Vedavati (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

: वेदवती,

IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...

: ''Vedavatī'') is the previous birth of the goddess

Sita Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, ''Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi. She ...

Hindu mythology Hindu mythology is the body of myths and literature attributed to, and espoused by, the adherents of the Hindu religion, found in Hindu texts such as the Vedic literature, epics like ''Mahabharata'' and ''Ramayana'', the Puranas, and reg ...

. She is an avatar of the goddess of prosperity,

Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism. She is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity, and associated with ''Maya'' ("Illusion"). Alo ...

Legend

Birth

Vedavati was the daughter of

Brahmarishi In Hinduism, a Brahmarshi (Sanskrit ', a tatpurusha compound of ' and ') is a member of the highest class of Rishis ("seers" or "sages"). A Brahmarshi is a sage who has attained enlightenment ( Kaivalya or Moksha) and became a Jivanmukta by compl ...

Kushadhvaja Kushadhvaja ( IAST: Kuśadhvaja) is a king in the Ramayana, the younger brother of King Janaka of Mithila. Kushadhvaja's two daughters, Mandavi and Shrutakirti, were married to Rama's younger brothers, Bharata and Shatrughna, respectively. W ...

, who was the son of

Brihaspati Brihaspati ( sa, बृहस्पति, ), also known as Guru, is a Hindu deity. In the ancient Vedic scriptures of Hinduism, Brihaspati is a deity associated with fire, and the word also refers to a rishi (sage) who counsels the devas (god ...

, the guru of the

devas Devas may refer to: * Devas Club, a club in south London * Anthony Devas (1911–1958), British portrait painter * Charles Stanton Devas (1848–1906), political economist * Jocelyn Devas (died 1886), founder of the Devas Club * Devas (band), ...

. Having spent his life chanting and studying the sacred

Vedas upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

, he named his daughter ''Vedavati'', after the texts, born to him as the fruit of his

bhakti ''Bhakti'' ( sa, भक्ति) literally means "attachment, participation, fondness for, homage, faith, love, devotion, worship, purity".See Monier-Williams, ''Sanskrit Dictionary'', 1899. It was originally used in Hinduism, referring to d ...

and

tapasya Tapas (Sanskrit: तपस्) is a variety of austere spiritual meditation practices in Indian religions. In Jainism, it means asceticism (austerities, body mortification); in Buddhism, it denotes spiritual practices including meditation and se ...

Dedication to Vishnu

Vedavati's father wanted his child to have the preserver god

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...

as her husband. He thus rejected many powerful kings and celestial beings who sought his daughter's hand. Outraged by his rejection, King Sambhu murdered her parents in the middle of a moonless night. Vedavati continued to live in the

ashram An ashram ( sa, आश्रम, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or a ...

of her parents, meditating night and day and performing a great

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'' () is a term for an accomplished and enlightened person. They find mentions in various Vedic texts. Rishis are believed to have composed hymns of the Vedas. The Post-Vedic tradition of Hinduism regards the rishis as "great yogis" or ...

. She is inexpressibly beautiful, in the bloom of her youth, enhanced by her tapasya.

Immolation

Ravana Ravana (; , , ) is a rakshasa king of the island of Lanka, and the chief antagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' and its adaptations. In the ''Ramayana'', Ravana is described to be the eldest son of sage Vishrava and rakshasi Kaikesi. He a ...

, the king of

Lanka Lanka (, ) is the name given in Hindu epics to the island fortress capital of the legendary asura king Ravana in the epics of the ''Ramayana'' and the ''Mahabharata''. The fortress was situated on a plateau between three mountain peaks known ...

and the

rakshasa Rakshasas ( sa, राक्षस, IAST: : Pali: ''rakkhaso'') lit. 'preservers' are a race of usually malevolent demigods prominently featured in Hindu mythology. According to the Brahmanda Purana, the rakshasas were created by Brahma whe ...

race, found Vedavati sitting in meditation as a ''tapasvini'' and was captivated by her incredible beauty. He proposed his hand in marriage to her, and was rejected. Ravana, firmly rejected at every turn, grabbed her hair and tried assaulting her. The furious Vedavati cursed Ravana that she would be born once more, and would be the cause of his death. She subsequently leapt into the ritual havan that was present in her vicinity, immolating herself. Vedavati would be born again as

, and as proclaimed, she was the triggering cause of Ravana and his relatives's death, though her husband

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

would be the agent.

Rebirth

According to the ''

Brahma Vaivarta Purana The ''Brahmavaivarta Purana'' ( sa, ब्रह्मवैवर्त पुराण; ) is a voluminous Sanskrit text and a major Purana (''Maha-purana'') of Hinduism. It is an important Vaishnavism text. This Purana majorly centers aroun ...

'', Vedavati encountered the goddess

Parvati Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi i ...

during the duration of her penance. Pleased by her devotion, the goddess offered Vedavati a boon of her choice. Vedavati desired

Narayana Narayana (Sanskrit: नारायण, IAST: ''Nārāyaṇa'') is one of the forms and names of Vishnu, who is in yogic slumber under the celestial waters, referring to the masculine principle. He is also known as Purushottama, and is co ...

as her husband in his every incarnation on earth, and sought the devotion of his lotus feet. Cognisant of Vedavati's true identity of

, Parvati promised that she would have all that she sought, informing her that Narayana would assume the avatar of

to cleanse the earth of its evil during the

Treta Yuga ''Treta Yuga'', in Hinduism, is the second and second best of the four ''yugas'' (world ages) in a ''Yuga Cycle'', preceded by '' Krita (Satya) Yuga'' and followed by '' Dvapara Yuga''. ''Treta Yuga'' lasts for 1,296,000 years (3,600 divine years ...

, and that she would be his consort. Satisfied, Lakshmi reincarnated herself as a child upon a farm in the kingdom of Mithila, where she was discovered by the King

Janaka Janaka is a character who appears in the Hindu epic Ramayana. He is an ancient Hindu king of Videha, which was located in the Mithila region. His name at birth was Sīradhvaja, and he had a brother named Kushadhvaja. His father's name was Hrasva ...

. Stupified by the sight of the infant whose skin shone like molten gold, Janaka heard an ''akashvani'', a celestial announcement from the heavens that the child would become the bride of Narayana. Overjoyed, Janaka raised her as his own daughter Janaki, better known as

Maya Sita

Another variant in the ''Brahma Vaivarta Purana,'' the ''

Devi Bhagavata Purana The Devi Bhagavata Purana ( sa, देवी भागवतपुराणम्, '), also known as the Srimad Devi Bhagavatam, Srimad Bhagavatam, Bhagavata Purana or simply ''Devi Bhagavatam'', is one of the eighteen Purana, Mahapuranas of ...

,'' the

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

text '' Sri Venkatachala Mahatyam''Doniger (1999) p. 16 and the

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

Adhyatma Ramayana ''Adhyatma Ramayana'' (Devanāgarī: अध्यात्म रामायण, IAST: ''Adhyātma Rāmāyaṇa'', ) is a 13th- to 15th-century Sanskrit text that allegorically interprets the story of Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' in the Advaita Vedan ...

'' associates Vedavati with

Maya Sita In some adaptations of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'', Maya Sita ( sa, माया सीता, "illusional Sita") or Chaya Sita (, "shadow Sita") is the Maya (illusion), illusionary duplicate of the goddess Sita (the heroine in the texts), who ...

, an illusionary duplicate of Sita. When Vedavati enters the fire to immolate herself, the fire-god

Agni Agni (English: , sa, अग्नि, translit=Agni) is a Sanskrit word meaning fire and connotes the Vedic fire deity of Hinduism. He is also the guardian deity of the southeast direction and is typically found in southeast corners of Hindu ...

provides her refuge. When Sita is to be kidnapped by Ravana, Sita seeks shelter in the fire and exchanges places with Maya Sita, who is Vedavati in her previous birth. Ravana abducts Maya Sita, mistaking her to be Sita. After death of Ravana by Sita's husband

, Sita and Maya Sita switch places in the Agni Pariksha. In other stories, which follow the idea of Vedavati as Maya Sita, it is said that during the Agni Pariksha, Maya Sita's existence and identity as Vedavati (essentially an amshavatara of Lakshmi) is revealed by Agni. Having been abused by Ravana and won by Rama, Vedavati asked the king to be her husband. Rama, being of utmost loyalty to Sita, declines, but promises her his hand in another incarnation. This similarly occurs with Jambavan, whose daughter

Jambavati Jambavati () is chronologically the second ''Ashtabharya'' of the Hindu god Krishna. She is the only daughter of the bear-king Jambavan. Krishna marries her when he defeats her father, Jambavan, in his quest to retrieve the stolen Syamantaka jew ...

becomes Krishna's wife, and a naga princess named Chandrasena (an incarnation of

Bhudevi Bhumi ( sa, भूमि, Bhūmi), also known as Bhudevi and Vasundhara, is a Hindu goddess who is the personification of the Earth. She is a consort of the god Vishnu. According to Vaishnava tradition, she is the second aspect of Vishnu's consor ...

) while in Lanka, who was born Krishna's third wife,

Satyabhama Satyabhama, also known as Satrajiti, is a Hindu goddess and the third queen-consort of the Hindu god Krishna. Satyabhama is described as the incarnation of Bhudevi, the goddess and the personification of the earth. She aided Krishna in defeati ...

. Vedavati was born to Akasha Raja as

Padmavati Padmāvatī may refer to: Deities * Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of fortune * Alamelu, or Padmāvatī, a Hindu goddess and consort of Sri Venkateshwara of Tirupati * Manasa, a Hindu serpent goddess * Padmavati (Jainism), a Jain attendant goddess ( ...

, when she married

Venkateswara Venkateswara, also known by various other names, is a form of the Hinduism, Hindu god Vishnu. Venkateswara is the presiding deity of the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, located in Tirupati, Sri Balaji District, Andhra Pradesh, India. Etymology ...

Notes

References

** **

External links

Story of Vedavati - Ramayana

The Srinivasa Kalyanam Story
''Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams'' * {{Ramayana Characters in the Ramayana