Sita has been carried away by Ravana to Lanka and held captive in Ashoka grove. Ravana tries to impress and make her his wife. Unaware of the fiery loyalty and strong determination of Sita, he makes immature advances. These have been vociferously dismissed by the ideal woman and mother who tersely replies that Rama will conquer Lanka, kill Ravana and take her back. Taken back by the shivering reply, Ravana gives her twelve months to change her mind. Meanwhile, Rama and Lakshmana find the hermitage empty without Sita and lament in several ways about her loss. He starts searching for her and goes on asking every plant, tree and animal in a frenzied tone about her whereabouts. His desperate pleas and sorry state are heartbreaking for a man in exile to lose his consort. A woman who followed him like his shadow to the exile was nowhere to be seen and abducted by the dangerous rakshasa. The mere thought sent the most powerful man to inconsolable suffering. How he further laments for Sita and his volcanic fury, aroused at her plight, can be seen now.
In chapter 62, Rama bewails for Sita as an ambivert, ambivalent romantic epical hero and asks Lakshmana to return to Ayodhya, as Rama is certain to perish without Sita. He thinks his agony aloud, weighing pros and cons of his situation.
Constantly thinking of Sita and Sita alone, Rama now lived in a world of illusions. Certain that she was hiding behind a tree, or a bush, he called out " I know your love for flowers Sita but come now, the hermitage looks so deserted and desolate without you. Why does she not appear Lakshmana? The demons have perhaps devoured her. The tearful eyes of the deer seem to confirm such an atrocity. How can I face Janaka without Janaki? He cannot endure the dreadful news. Go back to Ayodhya, tell Bharata that from now on he shall be Lord of the earth and protector of the queens. To the queens pay my obeisance and tell them that we have lost Sita." As Rama poured out his anguish, Lakshmana paled at the terror he felt.
In chapter 63, Rama laments while searching for Sita and reminiscing over his past, which was spent happily with Sita. Rama and Lakshmana search for her at riversides of Godavari but she is unseen there. Though Lakshmana continuously encourages Rama for a thorough search without submitting to mere anguish, Rama sinks into his own despair.
From the depths of his despondency that he had sunk into, Rama sighed deeply as he tried to make Lakshmana understand his abject misery. "There is no greater sinner than me on this earth. How can you otherwise explain the series of tragic events? Misfortunes haunt me and calamities have befallen me. These memories increase my sorrow, which I had forgotten in this sylvan serenity. With Sita's disappearance grief once again looms large like a fire rekindled into a blaze from dying embers. Its heat scorches me. Sita must have wept bitterly as the rakshasa carried her away. The soft voice of my beloved is now silenced forever. Yet I continue to live." Having sought information from all that lived or moved on earth, Rama looked up to the skies and asked of the Sun "Lord, you from whom the creatures of the world can hide neither their sins nor their virtues, tell me of Sita? Is she lost or stolen, or is she on her way here? Tell me Lord of the Winds who are all pervading, have you seen Sita?" Rama's questions were all met with silence, his grief could not be quelled, and he fell into a faint. Lakshmana rushed to him gently saying, "Give up this grief Rama. Men of spirit do not allow themselves to be cowed down even in the face of great calamities."
In chapter 64, Rama finds Sita's flowers and footprints, followed by heavy footprints of some male massive demon. On detailed probing there appear some more ruins of a combat between two warriors. Concluding that Sita is abducted by a massive demon, Rama wants to countermove the universe, even by waging a war with gods.
Rama fancied that Sita might perhaps be wandering on the banks of the Godavari gathering lotus flowers. Lakshmana went looking for her but came back disappointed. Rama himself went, driven by an unbearable anxiety, which would not let him rest. He asked the river, the birds, the beasts and every other form of life big and small if they had seen Sita. Rama's questions were not answered and none dared to reveal that Sita was gone, stolen by Ravana, the demon. The animals asked the river for news of their dear companion Sita. But the gurgling Godavari flowed on as though unconcerned, as fearful memories of Ravana's dreadful deeds and form still lingered deep in her. "Even my anguish does not move the Godavari," mused Rama, "How long will the nights be without Sita as I lie awake thinking of her? She was my solace and consolation in my exile and now she is lost. Where do you think I will find her Lakshmana? The animals of the forest seem to be eager to convey something to me".
Rama then turned to the animals asking them if they had seen Sita. As if to answer his query they turned their heads towards the south, looking up at the sky. They started running, seeming to indicate the path by which Sita was borne away. Lakshmana sensed their signals and the underlying urgency. Together with Rama, he directed the search southwards. As they walked along Rama and Lakshmana found some flowers scattered on the path. The sight made Rama tremble, as he recognized them to be his gift to Sita on an earlier occasion. He said "Lakshmana, the Sun, the wind and the gentle earth guard these signs of Sita, in their kindness for me, I presume." Rama spotted a mountain and asked of it, "Have you seen my wife whose skin glows like gold?" Mute and lofty stood the hill. It only echoed Rama's words but did not show him Sita. It was then that the ever calm and composed Rama exploded into a towering rage. Respecting the code of honor, he had walked into the dreaded jungles of Dandaka. As if to test his patience Sita had disappeared and to make his misery complete there seemed to be no way of finding her. His fear and agony manifested into a fierce fury. Like a majestic lion upbraiding a lowly animal, Rama flayed the mountain, "The fire of my arrows shall reduce you to ashes. I will see that none will inhabit your slopes as you stand denuded of shady trees and green grasses. Even the waters of the Godavari shall run dry." So infuriated was Rama that his eyes became red with anger.
He suddenly noticed the large footprints of a rakshasa and around it the impressions of small dainty feet that seemed to have been running around in fright. Rama also saw scattered arrows, quivers and fragments of a chariot. To his horror he recognized pieces of Sita's broken jewels and said "Lakshmana, look at these drops of blood. Sita must have perished as Rakshasas fought over her. See these signs of conflict. To whom does this broken sword belong and whose hand held this gem-studded shield that dazzles like the Sun? Here lies a mangled bow shattered and the pearls that had once adorned it roll on the ground. The royal umbrella festooned with celestial garlands, the demon headed donkeys and the immense gold tipped arrows lie in the dust. This unknown charioteer, whom death has claimed, still clutches the bridle and the whip. Why did not dharma save Sita as she was being abducted? Who would want to harm me? Creatures in their ignorance humiliate me, who am their guardian and well-wisher. The gods seem to have mistaken my compassion, my kindness and my generosity, for my weakness. I shall fill the skies with my arrows, rendering all those who travel the worlds immobile. I will arrest the course of the planets. The moon shall lose its light and the sun shall be eclipsed. As the earth sinks into darkness, cities shall be razed to the ground, fires will be extinguished and winds stilled. Mountains will be reduced to rubble; oceans will dry, and vegetation destroyed. If the gods do not return Sita, neither the worlds nor their creatures will survive. At this very moment the world will witness my might. Chaos and fear will reign as my matchless arrows shower death. No devata, daitya, pisacha or rakshasa can face me as I devastate the worlds in my rage. None will survive and the boundaries of the earth will be wiped out"! Blazing like the doomsday fire he swore, "Lakshmana none can defy me when my anger is aroused. Either Sita is returned to me unharmed or the world with its mountains, its creatures and its creation shall be consigned to ruin this very moment".
In chapter 65, Lakshmana pacifies Rama with reasonable argument in saying that, owing to the felony committed by a single soul, the entire world cannot be put to arrow. But a human search is to be conducted first to find him out who abducted Sita. If she is unavailable even after a thorough search, then that which is appropriate to the situation obtaining then, it can be effectuated.
Broken and distraught Rama was like a rudderless ship caught in a sea of sorrow. Sighing and glancing at his tautly strung bow ready for use he was an image of 'Pralaya Rudra'. Ever an epitome of serenity and compassion, Rama was no longer himself. Lakshmana intervened, saying "Rama, this anger is not like you, it disturbs your grace. A man of absolute self-control, your prime concern has always been the welfare of the world. Do not oppose your divine self, for to each is allotted its nature. To the moon its light, to the Sun its heat, to the wind its movement and to the earth its forbearance is natural. In you, not only are all those present but also your eternal and incomparable glory.
As for the signs of struggle, I cannot tell to whom the chariot of war belonged, but a battle certainly has just been fought and I see only one chariot and one set of foot prints, so the culprit must be one. For the blame of one, will you destroy the entire earth Rama? No army was here. One chariot and one set of horses only have trod this ground. Spattered with blood and gore, it was a fierce battle, but did not involve many. Kings in their mercy should mete out just punishment. Find the enemy and punish him. We shall search the seas, the forests and the mountains. Even the world of gods and gandharvas shall not be spared. If Sita still remains elusive and the gods remain evasive, then at that hour, release your lethal arrows and destroy the earth."
In chapter 66, Lakshmana reasons with Rama regarding the drastic action Rama is about to take in annihilating the worlds. He says many pithy references in dissuading Rama.
Sitting at Rama's feet and touching his head to them Lakshmana's words fell softly in the still desolation that surrounded them. "By going through the most rigorous penance and performing the holiest of rites known to man Dasaratha begot you like the immortals obtaining Amrita. The grief of your separation broke his heart and Dasaratha no longer lives. If you, born of such an indomitable race, cannot bear this misfortune, how can the lesser mortals fare? How can they face hardships and where can they find solace, if you in your sorrow propose to destroy those very men? Tell me Rama, is there a living being that is not subject to adversity? That disaster come to pass, is natural and part of existence. It is the way of the world. Did not Yayathi son of Nahusha leave the heaven that he had gained? Was it not his destiny that caused the loss? Consider Vasishta the greatest of sages and king Dasarhatha's priest. He begot one hundred sons in one day and also lost them all in one day. Is it not his fate? Even the earth, mother of all creatures and consort of Lord Visnu experiences her share of woes and is sometimes shaken. The Sun and the Moon too are not spared for they too suffer eclipses. Whether Sita has been stolen or not, it does not befit you to grieve like a commoner. Valiant men like you do not quail at calamities that befall them. The merit or demerit of past Karmas cannot ever be measured with accuracy. The fruit of action alone can determine the quality of our Karma sown in our past lives and I have heard this from you many a time. Grief has robbed you of your power of discrimination. Behold the devatas and the gandharvas in the land of the celestials and the multitude men on earth. Seek out the enemy among them and destroy him. Of what use is universal annihilation? Slay the sinner who deserves death.”
This concludes chapters 62, 63, 64, 65 and 66 of Aranya Kanda where we had seen the abject misery of Rama in his days of exile, deep in uninhabitable forests. The valiant man has broken down in spirit and questions the nature around him to tell about Sita. The flowers, footmarks, blood stains and scenes of battle arouse the fury of Rama to stall the world, imagining the worst for Sita. A symbol of calmness in calamity, an epitome of compassion and kindness, a person who took to exile with grace and serenity, a giant human who lost his father, as Dasaratha cannot deal with Kaikeyi’s wishes against Rama, a calm person who took it all with grace and poise till now, has lost his inner peace and burst out in anger, while searching for the dear Janaki. The highest virtues and finest qualities of Sita, who was lost now, have aroused the fury of Rama like never seen before. Diffused by Lakshmana who gives timely counsel, the search goes south and how it progresses can be seen in subsequent chapters.
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