Seetha Amman Kovil: Where Sita Was Held Captive
Seetha Amman Kovil was a cultural evocation of the past and Nuwara Eliya was a lovely nostalgia.
India and Sri Lanka bond over similar traditions, that involves a 2500-year-old shared legacy of cultural, political, and linguistic affinities. Sri Lanka, one of the earliest democracies in South Asia, was once a British colony (similar to India) until it regained its independence in 1948. However, more than the splitting colonial past, what arbitrarily unites these two nations is the mythological ring of the epic Ramayana.
The Ramayana has its origins in both India and Sri Lanka, and the Ceylon and Hindu Itihasa are named after these two legendary realms. The essence of art, morality, literature, culture, and religious ceremonies taught by Ramayana left India and Sri Lanka enthralled. Following this holy crusade, the Sinhalese Buddhist order arose in Lanka. We continued to burn Ravana effigies on Dussehra and celebrate Lord Ram’s glorious homecoming by lighting Diyas on Diwali while in India. However, Sita remains the protagonist in all renditions, and Seetha Amman Kovil, Asia’s only Sita temple, is a monument and testimonial to her waiting while Ravana sentenced her to captivity.
Nuwara Eliya was a sweet nostalgia, and Seetha Amman Kovil, a cultural evocation of the past. Masked crowds, vibrant street vendors, roadside hawkers selling colourful woollens, and coffee houses packed with young people characterised the local market on Queen Elizabeth Street. The entire hill station was blanketed, in a faint imprint of clouds, and both the times I was here, it drizzled pleasantly. The road from the market to the cerulean-blue Gregory lake to the Seetha Amman Kovil is a straight stretch.
Gregory Lake, with cloud reflections on its lap, is always a delight to observe! However, the Seetha Amman Temple gleamed in the rain. The temple gate was illuminated with deep-orange tones and gleaming golden embellishments, while the modest interiors featured carvings in metallic tones, with gold and blue being particularly prominent. Each of the hemispherical crowns is embellished with colourful mythological figures, and the domes and walls are coloured. The temple brings the late mediaeval period’s chronicles to life. The historical poundage of Ramayana on current South Asian lifestyles is roused by a visit to Seetha Amman Kovil.
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Setubandhanam – The Evidence!
The epic of Ramayana recounts Ceylon as the old Lanka and the associated quests of Lord Rama, the most important of which is rescuing his wife, Sita, from the captivity of Ravana, the King of Lanka at the time. The findings of Ramayana and scientific organisations have even ascertained a linking bridge between the two countries. In the Sanskrit version of the Ramayana, Valmiki was the first to mention Setubandhanam.
According to the ancient chronology, the 30 km long man-made bridge of Setubandhanam was built with a series of limestone reefs, exclusively to rescue Sita from Sri Lanka. Valmiki has further instated that the ape army of Ram had set this bridge to connect Rameswaram in TN to Mannar in Sri Lanka. Ancient records of the Rameshwaram temple in India indicate that a 14th-century cyclone decimated Setubandhanam. These narratives denote that Sita was indeed captivated and kept in an inaccessible place across the border.
Seetha Amman Temple & Ashok Vatika
Nestled in the small village of Seetha Eliya, in Nuwara Eliya; Seetha Kovil is a humble temple of immense importance to Hindus. The abduction of Sita set forth consequential motions, with Ram ushering Hanuman to travel to Lanka. Soon Hanuman located the site where Sita was kept captive by King Ravana but where she implored every little hope of Lord Rama rescuing her. Take a walk around the temple, and you will be thrilled to discover the footprints of the ape god Hanuman etched on a rock over the stream. This water tributary is said to be flowing down the hill that once provisioned the basic water necessities for Sita during her travels across the forest garden of Ashok Vatika.
Ashok Vatika was a prominent garden in king Ravana’s kingdom. As cited, in the Vishnu Purana, Vishwakarma himself built garden houses around Ashok Vatika and Sundar Kand. Later, Sita was brought to this location because she denied staying at the palace of Ravana and requested to dwell under the Ashoka tree in the Vatika instead. Sita stayed here till the battle concluded in the doom of Ravana and his clan. The epic mentions Mandodari (Ravana’s wife) paying frequent visits to Sita at Ashoka Vatika, and, as her first meeting place with Hanuman, who later destroyed much of the Vatika and the Pramda Van in its centre. Ashoka tree is now known as the Sita-Ashok, owing to its linkage to the Ramayana.
Seetha Amman Kovil – In the Present
Seetha Kovil, close to Hakgala Botanical Garden, is the present location of the former Ashok Vatika. The garden is right at the bottom of the Hakgala Rock forms. Whereas, Sita Amman Kovil is atop the unyielding area of Hakgala Rock Jungle, now known as Sita Pokuna. The site where Sita bathed is known as the Sita Jharna. Almost 100 years back, three esoteric idols were discovered in the provincial water stream. In the present day, these idols sit at a small shrine near the river bank. Revisit the rock with footprints of Hanuman with the temple staff, and they will tell you, this is where Sita prayed but, from this exact spot, she also cursed a precise part of the water stream. Don’t drink the water here, drink it further downstream.
The temple priest will also tell you stories of the time when Hanuman reiki-ed this kingdom and alerted Ram of its monumental design in pure gold. He seemed rather gripped by the unshakably solid gold wall and draw-bridge edged by gold pillars. Beyond the golden wall rested the hidden treasures of expensive corals, gems and pearls. Hanuman thought it might be challenging to tackle the surroundings if he set the entire capital on fire with his protracted tail. But he did so, nevertheless! Word has it that Seetha Eliya village has black soil ever since Hanuman set the entire kingdom on fire.
The temple staff will graciously illustrate the relevance of the location. They will show you places where Sita sat, washed and prayed. When the battle was over, Lord Ram freed Sita, and they flew back to their home in Ayodhya, in Pushpak Viman, the grand golden chariot of king Ravana. These are some of the stories you will hear from the temple staff. Seetha Amman Kovil is one of the most important sites of the Ramayana trail. With history ranging over 5,000 years, this is one landmark you must assuredly visit when in Nuwara Eliya.
Ironically, I take my name Veidehi after Sita. And here I was, the modern-day Veidehi honouring the biblical Vedic goddess Sita. The temple is open 365 days. The morning Pooja takes place between 8 AM to 1 PM, and evening Arti is scheduled between 2 PM to 6.30 PM. There is no entry fee to visit the temple but, a ticket is required to participate in the Pooja.
