There are some questions in Ramayana that have remained a mystery. For instance, why the wicked and powerful Ravana, who was known for abducting and sexually assaulting wives of other kings could not force himself upon Sita after abducting her to Lanka?

Valmiki’s Ramayana describes a number of occasions when Ravana tries to threaten Sita and coerce her to surrender to his whim and fancy. But she remains unmoved and unaffected by his threats and cajoling.What could be the reason the mighty Ravana could not subdue gentle Sita’s mind and body?

In the Vanaparva of Mahabharat (280), Sage Vaishampayan narrates the following incident to King Janmejaya, and throws light on the above mystery to reveal why Ravana could not succeed in taking advantage of Sita.

After abducting and carrying off Sita to Lanka, Ravana kept her captive in Ashokavana surrounded by demonesses. The terrifying demonesses threatened Sita in all possible ways demanding Sita, surrender to Ravana as he was the most powerful King. But Sita categorically refused the demands by saying “Besides Rama I would not let any man touch my body”. To break Sita’s will, these demonesses began to torture her mentally and physically. Only demonesses Trijata, was sympathetic to the plight of Sita.

Trijata was not only kind to Sita, but she also assured Sita not to fear Ravana’s threats as he would never be able to touch her without her consent. When Sita, asked the reason why Trijata was so certain about this, Trijata replied, “Oh Sita, You would always be protected by Nalakubar’s curse that is holding back Ravana”. “And why did Nalakubar curse Ravana?” asked Sita, and Trijata replied “Once Ravana violated Rambha, the wife of Nalakubar and the daughter of Kuber, without her consent. When Nalakubar came to know of this he became livid with rage. He cursed Ravana that if he ever touches a woman without her consent, his head would splinter into a thousand pieces.” Ravana was bound by this curse and could no longer force himself upon any woman without her consent. Trijata assured Sita that she would be safe as long as she remains steadfast in her devotion to Ram, who would come and rescue her from Ravana’s captivity.

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Story Collected by: Vidya Kamat
Text Source: Mahabharatachi Shapvani by R. Bhide ( Marathi)
Location: Pan India
Image Copyright: Vidya Kamat