Janaki Jayanti Brief Legend
Legend has it that, in the earlier life, Sita was an incarnation of Goddess Laxmi and was called Vedavati. She was an extremely beautiful daughter of Sage Kushadhwaja. As she was an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu, she resolved in her early life that she would marry none other than Vishnu. Her father being a saint knew the truth and never tried to change her mind. He rejected all the marriage proposals that came for her including the proposals of powerful kings and celestial bodies. Among the rejected ones, there was a powerful king of demons (Daityas), Shambhu who felt utterly humiliated over the rejection. Stung by the humiliation, he seized an opportunity and murdered Vedavati’s parents.
Vedavati became orphaned and continued to live in the hermitage of her father all alone meditating upon Lord Vishnu all the time. She was inexpressibly beautiful which was enhanced by her austerities. Once Ravana, the ruler of Lanka saw her in the forest meditating upon Vishnu. He got captivated by her charm and proposed to her, but obviously got rejected. At the rejection, Ravana mocked her austerities and the devotion of Vishnu, and tried to molest her by pulling her hair. Angered by the audacious act of Ravana, Vedavati cut-off her hair and said she would burn herself in the fire before his eyes. She entered the blazing fire saying since she has been insulted in the forest by the wicked-hearted; she will be born again and would become the cause of his destruction. It was she who born again as Sita and became the moving cause of Ravana’s death, though, Rama became the agent.
When Vedavati took birth as Sita, she was found lying in the field by the King Dashrath, the ruler of Mithila, when he was ploughing his field. Enchanted by her divine beauty, the King decided to accept her as his daughter. She became to be known by many names, like Janaki, Vaidehi, Maithili, and others. Since, she was found in the field, she is also called the daughter of Mother Earth (Bhudevi).
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