Let's see some quotes from Valmiki Ramayana.
"bhavaannaaraayaNo devaH shriimaaMshchakraayudhaH prabhuH 6-117-13
ekashRiNgo varaahastvaM bhuutabhavyasapatnajit
"You are the Lord Narayana himself the glorious god, who wields the discus. You are the Divine Boar with a single tusk, the conqueror of your past and future enemies."
"siitaa lakShmiirbhavaan viShNurdevaH kRiShNaH prajaapatiH 6-117-28
vadhaarthaM raavaNasyeha praviShTo maanuShiiM tanum
"Seetha is no other than Goddess Lakshmi (the divine consort of Lord Vishnu), while you are Lord Vishnu. You are having a shining dark-blue hue. You are the Lord of created beings. For the destruction of Ravana, you entered a human body here, on this earth."
Here Valmiki Ramayana clearly says that Lord Rama is Narayana and mother Sita is Lakshmi. But we'll see few more verses which exaggerate Rama's status beyond Narayana. We'll understand the reason also. Let's read further.
"tvaM yajJNstvaM vaShaTkaarastvamoMkaaraH paraatparaH 6-117-20
prabhavaM nidhanaM vaa te no viduH ko bhavaaniti "
"You are the sacrificial performance. You are the sacred syllable 'Vashat' (on hearing which the Adhvaryu priest casts the oblation to a deity into the sacrificial fire). You are the mystic syllable 'OM'. You are higher than the highest. People neither know your end nor your origin nor who you are in reality."
Rama Rahasya Upanishad says:
"hanuumantaM paprachchhuH raamasyaa~Ngaani no bruuhiiti
hanuumaanhovaacha . vaayuputra.n vighnesha.n vaaNii.n durgaa.n
kshetrapaalaka.n suurya.n chandra.n naaraayaNa.n naarasi.nha.n
vaayudeva.n vaaraaha.n tatsarvaantsamaatraantsiita.n lakshmaNa.n
shatrughnaM bharata.n vibhiishhaNa.n sugriivama~Ngada.n
jaambavantaM praNavametaani raamasyaa~Ngaani jaaniithaaH .
taanya~Ngaani vinaa raamo vighnakaro bhavati " (Rama Rahasyopanishat 1:07)
"They all again asked, Lord Hanuman,”Please tell us the angas (aspects) of Lord Rama. Lord Hanuman told, “Please understand that Lord Ganesha, Goddess Saraswati, Goddess Durga, all the Kshetra Palaka-s, Sun, Moon, Lord Narayana, Lord Narasimha, Lord Vasudeva, Lord Varaha, Lord Lakshmana, Shatrughna, Bharata, Vibheeshana, Sugreeva, Angada, Jambavanta and Pranava are the angas of Lord Rama. Without these angas, Lord Rama will not remove all roadblocks".
Here in above verses from Ramayana we have seen that Lord Rama is called as Narayana but at the same time in the verse from Rama Rahasya Upanishad above, we would have noticed that Lord Narayana is called as one of the Angas (brahches) of Lord Rama.
So, this is somewhat confusing since Rama is Narayana's incarnation but this Upanishad says Lord Narayana functions on the orders of Lord Rama. This shows Rama having an elevated status than Narayana. So, here it matches with the Valmiki Ramayana's verse no. 6-117-20 where it says Rama as "higher than the highest", and equated him with "Om". It also said that "people do not know his origin, end and do not know him in reality". But these are the characteristics of Lord Shiva since Shiva's origin, ends etc have not been known to Vedas as we can read from other posts like Skhamba Suktam, Purusha Suktam etc.
Then how come Brahma attributed such qualities to Lord Rama?
Read on! We'll get the answer soon. There is a symbolism in every sacred scripture. Gods and Saints never expressed anything directly. We have to analyze, correlate and find the answer. Let me explain how these confusions are actually Truths!!
"Ramou vigrahavan dharmah" is another verse from Valmiki Ramayana which states that Lord Rama is the epitome or human form of Dharma (Righteousness). Rama never departs from Dharma. He is full of Dharma and he follows it religiously without any deviation. There is not even a single event in Rama's life which is Adharmic.
Who actually represents Dharma? As per Shruti, Dharma is lord Shiva only.
"dharmo rudro..." (Rudrahridayopanishad 1:16)
"Rudra is Dharma".
Rudra himself is Dharma and he himself is the ruler of Dharma too. From our scriptures we also know that Dharma is symbolized as a BULL. A Bull represents Dharma, means a bull is a symbol/epitome/representative of Dharma (Shiva). Even in Srimad Bhagawatam also bull has been shown as representing Dharma. God is infinite, and hence to realize the various aspects of the supreme there are various representatives which represent one quality of the supreme. That's why even though the real lord of prosperity is lord Rudra as Sri Rudram prays to Shiva, we have representative like Kubera who advertises the prosperity, richness aspect of Shiva. Similarly the Bull is just an element which symbolizes the Dharma aspect of lord Shiva.
Lord Shiva is Bull Rider. This has a great Tatwam behind it. Lord Shiva's vehicle is BULL. He sits and rides that. It means Lord Shiva dictates on Dharma, he himself is dharma and he himself is the ruler of dharma also. Means, whatever is called as "Dharma" in Vedas are actually the rules formed by Lord Shiva. He controls that Bull viz. Dharma. He rules over it.
On similar lines, Lord Shiva in his Dakshinamurty form keeps crushing a small demon under his foot. That demon is Avidya (ignorance), and likewise in his Nataraja form he steps over and stands on another small demon who represents all evil forces. By these actions Lord Shiva convey a message that he is the controller of all evils and unrighteousness (Adharma) also and at the same time is beyond (untouched) by them. Therefore Lord Shiva controls the rules of righteousness and controls (keeps a check on) unrighteousness.
So, since Rama has never departed from Dharma. He became so valued that he is equated with Lord Shiva's status. Hence 'Ramou vigrahavan dharmah (Rama is a human incarnation of Dharma', is in another words same as 'Ramou vigrahavan Shivah (Rama is a human incarnation of Shiva)'.
This is also evident in the following verse of Ramayana:
"dRishyase sarvabhuuteShu goShu cha braahmaNeShu cha 6-117-21
dikShu sarvaasu gagane parvateShu nadiiShu cha "
"You (Rama) appear in all created beings in the cattle and in brahmanas. You exist in all quarters, in the sky, in mountains and in rivers."
This verse maps Lord Rama to Lord Shiva based on the following correlation from SRI RUDRAM:
"Namo hiranyabahave senanye dishan cha pataye namo
namo vrikshebhyo harikeshebhyah pashunam pataye namo" (Anuvaka-2)
"Salutations to Lord Rudra with the golden arms, the leader of hosts, to the Lord of the all directions (quarters), salutations. Salutations to the trees tufted with green leaves; salutations to the Lord of the cattle".
"Yo rudro agnau yo apsu ya oshhadhishhu
Yo rudro vishva bhuvanaaavivesha
tasmai rudraya namo astu" (YajurVeda 5:5:9-i & Taittiriya Samhita 5.5.9.3)
"The Rudra in the fire, in the waters, in the plants, the Rudra that hath entered all beings, to that Rudra be homage".
Further Sri Rudram Anuvaka 5, 6, 7, state in very detail about Lord Rudra's presence in waters, mountains etc.
Hence there Lord Rama has been given an exaggerated status of lord Shiva because he is a Dharmamoorti and hence symbolizes Lord Shiva who is himself the Dharma and it's ruler too.
Next, goddess Sita showed outstanding performance by her chastity hence she is called as pure as Vedas. And she is ranked above Goddess Lakshmi in Ramcharitra Manas and other Ramayanas. She is eulogized as Superior than Lakshmi in various Ramayanas and Samhitas which are followed by Ramanadi Sect of Vaishnavas.
But She is essentially the incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi herself as clearly called out in Valmiki Ramayana. Valmiki Ramayana no doubt is the most authentic of all other Ramayanas, but then there should be some reason why other saints ranked Sita above Lakshmi right? How can she exceed beyond Lakshmi and become superior than her in other texts? We'll analyze this point now.
Reason is - It's all due to her CHASTITY. The way Rama exhibited an example and role model of DHARMA, goddess Sita exhibited herself as a role model of CHASTITY. In Valmiki Ramayana's Yuddha Kanda when Rama gets Sita back from the captivity of Lanka, Rama remains indifferent because the need of the hour demanded that kind of gesture from him. Rama knew that Sita was pure and her heart was set only on him, but he didn't accept her readily, he stood stern and spoke little harshly with her. That harshness he had to show because had he accepted her straightaway, the world would have considered Rama's action as something done under the trance of lust for her. He wanted the world to understand the reality. one thing we must note is, Rama never asked her to prove her chastity. It was Sita who after listening to harsh words from Rama herself decided to give up her life. She actually decided to die and entered fire pyre. But the power of her chastity was so intense that the heat of her chastity couldn't be tolerated by the fire god himself and he came in his personal form carrying her in his hands and restored her to Rama.
"braviittu tadaa raamaM saakShii lokasya paavakaH
eShaa te raama vaidehii paapamasyaaM na vidyate (Valmiki Ramayana 6-118-5)
"Then, the fire-god, the witness of the whole world, spoke to Rama as follows 'Here is your Seetha. No sin exists in her'".
"naiva vaachaa na manasaa naiva buddhyaa na chakShuShaa
suvR^ittaa vR^ittashauNDiiryaM na tvaamatyacharachchhubhaa " (Valmiki Ramayana 6-118-6)
"This auspicious lady, whose character has been good, has never been unfaithful to you who are endowed with strength of character either by word or by mind or even by intellect or by her glances."
Fire which burns anything that falls in it, couldn't burn her since her chastity could have burnt the fire god himself. So, he had no other option than coming out in his true form and proving her chastity through his words since fire is the all-witnesser.
That's perfectly nice to see such an exemplary show of chastity by Sita, but our old question still remains unanswered - How come she is ranked above Lakshmi she herself being Lakshmi's incarnation?
Answer is, the way Rama by his Righteousness became equal to Lord Shiva, Sita by her Chastity became equal to Goddess Lalita Tripura Sundari Devi (Shakti / consort of Shiva) superseding Lakshmi. Now next question may arise, why is Goddess Shakti (Uma) the consort of Lord Shiva called as the highest chaste goddess?
Answer has been given by Adi Shankara in Soundarya Lahari verse 96:
"Kalathram vaidhathram kathi kathi bhajante na kavayah
Sriyo devyah ko va na bhavati pathih kairapi dhanaih;
Mahadevam hithva thava sathi sathinam acharame
Kuchabhyam aasangah kuravaka-tharor apyasulabhah " (Verse 96-Soundarya Lahari)
"Many poets reach the Goddess of learning, The wife of the creator, By composing soulfull poems. Many who search and attain riches, Are termed as the Lord of the Goddess of wealth.
Oh, first among chaste woman, Except Lord Shiva your consort; Your breasts have not even touched, The holy henna tree".
N.B:- The henna tree is supposed to wish for the embrace of maidens.
So, here we clearly understand that Goddess Lalita (Uma) is ranked always as the First among the chaste women.
Sita devi exhibited that paramount amount of chastity and became equal to Goddess Tripurasundari in status.
So, we have seen how Lord Rama imitated and became symbolic of Lord Shiva and how goddess Sita attained the status of goddess Uma mimicking Uma's chasteness.
Now let's revisit the verse from Rama Rahasya Upanishad which we read earlier. There we didn't notice one thing which I would point out now .
Rama Rahasya Upanishad says:
"hanuumantaM paprachchhuH raamasyaa~Ngaani no bruuhiiti
hanuumaanhovaacha . vaayuputra.n vighnesha.n vaaNii.n durgaa.n
kshetrapaalaka.n suurya.n chandra.n naaraayaNa.n naarasi.nha.n
vaayudeva.n vaaraaha.n tatsarvaantsamaatraantsiita.n lakshmaNa.n
shatrughnaM bharata.n vibhiishhaNa.n sugriivama~Ngada.n
jaambavantaM praNavametaani raamasyaa~Ngaani jaaniithaaH .
taanya~Ngaani vinaa raamo vighnakaro bhavati " (Rama Rahasyopanishat 1:07)
"They all again asked, Lord Hanuman,”Please tell us the angas (aspects) of Lord Rama. Lord Hanuman told, “Please understand that Lord Ganesha, Goddess Saraswati, Goddess Durga, all the Kshetra Palaka-s, Sun, Moon, Lord Narayana, Lord Narasimha, Lord Vasudeva, Lord Varaha, Lord Lakshmana, Shatrughna, Bharata, Vibheeshana, Sugreeva, Angada, Jambavanta and Pranava are the angas of Lord Rama. Without these angas, Lord Rama will not remove all roadblocks".
Here we see that all major Gods and Goddesses including Narayana are present as ANGAS of Lord Rama but have you noticed that Lord SHIVA's name is absent?
Here clearly it shows Narayana as his Anga. But Valmiki Ramayana says Rama is Narayana's form. Then how can Rama's original source Narayana become his subordinate? This is clearly an indication that Lord Rama has been kept at the position of Lord Shiva symbolically to teach the importance of his virtuous deeds and nature.
This upanishad further states
"raama.n trinetra.n somaardhadhaariNa.n shuulinaM param.h
bhasmoddhuulitasarvaa~Nga.n kapardinamupaasmahe " (Rama Rahasya Upanishad Ch 2, Verse 32)
"I worship that Rama, Who has three eyes, Who wears the crescent,
Who holds the trident, Who is anointed all over by ash, And who is with matted hair".
It clearly shows Rama as the three eyed Lord Mahadeva! The next verse speaks about Sita Devi as follows.
"raamaabhiraamaa.n saundaryasiimaa.n somaavata.nsikaam.h
paashaa~NkushadhanurbaaNadharaa.n dhyaayettrilochanaam.h " (Rama Rahasya Upanishad Ch 2, Verse 33)
"I worship the three eyed one, Who is Abhirama, the pinnacle of beauty,
Who wears the crescent as ear ring, And who holds the noose, the goad, the bow and the arrow".
It clearly shows Sita (Abhirama) as the Goddess LALITA TRIPURA SUNDARI the consort of Sadashiva. The name 'Tripurasundari' is ascribed to only Goddess Uma (Lalita) because there is none who is more beautiful than her. And in above verse sita is called as 'pinnacle of beauty' which is a direct comparison with Uma. Sita is called as the one holding noose (pasha), Goad (Ankusha), bow (Dhanush), Arrow (Baanam). What can be a greater proof of Sita being equated with Lalita better than this verse? Here are the Dhyana Slokas of Lalita Devi from lalita Sahasranama Stotram.
"Arunam karuna tarangi takshim dreta pashan kusha pushpa bana chapam,
Animadibi ravrutam mayuke ra mityeva vibavaye bavanim". (Lalita Shasranama Stotram)
"I meditate on the Mother whose eyes are smiling a little, who has in Her hands the arrow, the bow, the noose and goad".
"eshhaatmashaktiH | eshhaa vishvamohinii paashaaN^kushadhanurbaaNadharaa | eshhaa shriimahaavidyaa | " (Devi Upanishad 1:15)
"This is the power of Self, enchanting all, armed with the noose, the hook, the bow and the arrow. This is the great and holy Science".
“hR^itpuNDariikamadhyasthaaM praataHsuuryasamaprabhaam.h |
paashaaN^kushadharaa.n saumyaa.n varadaabhayahastakaam.h |
trinetraa.n raktavasanaaM bhaktakaamadughaaM bhaje |" (Devi Upanishad 1:24)
"Seated in the lotus-heart, Resplendent as the morning sun, Goddess, bearing noose and hook, With gesture granting boons, dissolving fears; Tender, three-eyed, red-robed, granting devotees Their hearts’ desires, Thee I adore".
Here is a beautiful picture of the beautiful benevolent mother Lalitambika having these attributes.
So, from these verses it becomes crystal clear that goddess Sita has been given an upraised status as Lalitambika and Lord Rama has been given an upraised status as Lord Shiva.
"bhavaannaaraayaNo devaH shriimaaMshchakraayudhaH prabhuH 6-117-13
ekashRiNgo varaahastvaM bhuutabhavyasapatnajit
"You are the Lord Narayana himself the glorious god, who wields the discus. You are the Divine Boar with a single tusk, the conqueror of your past and future enemies."
"siitaa lakShmiirbhavaan viShNurdevaH kRiShNaH prajaapatiH 6-117-28
vadhaarthaM raavaNasyeha praviShTo maanuShiiM tanum
"Seetha is no other than Goddess Lakshmi (the divine consort of Lord Vishnu), while you are Lord Vishnu. You are having a shining dark-blue hue. You are the Lord of created beings. For the destruction of Ravana, you entered a human body here, on this earth."
Here Valmiki Ramayana clearly says that Lord Rama is Narayana and mother Sita is Lakshmi. But we'll see few more verses which exaggerate Rama's status beyond Narayana. We'll understand the reason also. Let's read further.
"tvaM yajJNstvaM vaShaTkaarastvamoMkaaraH paraatparaH 6-117-20
prabhavaM nidhanaM vaa te no viduH ko bhavaaniti "
"You are the sacrificial performance. You are the sacred syllable 'Vashat' (on hearing which the Adhvaryu priest casts the oblation to a deity into the sacrificial fire). You are the mystic syllable 'OM'. You are higher than the highest. People neither know your end nor your origin nor who you are in reality."
Rama Rahasya Upanishad says:
"hanuumantaM paprachchhuH raamasyaa~Ngaani no bruuhiiti
hanuumaanhovaacha . vaayuputra.n vighnesha.n vaaNii.n durgaa.n
kshetrapaalaka.n suurya.n chandra.n naaraayaNa.n naarasi.nha.n
vaayudeva.n vaaraaha.n tatsarvaantsamaatraantsiita.n lakshmaNa.n
shatrughnaM bharata.n vibhiishhaNa.n sugriivama~Ngada.n
jaambavantaM praNavametaani raamasyaa~Ngaani jaaniithaaH .
taanya~Ngaani vinaa raamo vighnakaro bhavati " (Rama Rahasyopanishat 1:07)
"They all again asked, Lord Hanuman,”Please tell us the angas (aspects) of Lord Rama. Lord Hanuman told, “Please understand that Lord Ganesha, Goddess Saraswati, Goddess Durga, all the Kshetra Palaka-s, Sun, Moon, Lord Narayana, Lord Narasimha, Lord Vasudeva, Lord Varaha, Lord Lakshmana, Shatrughna, Bharata, Vibheeshana, Sugreeva, Angada, Jambavanta and Pranava are the angas of Lord Rama. Without these angas, Lord Rama will not remove all roadblocks".
Here in above verses from Ramayana we have seen that Lord Rama is called as Narayana but at the same time in the verse from Rama Rahasya Upanishad above, we would have noticed that Lord Narayana is called as one of the Angas (brahches) of Lord Rama.
So, this is somewhat confusing since Rama is Narayana's incarnation but this Upanishad says Lord Narayana functions on the orders of Lord Rama. This shows Rama having an elevated status than Narayana. So, here it matches with the Valmiki Ramayana's verse no. 6-117-20 where it says Rama as "higher than the highest", and equated him with "Om". It also said that "people do not know his origin, end and do not know him in reality". But these are the characteristics of Lord Shiva since Shiva's origin, ends etc have not been known to Vedas as we can read from other posts like Skhamba Suktam, Purusha Suktam etc.
Then how come Brahma attributed such qualities to Lord Rama?
Read on! We'll get the answer soon. There is a symbolism in every sacred scripture. Gods and Saints never expressed anything directly. We have to analyze, correlate and find the answer. Let me explain how these confusions are actually Truths!!
"Ramou vigrahavan dharmah" is another verse from Valmiki Ramayana which states that Lord Rama is the epitome or human form of Dharma (Righteousness). Rama never departs from Dharma. He is full of Dharma and he follows it religiously without any deviation. There is not even a single event in Rama's life which is Adharmic.
Who actually represents Dharma? As per Shruti, Dharma is lord Shiva only.
"dharmo rudro..." (Rudrahridayopanishad 1:16)
"Rudra is Dharma".
Rudra himself is Dharma and he himself is the ruler of Dharma too. From our scriptures we also know that Dharma is symbolized as a BULL. A Bull represents Dharma, means a bull is a symbol/epitome/representative of Dharma (Shiva). Even in Srimad Bhagawatam also bull has been shown as representing Dharma. God is infinite, and hence to realize the various aspects of the supreme there are various representatives which represent one quality of the supreme. That's why even though the real lord of prosperity is lord Rudra as Sri Rudram prays to Shiva, we have representative like Kubera who advertises the prosperity, richness aspect of Shiva. Similarly the Bull is just an element which symbolizes the Dharma aspect of lord Shiva.
Lord Shiva is Bull Rider. This has a great Tatwam behind it. Lord Shiva's vehicle is BULL. He sits and rides that. It means Lord Shiva dictates on Dharma, he himself is dharma and he himself is the ruler of dharma also. Means, whatever is called as "Dharma" in Vedas are actually the rules formed by Lord Shiva. He controls that Bull viz. Dharma. He rules over it.
On similar lines, Lord Shiva in his Dakshinamurty form keeps crushing a small demon under his foot. That demon is Avidya (ignorance), and likewise in his Nataraja form he steps over and stands on another small demon who represents all evil forces. By these actions Lord Shiva convey a message that he is the controller of all evils and unrighteousness (Adharma) also and at the same time is beyond (untouched) by them. Therefore Lord Shiva controls the rules of righteousness and controls (keeps a check on) unrighteousness.
So, since Rama has never departed from Dharma. He became so valued that he is equated with Lord Shiva's status. Hence 'Ramou vigrahavan dharmah (Rama is a human incarnation of Dharma', is in another words same as 'Ramou vigrahavan Shivah (Rama is a human incarnation of Shiva)'.
This is also evident in the following verse of Ramayana:
"dRishyase sarvabhuuteShu goShu cha braahmaNeShu cha 6-117-21
dikShu sarvaasu gagane parvateShu nadiiShu cha "
"You (Rama) appear in all created beings in the cattle and in brahmanas. You exist in all quarters, in the sky, in mountains and in rivers."
This verse maps Lord Rama to Lord Shiva based on the following correlation from SRI RUDRAM:
"Namo hiranyabahave senanye dishan cha pataye namo
namo vrikshebhyo harikeshebhyah pashunam pataye namo" (Anuvaka-2)
"Salutations to Lord Rudra with the golden arms, the leader of hosts, to the Lord of the all directions (quarters), salutations. Salutations to the trees tufted with green leaves; salutations to the Lord of the cattle".
"Yo rudro agnau yo apsu ya oshhadhishhu
Yo rudro vishva bhuvanaaavivesha
tasmai rudraya namo astu" (YajurVeda 5:5:9-i & Taittiriya Samhita 5.5.9.3)
"The Rudra in the fire, in the waters, in the plants, the Rudra that hath entered all beings, to that Rudra be homage".
Further Sri Rudram Anuvaka 5, 6, 7, state in very detail about Lord Rudra's presence in waters, mountains etc.
Hence there Lord Rama has been given an exaggerated status of lord Shiva because he is a Dharmamoorti and hence symbolizes Lord Shiva who is himself the Dharma and it's ruler too.
Next, goddess Sita showed outstanding performance by her chastity hence she is called as pure as Vedas. And she is ranked above Goddess Lakshmi in Ramcharitra Manas and other Ramayanas. She is eulogized as Superior than Lakshmi in various Ramayanas and Samhitas which are followed by Ramanadi Sect of Vaishnavas.
But She is essentially the incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi herself as clearly called out in Valmiki Ramayana. Valmiki Ramayana no doubt is the most authentic of all other Ramayanas, but then there should be some reason why other saints ranked Sita above Lakshmi right? How can she exceed beyond Lakshmi and become superior than her in other texts? We'll analyze this point now.
Reason is - It's all due to her CHASTITY. The way Rama exhibited an example and role model of DHARMA, goddess Sita exhibited herself as a role model of CHASTITY. In Valmiki Ramayana's Yuddha Kanda when Rama gets Sita back from the captivity of Lanka, Rama remains indifferent because the need of the hour demanded that kind of gesture from him. Rama knew that Sita was pure and her heart was set only on him, but he didn't accept her readily, he stood stern and spoke little harshly with her. That harshness he had to show because had he accepted her straightaway, the world would have considered Rama's action as something done under the trance of lust for her. He wanted the world to understand the reality. one thing we must note is, Rama never asked her to prove her chastity. It was Sita who after listening to harsh words from Rama herself decided to give up her life. She actually decided to die and entered fire pyre. But the power of her chastity was so intense that the heat of her chastity couldn't be tolerated by the fire god himself and he came in his personal form carrying her in his hands and restored her to Rama.
"braviittu tadaa raamaM saakShii lokasya paavakaH
eShaa te raama vaidehii paapamasyaaM na vidyate (Valmiki Ramayana 6-118-5)
"Then, the fire-god, the witness of the whole world, spoke to Rama as follows 'Here is your Seetha. No sin exists in her'".
"naiva vaachaa na manasaa naiva buddhyaa na chakShuShaa
suvR^ittaa vR^ittashauNDiiryaM na tvaamatyacharachchhubhaa " (Valmiki Ramayana 6-118-6)
"This auspicious lady, whose character has been good, has never been unfaithful to you who are endowed with strength of character either by word or by mind or even by intellect or by her glances."
Fire which burns anything that falls in it, couldn't burn her since her chastity could have burnt the fire god himself. So, he had no other option than coming out in his true form and proving her chastity through his words since fire is the all-witnesser.
That's perfectly nice to see such an exemplary show of chastity by Sita, but our old question still remains unanswered - How come she is ranked above Lakshmi she herself being Lakshmi's incarnation?
Answer is, the way Rama by his Righteousness became equal to Lord Shiva, Sita by her Chastity became equal to Goddess Lalita Tripura Sundari Devi (Shakti / consort of Shiva) superseding Lakshmi. Now next question may arise, why is Goddess Shakti (Uma) the consort of Lord Shiva called as the highest chaste goddess?
Answer has been given by Adi Shankara in Soundarya Lahari verse 96:
"Kalathram vaidhathram kathi kathi bhajante na kavayah
Sriyo devyah ko va na bhavati pathih kairapi dhanaih;
Mahadevam hithva thava sathi sathinam acharame
Kuchabhyam aasangah kuravaka-tharor apyasulabhah " (Verse 96-Soundarya Lahari)
"Many poets reach the Goddess of learning, The wife of the creator, By composing soulfull poems. Many who search and attain riches, Are termed as the Lord of the Goddess of wealth.
Oh, first among chaste woman, Except Lord Shiva your consort; Your breasts have not even touched, The holy henna tree".
N.B:- The henna tree is supposed to wish for the embrace of maidens.
So, here we clearly understand that Goddess Lalita (Uma) is ranked always as the First among the chaste women.
Sita devi exhibited that paramount amount of chastity and became equal to Goddess Tripurasundari in status.
So, we have seen how Lord Rama imitated and became symbolic of Lord Shiva and how goddess Sita attained the status of goddess Uma mimicking Uma's chasteness.
Now let's revisit the verse from Rama Rahasya Upanishad which we read earlier. There we didn't notice one thing which I would point out now .
Rama Rahasya Upanishad says:
"hanuumantaM paprachchhuH raamasyaa~Ngaani no bruuhiiti
hanuumaanhovaacha . vaayuputra.n vighnesha.n vaaNii.n durgaa.n
kshetrapaalaka.n suurya.n chandra.n naaraayaNa.n naarasi.nha.n
vaayudeva.n vaaraaha.n tatsarvaantsamaatraantsiita.n lakshmaNa.n
shatrughnaM bharata.n vibhiishhaNa.n sugriivama~Ngada.n
jaambavantaM praNavametaani raamasyaa~Ngaani jaaniithaaH .
taanya~Ngaani vinaa raamo vighnakaro bhavati " (Rama Rahasyopanishat 1:07)
"They all again asked, Lord Hanuman,”Please tell us the angas (aspects) of Lord Rama. Lord Hanuman told, “Please understand that Lord Ganesha, Goddess Saraswati, Goddess Durga, all the Kshetra Palaka-s, Sun, Moon, Lord Narayana, Lord Narasimha, Lord Vasudeva, Lord Varaha, Lord Lakshmana, Shatrughna, Bharata, Vibheeshana, Sugreeva, Angada, Jambavanta and Pranava are the angas of Lord Rama. Without these angas, Lord Rama will not remove all roadblocks".
Here we see that all major Gods and Goddesses including Narayana are present as ANGAS of Lord Rama but have you noticed that Lord SHIVA's name is absent?
Here clearly it shows Narayana as his Anga. But Valmiki Ramayana says Rama is Narayana's form. Then how can Rama's original source Narayana become his subordinate? This is clearly an indication that Lord Rama has been kept at the position of Lord Shiva symbolically to teach the importance of his virtuous deeds and nature.
This upanishad further states
"raama.n trinetra.n somaardhadhaariNa.n shuulinaM param.h
bhasmoddhuulitasarvaa~Nga.n kapardinamupaasmahe " (Rama Rahasya Upanishad Ch 2, Verse 32)
"I worship that Rama, Who has three eyes, Who wears the crescent,
Who holds the trident, Who is anointed all over by ash, And who is with matted hair".
It clearly shows Rama as the three eyed Lord Mahadeva! The next verse speaks about Sita Devi as follows.
"raamaabhiraamaa.n saundaryasiimaa.n somaavata.nsikaam.h
paashaa~NkushadhanurbaaNadharaa.n dhyaayettrilochanaam.h " (Rama Rahasya Upanishad Ch 2, Verse 33)
"I worship the three eyed one, Who is Abhirama, the pinnacle of beauty,
Who wears the crescent as ear ring, And who holds the noose, the goad, the bow and the arrow".
It clearly shows Sita (Abhirama) as the Goddess LALITA TRIPURA SUNDARI the consort of Sadashiva. The name 'Tripurasundari' is ascribed to only Goddess Uma (Lalita) because there is none who is more beautiful than her. And in above verse sita is called as 'pinnacle of beauty' which is a direct comparison with Uma. Sita is called as the one holding noose (pasha), Goad (Ankusha), bow (Dhanush), Arrow (Baanam). What can be a greater proof of Sita being equated with Lalita better than this verse? Here are the Dhyana Slokas of Lalita Devi from lalita Sahasranama Stotram.
"Arunam karuna tarangi takshim dreta pashan kusha pushpa bana chapam,
Animadibi ravrutam mayuke ra mityeva vibavaye bavanim". (Lalita Shasranama Stotram)
"I meditate on the Mother whose eyes are smiling a little, who has in Her hands the arrow, the bow, the noose and goad".
"eshhaatmashaktiH | eshhaa vishvamohinii paashaaN^kushadhanurbaaNadharaa | eshhaa shriimahaavidyaa | " (Devi Upanishad 1:15)
"This is the power of Self, enchanting all, armed with the noose, the hook, the bow and the arrow. This is the great and holy Science".
“hR^itpuNDariikamadhyasthaaM praataHsuuryasamaprabhaam.h |
paashaaN^kushadharaa.n saumyaa.n varadaabhayahastakaam.h |
trinetraa.n raktavasanaaM bhaktakaamadughaaM bhaje |" (Devi Upanishad 1:24)
"Seated in the lotus-heart, Resplendent as the morning sun, Goddess, bearing noose and hook, With gesture granting boons, dissolving fears; Tender, three-eyed, red-robed, granting devotees Their hearts’ desires, Thee I adore".
Here is a beautiful picture of the beautiful benevolent mother Lalitambika having these attributes.
So, from these verses it becomes crystal clear that goddess Sita has been given an upraised status as Lalitambika and Lord Rama has been given an upraised status as Lord Shiva.
