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1. Who was Seetaa
2. Seetaa in Exile
3. Seetaa as Queen and in Exile Again
4. Stories About Seetaa

Then one day Dasharath decided to coronate Raam as the Crown King. He informed Raam about it and asked Him to abide with rules for the ceremony. But Seetaa's destiny wanted to take Her  to somewhere else. So next day when the actual ceremony was to take place, Raam told Her the news to go to Van. Raamaayan's Seetaa didn't get surprised to hear that news. Raam asked Her as why didn't She get surprised. She said - "I knew it before that I will have to go to Van. That is what a Pandit told me when I was not married. I am ready to go to Van.

Maanas' Seetaa didn't know about going to Van. That was why She behaved normally in that situation as that was Her duty to remain with Her husband.

Therefore I will also go to Van with you."  Raam tried His best to explain Her the difficulties of forest but She wouldn't listen to Him. Then after all Raam had to permit Her to go to Van along with Him. He asked Her to donate all Her valuables as She wouldn't need them, so She did.

Raam, Lakshman and Seetaa came to Dasharath to ask permission to go to Van. There Kaikeyee gave the Tapaswee clothes to Seetaa also. Seetaa couldn't wear them, because She didn't know how to wear them. Raam helped Her to wear them. Then Dashrath intervened and insulting Kaikeyee asked Her to wear only Her royal clothes and jewelry. As She was not exiled according to the Var.

Life in Exile
Seetaa met Maharshi Atri and his wife Anasooyaa and receives the gift of Divine clothes and jewelry and a discourse on Paativrat Dharm. When Raam was living in Chitrakoot, once Raam made some jewelry of flowers and put on Seetaa's body. Indra's son Jayant saw Seetaa. He took the form of a crow, looked at Her for some time and then hit his beak in Seetaa's foot and flew away. Blood started flowing. Raam saw it, so He just picked a long thin stick and shot it as arrow at the crow. The crow got frightened. He flew away high. But wherever he was going the arrow was following him.

First he went to his father, but hearing his story, Indra said "I cannot shelter you and in fact nobody can shelter the enemy of Raam." Then he went here and there but everybody said "We cannot shelter you as you have sinned to Raam. Nobody can shelter you." Then Naarad Jee kindly told him to go back to Raam and ask for His forgiveness." Then he went back to Raam and asked his forgiveness. Raam forgave him but as punishment He pierced his left eye.
[Since then crows can see from their right eye only.]

In another incident when Raam promised to eradicate Raakshas at Muni's request, Seetaa doubted as how He would do it without any reason? Because there must be some reason behind to kill somebody. Raam promised Her that He will not kill any Raakshas without any reason.

Reason to Kill Raakshas
So the reason had to take birth. When Raam, Lakshman and Seetaa were living in Panchvatee, Lankaa's King Raavan's sister Shoorpankhaa happened to come their side and got attracted to Raam. On proposing to Him, Raam told her to talk to Lakshman as he was still without His wife. Lakshman sent her back to Raam saying that "I am only a servant of Raam and you look like a princess, you will not be happy with me." This shunting raised Shoorpankhaa's temperature and she ran towards Seetaa to eat Her considering Her the obstacle in marrying Raam. In the meantime Lakshman cut her nose and ears. This made Shoorpankhaa very angry. She called up on her brothers, Khar and Dooshan. When they attacked Raam, they along with their 14,000 Raakshas army, were killed by Raam.

Now Raavan didn't do any harm to Raam, then how to kill him? Shoorpankhaa went to Raavan and told him about her insult and killing of Khar and Dooshan.

Note
Raavan understood that He is Raam about whom Naarad was talking about? Although it is not written anywhere, neither in Maanas, nor in Raamaayan, that this Raam as Vishnu; but at one place in Maanas, when Shoorpankhaa went to Raavan to complain about his administration and killing of Khar and Dooshan, Raavan could not sleep the whole night thinking that who was this man who had killed Khar and Dooshan who wee mighty like him. Then he comes to this conclusion that if He is Bhagavaan, then I will get Mukti after being killed by Him; or otherwise I will win Him. Thinking thus he got ready to fight with Raam. To find a reason with Raam he could not think anything else to abduct His wife, as it will bring Ram to Lankaa to release Her.

He couldn't find any other reason to fight with Raam except to abduct His wife. Because then He had to come to Lankaa to get Her released. So he approached Maareech to play some trick.

Maareech went to Raam's Aashram in the form of a golden deer and attracted Seetaa so much that She had to request Raam to bring it alive or dead. Raam went to catch him but he ran away in dense forest very far, Raam followed him and when He could not catch him He shot an arrow. Maareech got killed but before dying he called "Haa Lakshman, Haa, Seetey" in Raam's voice. This made Seetaa worried about Raam's security and She sent Lakshman to help Raam knowingly fully well that Raam was invincible.

This gave way to Raavan to abduct Seetaa conveniently, which he did. Jataayu tried his best to free Seetaa from him but Raavan cut his wings and he fell down. So Seetaa had to tolerate so much to help Raam to kill Raakshas.

Seetaa in Lankaa
Raavan kept Seetaa in his best garden Ashok Vaatikaa. She stayed there for one year. When Raam and Lakshman didn't find Seetaa in their hut, they looked for Her here and there. On their way they met dying Jataayu. He told them that Raavan had taken Seetaa to South. On the way to South they met a couple of Raakshas more. They killed them, and one of them advised them to extend friendship with Sugreev of Kishkindhaa to get Seetaa back. So they did. Sugreev sent his most able minister Hanumaan to South. Raam gave him His ring as his identification. Hanumaan arrived in Lankaa and found Seetaa there.

Hanumaan introduced himself to Seetaa, gave Raam's ring to Her and asked Her welfare. Then he destroyed Ashok Vaatikaa, killed many Raakshas plus one son of Raavan, Akshaya Kumaar, and met Raavan. He advised Raavan to return Seetaa to Raam, but Raavan wouldn't listen to him. He ordered his people to kill him. With great difficulty Vibheeshan convinced him not to kill him as he was only a messenger type but just cut any part of the body and send him like that to his master. Since monkeys love their tail, it was suggested that an oil-drenched cloth should be tied to his tail and set fire in it. First they took him around Lankaa and then set fire in his tail. By that fire Hanumaan burned the whole Lankaa except the living place of Seetaa and Vibheeshan. Then he took an identification, Choodaamani, from Seetaa as Her identification and came back to Raam.

Raam came with His millions of Vaanar army, killed Raavan and crowned Vibheeshan as Lankaa's King. Vibheeshan released Seetaa. Seetaa had to pass the Fire test before Raam accepted Her.

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