Standing before the mirror, Sita ran her fingers through her cascading hair.
“Look at that lovely hair! I have always envied you for them.” Joked Sita’s Sakhi as she walked into her chamber in Swarg loak.
Surprised by the unannounced arrival, Sita reached out to hug her beloved Sakhi. Seating with her on the couch she bemused,
“What a pleasant surprise! How have you been Sakhi?”
“What can possibly be wrong with me, who has a friend like you?” Sakhi replied with pride.
Having met after a long time, they both exchanged pleasantries, enquiring about each other’s well-being. Sakhi then stood up and walked around the chamber thoughtfully. Sita’s gaze followed her. Comprehending that her Sakhi had something to say but was hesitant to do so, Sita touched her Sakhi’s shoulder.
“Sakhi, please speak your heart. You can share anything with me, dear. Isn’t that how friends are?” Eased by her words, Sakhi placed her hand on Sita’s.
“Sita, we all know that during your exile years with Lord Ram, you were abducted by Asura Ravana. We all know about the atrocities inflicted on you. The trauma you went through. But there has been a thought that has always made me wonder. Was it really an abduction or your will in disguise?”
Stirred by the question, Sita began fidgeting with her dress. She countered it with another question.
“What makes you see my abduction as a disguised Will Sakhi?”
“At the tender age of 9 years, Sita you could lift the supreme Pinaka (the bow of Shiva). The same bow, at your Swayambar, Mahabali Ravana, in his prime and powerful youth, couldn’t even move, forget about lifting it. Isn’t this evidence enough of your Shakti?… Of your supremacy over him?….. And when he came to kidnap you, all you did was push him?…. You were obviously more powerful. Then why did you allow it to happen? You could have easily reduced him to dust there and then. Even after having read all the scriptures on Ramayana, written by great sages, this mystery remains unresolved. Only you can open your heart and answer this. I am here to hear it from you.” Smiling as her Sakhi’s smartness, Sita replied,
“Yes! It was a disguised will. For my Dharma then, was not to fight but to be the Shakti of Lord Ram…. For it was not my purpose of descending on Earth…. That purpose was Ram’s, Vishnu’s avatar to abolish the asuras, and lay the foundation of a cultivated form of society…. To kindle the new Dharma of righteousness….. My purpose was to be the reason behind the action, not the action itself Sakhi. If I had not been abducted,
How would the legendary Jatayu prove his devotion to me and Lord Ram?
How would the Vanaras (The animal community) rise above their animal instinct and fight for justice?
How would Vibhishana practice the choice between right and evil?
And above all, how would Lord Ram, born as a Kshatriya find a rightful reason to annihilate demon Ravana?
For according to Kshatriya Dharma, without an evil deed, a weapon can’t be raised against an enemy. So my dear friend, though I was a Shakti, the manifestation of my power lay, in supporting my Lord Shri Ram. To amalgamate my powers with him and fulfill our purpose of incarnation.”
Having received a satisfactory answer to her burning curiosity, the Sakhi happily hugged Sita. Her eyes glistened with tears of undying love and pride more than ever.
