Sita and the Moon

The following is one of the incidents from Ramayana (Shri Ramcharitmanas) penned by Tulsidas.  I don’t think so wise of myself to even write on it, but due to my fascination, I am inclined to write.

How beautiful it is when our creator Lord Rama sees Devi Sita for the first time in her abode Janakpur. How mesmerised and spellbound he gets looking at her beauty, charm and ineffable elegance.

How for a moment, he compares her inexpressible beauty with Moon’s.

And how suddenly, the next moment he blames himself for doing the same.

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The moon takes its birth from the ocean; it has poison as its sibling,

It shines vanishes during daytime, and the scars embedded on its silver disc in the form of dark spots,

Thus, Moon has various flaws in its face and nature. How it could ever be matched with the perfect face of holy goddess Sita?

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The Moon waxes and wanes during its lifetime, its presence saddens those who are dejected in love from their beloved,

Rahu devours the moon when it tries to cross him, Moon torments the Chakvi,

Flower lotus closes and withers with Moon’s appearance, hence the Lotus’ enemy,

Therefore, Oh Moon, your beauty can never be tantamount to Sita’s sacred and immaculate elegance.

God Shri Ramachandra thinks Sita’s beauty moon-faced and is moonstruck with it, but the very next moment, he thinks differently and he tells himself;

Despite the brightening beauty of Moon, it is the one who is generated from the larruping salty seas, thus it is poisonous (Moon was born when Gods and demons created a celestial ocean in search of Amrit, and during the churning, one of the things created was poison known as “Halaahal”). Moon though disseminating its silver charm in the darkness of night but being sad and invisible at daytime, its glory fades and it disappears. That is, Moon has various unremitting defects in its existence. It has no resemblance with Sita’s flawless beauty and grace.

Moon is being never constant except for once in month as it keeps on waxing and waning all around the year. Thus, its beauty does not remain steady, it keeps on changing with every night. It gives sorrow to the beloved hearts. The Rahu devours it and take Moon in its possession when moon tries to cross its path. The beautiful element of nature, flower lotus is so active at daytime but as the moon comes, it causes lotus to wither and close, hence Moon is inimical to the lotus.

Thus poor moon’s beauty can never be compared to Sita’s extreme level of constancy, brilliancy and perfection.

Related: God Is Love