Ramayana. Sita will follow Rama into Exile.
Then Sita answered: "I can only mock at such unmeet words, not fitting to be heard, much less to be spoken by a great prince such as thou. For, O my lord, a father, mother, son, brother, or daugher-in-law indeed abide by the result of their own actions; but a wife, O best of men, shares in her husband's fate. Therefore I have been ordered, no less than thou, to exile in the forest. If thou goest there I shall go there before thee, treading upon thorns and prickly grass. I shall be as happy there as in my father's house, thinking only of thy service. I shall not cause thee trouble, but will live on roots and fruits. I will precede thee walking and follow thee in eating. And there will be pools, with wild geese and other fowl and bright with full-blown lotus-flowers, where we may bather. There shall I be happy with thee, even for a hundred or a thousand years!"
But Rama strove to dissuade her by recounting a tale of hardships and dangers endured by forest-dwellers, as of fierce and wild animals, poisonous serpents, a bed of leaves, scanty food, arduous ritual, hunger, thirst, and fear. But Sita, with tears in her eyes, answered patiently: "These evils seem to me like so many blessings if thou art with me, nor will I live forsaken. Moreover, it was prophesied by Brahmans of my father's house that I should dwell in a forest, and a yogini came to my mother when I was a girl and told the same tale. Know that I am wholly bound to thee, as was Savitri to Satyavan; thy company is heaven to me and thy basence hell. Following thee, I shall be blameless, for a husband is as God to a wife. Do thou take me to share equally thy joy and sorrow, else will I drink poison, or burn in fire, or drown in water!" So she prayed, while the big tears trickled down her face like drops of water from the petals of a lotus.
Then Rama granted her desire: "O fair one, since thou fearest not the forest thou shalt follow me and share my righteousness. Do thou bestow thy wealth on Brahmans and make haste to be ready for the journey." Then Sita's heart was gladdened, and she bestowed her wealth on Brahmans and fed the poor and made all ready for the way.
Then Sita answered: "I can only mock at such unmeet words, not fitting to be heard, much less to be spoken by a great prince such as thou. For, O my lord, a father, mother, son, brother, or daugher-in-law indeed abide by the result of their own actions; but a wife, O best of men, shares in her husband's fate. Therefore I have been ordered, no less than thou, to exile in the forest. If thou goest there I shall go there before thee, treading upon thorns and prickly grass. I shall be as happy there as in my father's house, thinking only of thy service. I shall not cause thee trouble, but will live on roots and fruits. I will precede thee walking and follow thee in eating. And there will be pools, with wild geese and other fowl and bright with full-blown lotus-flowers, where we may bather. There shall I be happy with thee, even for a hundred or a thousand years!"
But Rama strove to dissuade her by recounting a tale of hardships and dangers endured by forest-dwellers, as of fierce and wild animals, poisonous serpents, a bed of leaves, scanty food, arduous ritual, hunger, thirst, and fear. But Sita, with tears in her eyes, answered patiently: "These evils seem to me like so many blessings if thou art with me, nor will I live forsaken. Moreover, it was prophesied by Brahmans of my father's house that I should dwell in a forest, and a yogini came to my mother when I was a girl and told the same tale. Know that I am wholly bound to thee, as was Savitri to Satyavan; thy company is heaven to me and thy basence hell. Following thee, I shall be blameless, for a husband is as God to a wife. Do thou take me to share equally thy joy and sorrow, else will I drink poison, or burn in fire, or drown in water!" So she prayed, while the big tears trickled down her face like drops of water from the petals of a lotus.
Then Rama granted her desire: "O fair one, since thou fearest not the forest thou shalt follow me and share my righteousness. Do thou bestow thy wealth on Brahmans and make haste to be ready for the journey." Then Sita's heart was gladdened, and she bestowed her wealth on Brahmans and fed the poor and made all ready for the way.
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Then Sita answered: "I can only mock at such unmeet words, not fitting to be heard, much less to be spoken by a great prince such as thou. For, O my lord, a father, mother, son, brother, or daugher-in-law indeed abide by the result of their own actions; but a wife, O best of men, shares in her husband's fate. Therefore I have been ordered, no less than thou, to exile in the forest. If thou goest there I shall go there before thee, treading upon thorns and prickly grass. I shall be as happy there as in my father's house, thinking only of thy service. I shall not cause thee trouble, but will live on roots and fruits. I will precede thee walking and follow thee in eating. And there will be pools, with wild geese and other fowl and bright with full-blown lotus-flowers, where we may bather. There shall I be happy with thee, even for a hundred or a thousand years!"
But Rama strove to dissuade her by recounting a tale of hardships and dangers endured by forest-dwellers, as of fierce and wild animals, poisonous serpents, a bed of leaves, scanty food, arduous ritual, hunger, thirst, and fear. But Sita, with tears in her eyes, answered patiently: "These evils seem to me like so many blessings if thou art with me, nor will I live forsaken. Moreover, it was prophesied by Brahmans of my father's house that I should dwell in a forest, and a yogini came to my mother when I was a girl and told the same tale. Know that I am wholly bound to thee, as was Savitri to Satyavan; thy company is heaven to me and thy basence hell. Following thee, I shall be blameless, for a husband is as God to a wife. Do thou take me to share equally thy joy and sorrow, else will I drink poison, or burn in fire, or drown in water!" So she prayed, while the big tears trickled down her face like drops of water from the petals of a lotus.
Then Rama granted her desire: "O fair one, since thou fearest not the forest thou shalt follow me and share my righteousness. Do thou bestow thy wealth on Brahmans and make haste to be ready for the journey." Then Sita's heart was gladdened, and she bestowed her wealth on Brahmans and fed the poor and made all ready for the way.
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