Ravana Deceived

(Compiled by Sripad Hari Prasad Das)

 

21 Oct: Once, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was the guest of a devotee. He was very much shocked to hear about the abduction of Sitadevi by Ravana. At that time the devotee managed to give some food to the Lord, but he himself was observing fasting and was always waling and lamenting. Mahaprabhu asked, “Why are you not taking anything to eat?” He replied, “I want to die. I heard that my beloved Mother Janaki, Sitadevi, was abducted by a demon! If I have to hear that – if that should even enter my ear, then I want to die; I don’t want to live any longer.”

 

Then Mahaprabhu consoled him: “No, no, don’t think like that. Sitadevi is Lakshmidevi herself. She is cinmaya consciousness personified, not having a body composed of any material elements. Sitadevi’s body is not made of flesh and blood, so what to speak of forcibly carrying her away, Ravana can neither see nor touch her; he cannot even see her. Sitadevi’s form is composed of such substance that Ravana can neither see not touch her! This is the fact. So don’t disturb your mind. This is the truth, I say, so you take prasadam.” Then that devotee took prasadam.

 

Later Mahaprabhu went further south, and in one place He found that the devotees there were reading the Kurma Purana, wherein it is mentioned that when Ravana came to steal away Sita, she took shelter by entering into fire, and the fire-god Agni gave some imitation Sita to Ravana, and Ravana took that maya-Sita away. Then after killing Ravana and attaining victory, before taking Sita from Lanka, Ramchandra said, “To prove her chastity, she must enter into blazing fire, and if she can pass through that test, then I shall accept Her. For one whole year she was living with a demon-family, and therefore I cannot immediately trust her chastity.” Then so many devotees began to weep, but by the order of Ramchandra the fire was prepared and Sitadevi had to enter. When the fire receded, Sitadvi came out with a smiling face and the devotees began to cry out, “Jaya! Sitadevi ki jaya!”

 

This was written in that Kurma Purana, and Mahaprabhu asked the reader, “Please give Me the original page and insert a newly-written copy in there; I met a Brahmin who is extremely troubled, thinking that Sitadevi was actually abducted by Ravana. I want to show him this old page of this book to convince him that I was not just consoling him, but it is written in the shastra that Ravana could not touch the real Sitadevi because she is consciousness personified – not matter, nor any flesh or blood or bone of any such things.”