Sita tells a story.....

Sita tells a story.....

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पुरा किल महाबाहो तपस्वी सत्यवाक् शुचिः।

कस्मिंश्चिदभवत् पुण्ये वने रतमृगद्विजे॥१६

तस्यैव तपसो विघ्नं कर्तुमिन्द्रः शचीपतिः।

खाड्गपाणिरथागच्छदाश्रमं भटरूपधृत्॥१७

तस्मिंश्चिदाश्रमपदे निशितः खड्ग उत्तमः।

स न्यासविधिना दत्तः पुण्ये तपसि तिष्ठतः॥१८

स तच्छस्त्रमनुप्राप्य न्यासरक्षणतत्परः।

वने तं विचरत्येव रक्षन् प्रत्ययमात्मनः॥१९

यत्र गच्छत्युपादातुम् मूलानि च फलानि च।

न विना याति तं खड्गं न्यासरक्षणतत्परः॥२०

नित्यं शस्त्रं परिवहन् क्रमेण स तपोधनः।

चकार रौद्रीम् तां बुद्धिं त्यक्त्वा तपसि निश्चयम्॥२१

ततः स रौद्रेऽभिरतः प्रमत्तो धर्मकर्शितः।

तस्य शस्त्रस्य संवासाज्जगाम नरकम् मुनिः॥२२

purā kila mahābhāho tapasvī satyavāk śuciḥ|

kasmiṁścidabhavat puṇye vane ratamṛgadvije ||16

tasyaiva tapaso vighnaṁ kartumindraḥ śacīpatiḥ|

khāḍgapāṇirathāgacchadāśramaṁ bhaṭarūpadhṛt||17

tasmiṁścidāśramapade niśitaḥ khaḍga uttamaḥ|

sa nyāsavidhinā dattaḥ puṇye tapasi tiṣṭhataḥ||18

sa tacchastramanuprāpya nyāsarakṣaṇatatparaḥ|

vane taṁ vicaratyeva rakṣan pratyayamātmanaḥ||19

yatra gacchatyupādātum mūlāni ca phalāni ca|

na vinā yāti taṁ khaḍgaṁ nyāsarakṣaṇatatparaḥ||20

nityaṁ śastraṁ parivahan krameṇa sa tapodhanaḥ|

cakāra raudrīm tāṁ buddhiṁ tyaktvā tapasi niścayam||21

tataḥ sa raudre'bhirataḥ pramatto dharmakarśitaḥ|

tasya śastrasya saṁvāsājjagāma narakam muniḥ||22

Valmikiramayanam Ayodhya Kandam Sargam 9

In Aranyakandam of Valmiki Ramayanam , we see Rama along with Lakshmana and Sita enter the Dandaka forest and paying visit to various Sages occupying the holy forest..

At that period, the forest was infested with demons and ogres who were causing untold troubles to the meek sages..

The sages pray before Rama that they should be protected from the onslaughts of the demons, and Rama, after studying their plight promises to intervene with force and to bring order.

For a prince of the Royal breed, Rams's reaction was really befitting..

But Sita, who was following Rama, suffering all the woes of a life in forest, is not sure about the propriety in use of arms and continuing with the Kshatriya functions, when Rama has actually been relegated to the life of a recluse by the orders of the King. She felt that they should lead a placid life during the sojourn in forest and should resume the kingly duties only when their term of forest life comes to a close..

She felt that the duties while in forest were not the same as those when one lived in a palace..

With this thought in mind, Sita engages herself in a discussion with Rama.. as we could read in Sargam 9 of Aranyakandam of Valmikiramayanam.

While discussing about the use of arms, she warns Rama about the dangers that can befall people who become attracted to use of weapons and gradually become addicted to such use and finally meet the nemesis..

She tells a Story

Once there was a pious sage dong penance in a forest, observing all austerities..

The gods in heaven were jealous of him.. In fact the gods got appointed to their exalted positions in heaven based on the penance they have performed on the earth and if someone else did greater penance, that posed a threat to their position because a better person would in all likelihood, would fill their slots and they would be rendered jobless.

So Indra the lord of gods wanted to put an end to the penance of the forest dweller..

Indra took the disguise of a soldier in transit and visited the sage.

The soldier had a very sharp and shining sword with him..

He told the sage that the sword was too valuable for him to carry around in his travel and hence requested the sage to keep it in safe custody in his abode till the he returned..

The innocent sage readily agreed, and took custody of the sword, and the Indra, the soldier rode away..

From the moment the sword came into his custody, the sage was always anxious about the safe custody of the sword..

His attention gradually turned from penance to the the sword.

Whenever the sage went out, be it to fetch water, food, or fruits or other utilities for daily life, he invariably carried the sword with him.

As he was having the sword almost eternally in his person, it was obvious that he started using the sword for the purposes it was designed.

He became sword savvy steadily, and one can use a sword only for destruction, fight and slaughter..

So the sages activities took different direction.. from penance to use of sword..

And indeed, his penance was ruined and he went to hell..

Indra's mission was accomplished with success..

In Bible too we can discover similar thought..

Bible conveys this message

In Mathew 26 :52

"Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.