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Ignorant people will say, “Look, her husband threw her out
of the house because she stayed at another man’s place and
now she has become a saint. Such a wonderful religion ! First
commit grave mistakes and then accept monkhood to attain
respect and felicitation.”

“Thus such an act can degrade Jainism. Instead, it is advisable
to wait till the accusation on me is cleared. People will
understand that I was pure and will not get a chance to speak
against Jainism.” Sitaji must have made up her mind in this
way during her days of exile. At present, the situation was
different and favourable.

 Rama now regretted his act.
 Rama’s affection and respect for Sita increased.
 Sita had two brave and devoted sons at her service.
 She now possessed all the luxuries and fame.
 People all around respected and worshipped her.

Inspite of all these conveniences, she was absolutely firm on
her decision of renounciation.

Now the question that is bound to arise is –

Q. Isn’t it possible that her decision for renounciation was
taken now after the miracle and not during her forest days ?
Now witnessing extremely favourable circumstances, she
must have concluded that the worldly occurrences are all
a drama. “The very husband who threw me out is now
feeling regretful. The same people criticized me are now

praising and worshipping me. Everything here is fake and
momentary. Whom to trust and whom to not ?” Thinking
on these lines, she must have developed a strong feeling
of non-attachment towards the world and a strong liking
for a pure ascetic life. Isn’t this possible ?
3. Sita’s Desire for Renounciation 17