The path of dharma is rugged to those who choose to tread it as well as those who avoid it. If the former have to face difficulties of extreme nature by being committed to dharma, the latter are led to prolonged misery. The Ramayana showcases many instances to illustrate how the challenge posed by the hurdles that upset the code of dharma can be handled, pointed out Kidambi Sri Narayanan in a lecture. In the Uttara Kanda, even as Rama sees ahead of Him a peaceful life with Sita and family, He is disturbed by the blame cast on Him and Sita by the people of Ayodhya. Anticipating such reactions, He had already seen to it that Sita’s purity is vouchsafed by the test by fire after killing Ravana which even the celestial beings witness and hail with wonder. But the prevalent view seems to indicate that the people still do not accept this truth. Since He did not want any slur on His reign and to set an example He decided to send the pregnant Sita to the forest.
If this decision was taken with utmost pain and anguish, it is a greater anguish for Lakshmana who is entrusted with the task of escorting her to the forest. How can the blameless Sita be abandoned? How can he not fulfill Rama’s orders? Sita too sees the unjustness in Rama’s act but reconciles herself to the cause of dharma. The divine mother joins Rama to exemplify the fact that treading the path of dharma does not permit any compromise at all. Perhaps that is why she had expressed a desire to visit the hermitages on the banks of the Ganga and distribute her jewels and wealth to the wives of the sages. The situation is full of sorrow and pathos.
