At that fateful hour as Sita watched Lakshmana step out of the hermitage, her life was clouded forever. It was also Ravana's moment of triumph. He seized the oppurtunity with wicked glee. He approached Sita in the guise of a hermit. His robes were russet and his hair was bound in a knot. Wearing sandals, he held an umbrella, staff and a water pitcher. Just as an ominous darkness shrouds the earth at dusk, so was Ravana's coming in the absence of Rama and Lakshmana. He cast his evil eyes on Sita. The churning of the sea had brought forth the marvel called Lakshmi and as though to excel that act, the earth came up with the marvel of Sita, a woman of unsurpassed beauty. In a face radiant as the moon her eyes were like the lotus petals. Pearly white teeth hid behind soft pink lips and she was clad in golden hued silks. Tears of anguish were streaming down her cheeks as she wept for Rama. "Beautiful one", said Ravana, feigning the gentle manner of a noble Brahmin, with Vedas on his lips and evil in his heart, "your skin rivals the sheen of gold. Your lotus like face, eyes, hands and feet remind me of a blossoming vine. Who are you? Are you Bhudevi, Sri Devi or Rati Devi? Could you be an apsara or the goddess Lakshmi? Like a river in spate sweeps away its banks, you have swept me off my feet. Neither gods, nor celestials nor mortals can match your beauty. This is not a fit home for you who are so dainty; it wrings my heart to see you like this. You should be living in palaces and fragrant groves, eating the best of food, wearing the finest of clothes and the most exquisite of jewels. You deserve a husband, befitting your charm. Go home lady! This place is infested with rakshasas whose form is dreadful and whose thoughts are lecherous. No yaksha, gandharva or kinnera inhabit these parts. This is home to the demons. Do not the beasts of prey that stalk these jungles, frighten you? Who are you and who are your people? Where do you come from and why do you stay alone in Dandaka, among the fierce rakshasas?" Sita treated Ravana like an honored guest guileless as a child she offered him hospitality and food. "Brahmin here is your seat and here is your 'Arghya' the best of forest fare awaits you" she said. Sita saw Ravana as a noble Brahmin. Ravana saw her as an object of his passions and to his ruin coveted to possess it by force. Ravana schemed as Sita scanned the horizon for Rama and Lakshmana. But her gaze met only the cool green of the forest that gazed back at her silently.
Summary
At that fateful hour as Sita watched Lakshmana step out of the hermitage, her life was clouded forever. It was also Ravana's moment of triumph. He seized the oppurtunity with wicked glee. He approached Sita in the guise of a hermit. His robes were russet and his hair was bound in a knot. Wearing sandals, he held an umbrella, staff and a water pitcher. Just as an ominous darkness shrouds the earth at dusk, so was Ravana's coming in the absence of Rama and Lakshmana. He cast his evil eyes on Sita. The churning of the sea had brought forth the marvel called Lakshmi and as though to excel that act, the earth came up with the marvel of Sita, a woman of unsurpassed beauty. In a face radiant as the moon her eyes were like the lotus petals. Pearly white teeth hid behind soft pink lips and she was clad in golden hued silks. Tears of anguish were streaming down her cheeks as she wept for Rama. "Beautiful one", said Ravana, feigning the gentle manner of a noble Brahmin, with Vedas on his lips and evil in his heart, "your skin rivals the sheen of gold. Your lotus like face, eyes, hands and feet remind me of a blossoming vine. Who are you? Are you Bhudevi, Sri Devi or Rati Devi? Could you be an apsara or the goddess Lakshmi? Like a river in spate sweeps away its banks, you have swept me off my feet. Neither gods, nor celestials nor mortals can match your beauty. This is not a fit home for you who are so dainty; it wrings my heart to see you like this. You should be living in palaces and fragrant groves, eating the best of food, wearing the finest of clothes and the most exquisite of jewels. You deserve a husband, befitting your charm. Go home lady! This place is infested with rakshasas whose form is dreadful and whose thoughts are lecherous. No yaksha, gandharva or kinnera inhabit these parts. This is home to the demons. Do not the beasts of prey that stalk these jungles, frighten you? Who are you and who are your people? Where do you come from and why do you stay alone in Dandaka, among the fierce rakshasas?" Sita treated Ravana like an honored guest guileless as a child she offered him hospitality and food. "Brahmin here is your seat and here is your 'Arghya' the best of forest fare awaits you" she said. Sita saw Ravana as a noble Brahmin. Ravana saw her as an object of his passions and to his ruin coveted to possess it by force. Ravana schemed as Sita scanned the horizon for Rama and Lakshmana. But her gaze met only the cool green of the forest that gazed back at her silently.