simple English Slovenčina Svenska தமிழ் ತುಳು తెలుగు ไทย Tagalog Türkçe Українська اردو Tiếng Việt 吴语 粵語 中文 Edit links Article Talk English Read View source View history Tools Tools move to sidebar hide Actions Read View source View history General What links here Related changes Upload file Permanent link Page information Cite this page Get shortened URL Switch to legacy parser Print/export Download as PDF Printable version In other projects Wikimedia Commons Wikiquote Wikidata item Appearance move to sidebar hide From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Major goddess in Hinduism and consort of Rama For other uses, see Sita (disambiguation). [[Raghuvaṃśa (dynasty)|Raghuvamsha]]-[[Solar Dynasty|Suryavamsha]] (by marriage)"},"consort":{"wt":"[[Rama]]"},"mantra":{"wt":"{{ubl|''[[Jai Siya Ram]]''|''Sita-Ram-Sita-Ram''|''Siyavar Ramchandra Ki Jai''}}"},"venerated_in":{"wt":"{{hlist|[[Ramanandi Sampradaya]]|[[Haridas Niranjani|Niranjani Sampradaya]]|[[Shaktism]]}}"},"day":{"wt":"[[Friday]]"},"avatar_birth":{"wt":"[[Mithila (region)|Mithila]]"},"avatar_end":{"wt":"[[Kosala]]"},"children":{"wt":"[[Lava (Ramayana)|Lava]] (son)<br /> [[Kusha (Ramayana)|Kusha]] (son)"},"parents":{"wt":"[[Bhūmi|Bhumi]] (mother)<br>[[Janaka]] (adoptive father)<br />[[Sunayana (Ramayana)|Sunayana]] (adoptive mother)"},"siblings":{"wt":"[[Urmila]] (sister)<br>[[Mandavi]] (cousin)<br>[[Shrutakirti]] (cousin)"},"texts":{"wt":"{{unbulleted list|''[[Ramayana]]'' and [[Versions of Ramayana|its other versions]]|''[[Mahabharata]]''|''[[Maithili Maha Upanishad]]''|''[[Sita Upanishad]]''|''[[Padma Purana]]''|''[[Shiva Purana]]''|''[[Skanda Purana]]''|''[[Vishnu Purana]]''|''[[Brahmanda Purana]]''|''[[Valmiki Samhita]]''|''[[Vaishnava Matabja Bhaskara]]''|''[[Vinaya Patrika]]''|''[[Raghuvamsa]]''|''[[Ramopakhyana]]''}}"},"symbol":{"wt":"Pink Lotus"},"temple":{"wt":"[[Janaki Mandir|Jānakī Mandir, Janakpur]]"},"festivals":{"wt":"{{hlist|[[Sita Navami]]|Janaki Jayanti|[[Vivaha Panchami]]|[[Diwali]]|[[Vijayadashami]]}}"},"other_names":{"wt":"<!--Only significant and notable names should be included.-->{{hlist|Siya|Janaki|Maithili|Vaidehi|Ayonija|Bhumija|Seethai|Seetha Piratti}}"},"god_of":{"wt":"Mother Goddess<ref>{{cite book|title=Hindu Goddesses Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=HzldwMHeS6IC&dq=sita+mother+goddess&pg=PA256|author= David R. Kinsley| date=19 July 1988 |page= 78| publisher=University of California Press | isbn=9780520908833 |quote=Tulsidas refers Sita as World's Mother And Ram as Father}}</ref><br>Goddess of Beauty, Devotion and Virtue<ref>{{cite book|title= Pure Gems of Ramayanam|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=CJe9BAAAQBAJ&dq=sita+goddess+of+purity+mother+goddess&pg=PA213|author= Krishnan Aravamudan| date=22 September 2014 |page= 213| publisher=PartridgeIndia | isbn=9781482837209 |quote=Sage Narada Refers to Sita As Mystic Goddess of Beauty}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title= Awakening Shakti|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=7O4mCgAAQBAJ&q=awakening+shakti|author= Sally Kempton| date=13 July 2015 | publisher=Jaico Publishing House | isbn=9788184956191 |quote=Sita Goddess of Devotion}}</ref><br/>Supreme Goddess in [[Ramanandi Sampradaya|Ramaism]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tattwananda |first1=Swami |title= Vaisnava Sects, Saiva Sects, Mother Worship |edition=1st revised |year=1984 |publisher= Firma KLM Private Ltd. |location=Calcutta |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.128453}}</ref>"}},"i":0}}]}'>Sita Mother Goddess[1] Goddess of Beauty, Devotion and Virtue[2][3] Supreme Goddess in Ramaism[4] Lithograph of Sita in exile Other names Siya Janaki Maithili Vaidehi Ayonija Bhumija Seethai Seetha Piratti Devanagari सीता Sanskrit transliteration Sītā Venerated in Ramanandi Sampradaya Niranjani Sampradaya Shaktism Affiliation Avatar of Lakshmi Vaishnavism Shaktism Abode Ayodhya Saketa Vaikuntha Mantra Jai Siya Ram Sita-Ram-Sita-Ram Siyavar Ramchandra Ki Jai Symbol Pink Lotus Day Friday Texts Ramayana and its other versions Mahabharata Maithili Maha Upanishad Sita Upanishad Padma Purana Shiva Purana Skanda Purana Vishnu Purana Brahmanda Purana Valmiki Samhita Vaishnava Matabja Bhaskara Vinaya Patrika Raghuvamsa Ramopakhyana Gender Female Temple Jānakī Mandir, Janakpur Festivals Sita Navami Janaki Jayanti Vivaha Panchami Diwali Vijayadashami Genealogy Avatar birth Mithila Avatar end Kosala Parents Bhumi (mother) Janaka (adoptive father) Sunayana (adoptive mother) Siblings Urmila (sister) Mandavi (cousin) Shrutakirti (cousin) Consort Rama Children Lava (son) Kusha (son) Dynasty Vidēha (by birth) Raghuvamsha-Suryavamsha (by marriage) Sita (Sanskrit: सीता; IAST: Sītā), also known as Siya, Jānaki and Maithili, is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic Ramayana. Sita is the consort of Rama, the avatar of god Vishnu, and is regarded as an avatar of goddess Lakshmi.[5] She is the chief goddess of the Ramanandi Sampradaya and is the goddess of beauty and devotion. Sita's birthday is celebrated every year on the occasion of Sita Navami.[6] Described as the daughter of Bhūmi (the earth), Sita is brought up as the adopted daughter of King Janaka of Videha.[7][8] Sita, in her youth, chooses Rama, the prince of Ayodhya, as her husband in a svayamvara. After the svayamvara, she accompanies her husband to his kingdom but later chooses to accompany him along with her brother-in-law Lakshmana in his exile. While in exile, the trio settles in the Dandaka forest from where she is abducted by Ravana, the Rakshasa king of Lanka. She is imprisoned in the garden of Ashoka Vatika in Lanka until she is rescued by Rama, who slays her captor. After the war, in some versions of the epic, Rama asks Sita to undergo Agni Pariksha (an ordeal of fire), by which she proves her chastity, before she is accepted by Rama. Such an episode of trial makes Lakshmana angry at Rama, for the first time. In some other versions of the epic, Maya Sita, an illusion created by Agni, takes Sita's place and is abducted by Ravana and suffers his captivity, while the real Sita hides in the fire. Some scriptures also mention her previous birth as Vedavati, a woman Ravana tries to molest.[9] After proving her purity, Rama and Sita return to Ayodhya, where they are crowned as king and queen. One day, a man questions Sita's fidelity and in order to prove her innocence and maintain both his own dignity and that of the kingdom, Rama sends the pregnant Sita into the forest. She takes shelter at Sage Valmiki's ashram. She gives birth to twin sons there: Kusha and Lava. Years later, Sita reunites her two sons with their father Rama[10][11] and then returns to the womb of her mother, the Earth, as a testimony to her ultimate purity. Etymology and other names The goddess is best known by the name "Sita", derived from the Sanskrit word sīta, ("furrow".)[12] According to Ramayana, Janaka found her while ploughing as a part of a yajna and adopted her. The word Sīta was a poetic term which signified fertility and the many blessings coming from settled agriculture. The Sita of the Ramayana may have been named after a more ancient Vedic goddess Sita, who is mentioned once in the Rigveda as an earth goddess who blesses the land with good crops. In the Vedic period, she was one of the goddesses associated with fertility. Rigveda 4.53.6, addressed to Agricultural Divinities, states \nso that you will be well-portioned for us, so that you will be well-fruited for us. <br />\n- Translated by Jamison and Brereton<ref>{{cite book|author=Stephanie Jamison|title=The Rigveda – Earliest Religious Poetry of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1LTRDwAAQBAJ|year=2015|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0190633394|page=643}}</ref>\n"}},"i":0}}]}'>.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 32px}.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;margin-top:0}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{padding-left:1.6em}}Become inclined our way, well-portioned Furrow. We will extol you, so that you will be well-portioned for us, so that you will be well-fruited for us. - Translated by Jamison and Brereton[13] In Harivamsa, Sita is invoked as one of the names of the goddess Arya: \n''The priest's fee'' <br />\n''Sita to those who hold the plough'' <br />\n''And Earth to all living beings. ''\n"}},"i":0}}]}'/>O goddess, you are the altar's center in the sacrifice, The priest's fee Sita to those who hold the plough And Earth to all living beings. The Kausika-sutra and the Paraskara-sutra associate her repeatedly as the wife of Parjanya (a god associated with rains) and Indra.[12] Sita is known by many epithets. She is called Jānaki as the daughter of Janaka and Maithili as the princess of Mithila.[14] As the wife of Rama, she is called Ramā. Her father Janaka had earned the sobriquet Videha due to his ability to transcend body consciousness; Sita is therefore also known as Vaidehi.[14] Legends Birth and early life Various places have been claimed to be the birthplace of Sita in local lores.[15] These include the Sita Kund[16] pilgrimage site in present-day Sitamarhi district,[17][18][19][20][21] Bihar, India. Apart from Sitamarhi, Janakpur, which is located in the present-day Madhesh Province, Nepal,[22][23] has also been claimed to be her birthplace.[24][25] Other versions Janaka's biological daughter: In Ramopkhyana of the Mahabharata and also in Paumachariya of Vimala Suri, Sita has been depicted as …