South Asian arts celebration, dance performances in Manchester, UK. October 2016. Bheega Bheega as Sita at the 11th annual Dashehra Diwali Mela in Albert Square. This famous festival falls on the 10th day of the waxing moon during the Hindu month of Ashvin (around September or October). Lord Ram, the hero of the great Hindu epic, Ramayan, killed the 10-headed demon king Ravan, who had abducted Lord Ram’s wife, Sita. It is believed that Lord Ram’s brother Lakshman and an army of monkeys fought a colossal battle that lasted 10 days. Lord Ram killed the evil Ravan on the 10th day.
Sita (also spelled Sîta, Seeta or Seetha, also known as Siya, Vaidehi, Janaki, Maithili or Bhoomija, is the central female character of the Hindu epic Ramayana and daughter of King Janaka of Janakpur and his wife queen Sunaina. She was the elder sister of Urmila and cousins Mandavi and Shrutakirti. She is consort of Hindu god Rama(avatar of Vishnu) and is an avatar of Lakshmi(Adi Shakti of Lord Vishnu), goddess of wealth and wife of Vishnu. She is esteemed as a paragon of spousal and feminine virtues for all Hindu women. Sita is known for her dedication, self-sacrifice, courage and purity. Sita is described as the daughter of the earth goddess Bhūmi and the adopted daughter of King Janaka of Mithila and Queen Sunaina. In her youth, she marries Rama, the prince of Ayodhya. After marriage, she goes to exile with her husband and brother-in-law Lakshmana. While in exile, the trio settle in the Dandaka forest, from where she is abducted by Ravana, Rakshasa King of Lanka. She is imprisoned in the Ashoka Vatika of Lanka by Ravana. Sita is finally rescued by Rama in the climatic war where Rama slays Ravana. Sita goes into fire for her human body to come out of fire-god's protection and her imitation, abducted by Ravana, gets back in the fire. Thereafter, Rama and Sita return to Ayodhya, where they are crowned as king and queen. After her sons grow up and unite with their father, Sita returns to her mother, the Earth's womb, for release from a cruel world as a testimony of her purity. The goddess is best known by the name "Sita", derived from the Sanskrit word sīta, furrow. According to Ramayana, Janaka found her while ploughing as a part of a yagna and adopted her. The word sīta was a poetic term, its imagery redolent of fecundity and the many blessings coming from settled agriculture. The Sita of the Ramayana may have been named after a more ancient Vedic goddess Sita, who is mentioned once in the Rigveda as an earth goddess who blesses the land with good crops.
Size: 3600px × 2400px
Location: Manchester, UK
Photo credit: © MediaWorldImages / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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