Vedavati
Encyclopedia
In Hindu mythology
, Vedavati is speculated to have been the spirit of Sita Devi
, the wife of Lord Rama
in the epic Ramayana
. She was another avatar of Devi Laxmi.
, Lord-Guru of the Devas
, the Gods. Having spent his life chanting and studying the sacred Vedas
, he names his daughter Vedavati, or Embodiment of the Vedas, born as the fruit of his bhakti
and tapasya.
for a husband. He thus rejects many powerful kings and celestial beings who sought his daughter's hand. Outraged by his rejection, a powerful Daitya
king Sambhu murders her parents in the middle of a moonless night.
Vedavati continues to live in the ashram
of her parents, meditating night and day and performing a great tapasya to win Vishnu for her husband.
The Ramayana describes her as wearing the hide of a black antelope, her hair matted in a jata, like a rishi
. She is inexpressibly beautiful, in the bloom of her youth, enhanced by her tapasya.
, the emperor of Lanka
and the rakshasa
race found Vedavati sitting in meditation and is captivated by her incredible beauty. He propositions her and is rejected. Ravana mocks her austerities and her devotion to Vishnu; finding himself firmly rejected at every turn, he tries to molest Vedavati, pulling her hair. This greatly incensed her, and she forthwith cut off her hair, and said she would enter into the fire before his eyes, adding, "Since I have been insulted in the forest by thee who art wicked-hearted, I shall be born again for thy destruction." So she entered the blazing fire, and celestial flowers fell all around. It was she who was born again as Sita, and was the moving cause of Ravana's death, though Rama was the agent.
The Rishi Agastya
tells Rama
that Vedavati was re-born as SWAHA, Agni's Wife and became the cause of Ravana's destruction at his hands.
Excerpt from Skanda Purana regarding this rebirth-
"In treta yuga, when I had incarnated as Ram, Ravan had deceitfully abducted my consort Sita. But fortunately she was not Sita but Agni's consort Swaha. Before this incident could occur,Agni had already taken Sita to Patalloka and kept his own wife 'Swaha' in her place. Indra's act had special purpose behind it--to avenge Swaha's death,who was Vedavati in her previous birth and who had committed suicide after being touched by the same demon.Actually, Agni's consort 'Swaha' was 'Vedavati' in her previous birth. So, in reality Ravan had abducted Vedavati instead of Sita. Later on, I thanked Agni and promised him that I would make Vedavati my consort in Kaliyuga. The same vedavati has taken birth as Padmavati. You must go and convince Padmavati to become my consort.Vakulmalika went to Narayanpur and informed the king about Sri Hari's desire. Emperor Akash was extremely delighted at the prospect of having Sri Hari as his son-in-law. An auspicious day was chosen for the marriage and thus, Lord Sri Hari got Padmavati as his consort."
Hindu mythology
Hindu religious literature is the large body of traditional narratives related to Hinduism, notably as contained in Sanskrit literature, such as the Sanskrit epics and the Puranas. As such, it is a subset of Nepali and Indian culture...
, Vedavati is speculated to have been the spirit of Sita Devi
Sita Devi
Sita is the wife of Rama, the seventh Avatar of Vishnu in the Hindu tradition. Sita is one of the principal characters in the Ramayana, a Hindu epic named after her husband Rama....
, the wife of Lord Rama
Rama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
in the epic Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
. She was another avatar of Devi Laxmi.
Early life
Vedavati is the daughter of Brahmarishi Kusadhvaja, who is the son of BrihaspatiBrihaspati
Bṛhaspati also known as Brahmanaspati and Deva-guru , is the name of a Vedic deity...
, Lord-Guru of the Devas
Deva (Hinduism)
' is the Sanskrit word for god or deity, its related feminine term is devi. In modern Hinduism, it can be loosely interpreted as any benevolent supernatural beings. The devs in Hinduism, also called Suras, are often juxtaposed to the Asuras, their half brothers. Devs are also the maintainers of...
, the Gods. Having spent his life chanting and studying the sacred Vedas
Vedas
The Vedas are a large body of texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism....
, he names his daughter Vedavati, or Embodiment of the Vedas, born as the fruit of his bhakti
Bhakti
In Hinduism Bhakti is religious devotion in the form of active involvement of a devotee in worship of the divine.Within monotheistic Hinduism, it is the love felt by the worshipper towards the personal God, a concept expressed in Hindu theology as Svayam Bhagavan.Bhakti can be used of either...
and tapasya.
Dedication to Vishnu
Her father wants his child to have Lord VishnuVishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
for a husband. He thus rejects many powerful kings and celestial beings who sought his daughter's hand. Outraged by his rejection, a powerful Daitya
Daitya
In Hinduism, the Daityas are a clan or race or Asura as are the Danavas. Daityas were the children of Diti and the sage Kashyapa. They were a race of giants who fought against the Devas because they were jealous of their Deva half-brothers...
king Sambhu murders her parents in the middle of a moonless night.
Vedavati continues to live in the ashram
Ashram
Traditionally, an ashram is a spiritual hermitage. Additionally, today the term ashram often denotes a locus of Indian cultural activity such as yoga, music study or religious instruction, the moral equivalent of a studio or dojo....
of her parents, meditating night and day and performing a great tapasya to win Vishnu for her husband.
The Ramayana describes her as wearing the hide of a black antelope, her hair matted in a jata, like a rishi
Rishi
Rishi denotes the composers of Vedic hymns. However, according to post-Vedic tradition, the rishi is a "seer" to whom the Vedas were "originally revealed" through states of higher consciousness. The rishis were prominent when Vedic Hinduism took shape, as far back as some three thousand years...
. She is inexpressibly beautiful, in the bloom of her youth, enhanced by her tapasya.
Immolation and death
RavanaRavana
' is the primary antagonist character of the Hindu legend, the Ramayana; who is the great king of Lanka. In the classic text, he is mainly depicted negatively, kidnapping Rama's wife Sita, to claim vengeance on Rama and his brother Lakshmana for having cut off the nose of his sister...
, the emperor of Lanka
Lanka
Sri Lanka is the name given in Hindu mythology to the island fortress capital of the legendary king Ravana in the great Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata...
and the rakshasa
Rakshasa
A Rakshasa or alternatively rakshas, is a race of mythological humanoid beings or unrighteous spirit in Hindu and Buddhist religion...
race found Vedavati sitting in meditation and is captivated by her incredible beauty. He propositions her and is rejected. Ravana mocks her austerities and her devotion to Vishnu; finding himself firmly rejected at every turn, he tries to molest Vedavati, pulling her hair. This greatly incensed her, and she forthwith cut off her hair, and said she would enter into the fire before his eyes, adding, "Since I have been insulted in the forest by thee who art wicked-hearted, I shall be born again for thy destruction." So she entered the blazing fire, and celestial flowers fell all around. It was she who was born again as Sita, and was the moving cause of Ravana's death, though Rama was the agent.
Prophecy
Vedavati refuses to curse Ravana as it would exhaust her tapasya, but pledges to return in another age and be the cause of his destruction.The Rishi Agastya
Agastya
Agastya was a Tamil/Vedic Siddhar or sage. Agastya and his clan are also generally credited with uncovering many mantras of the Rig Veda, the earliest and most revered Hindu scripture, in the sense of first having the mantras revealed in his mind by the Supreme Brahman...
tells Rama
Rama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
that Vedavati was re-born as SWAHA, Agni's Wife and became the cause of Ravana's destruction at his hands.
Excerpt from Skanda Purana regarding this rebirth-
"In treta yuga, when I had incarnated as Ram, Ravan had deceitfully abducted my consort Sita. But fortunately she was not Sita but Agni's consort Swaha. Before this incident could occur,Agni had already taken Sita to Patalloka and kept his own wife 'Swaha' in her place. Indra's act had special purpose behind it--to avenge Swaha's death,who was Vedavati in her previous birth and who had committed suicide after being touched by the same demon.Actually, Agni's consort 'Swaha' was 'Vedavati' in her previous birth. So, in reality Ravan had abducted Vedavati instead of Sita. Later on, I thanked Agni and promised him that I would make Vedavati my consort in Kaliyuga. The same vedavati has taken birth as Padmavati. You must go and convince Padmavati to become my consort.Vakulmalika went to Narayanpur and informed the king about Sri Hari's desire. Emperor Akash was extremely delighted at the prospect of having Sri Hari as his son-in-law. An auspicious day was chosen for the marriage and thus, Lord Sri Hari got Padmavati as his consort."