Years later, Sita returns to the womb of her mother, the Earth, for release from a cruel world and as a testimony to her purity, after she reunites her two sons Kusha and Lava with their father Rama.

[27] When Sita reached adulthood, Janaka conducted a svayamvara ceremony at his capital with the condition that she would marry only a prince who would possess the strength to string the Pinaka, the bow of the deity Shiva.

Hearing about the svayamvara, Vishvamitra asked Rama to participate in the ceremony with the consent of Janaka, who agreed to offer Sita's hand in marriage to the prince if he could fulfil the requisite task.

[29] King Dasharatha arrived in Mithila for his son's wedding and noticed that Lakshmana had feelings for Urmila, but according to tradition, Bharata and Mandavi were to marry first.

When Rama obliged him with success, Parashurama acknowledged the former to be a form of Vishnu and departed to perform penance at the mountain Mahendra.

[35] The Thai version of the Ramayana, however, tells of Sita walking on the fire, of her own accord, to feel clean, as opposed to jumping in it.

Rama was extremely distraught on hearing the news, but finally told Lakshmana that as a king, he had to make his citizens pleased and the purity of the queen of Ayodhya has to be above any gossip and rumour.

Hearing her plea for release from an unjust world and from a life that had rarely been happy, the Earth dramatically split open; Bhūmi appeared and took Sita away.

[52][53] The text identifies Sita with primordial Prakriti (nature) and her three powers are manifested in daily life as will (iccha), action (kriyā) and knowledge (jnana).

[60] Sita along with Rama appears as the central character in Valmiki Samhita, which is attributed to their worship and describes them to be the ultimate reality.

[65] While Ramananda's Sri Ramarchan Paddati explains the complete procedure to worship Sita-Rama, Tulsidas's Vinaya Patrika has devotional hymns dedicated to her.

[66][67] Ramananda through his conversation with disciple Surasurananda in Vaishnava Matabja Bhaskara, explains about the worship of Rama, Sita and Lakshmana.

[68][69] The Sita-Rama and Radha-Krishna pairs represent two different personality sets, two perspectives on dharma and lifestyles, both cherished in the way of life called Hinduism.

If "Sita is a queen, aware of her social responsibilities", states Pauwels, then "Radha is exclusively focused on her romantic relationship with her lover", giving two contrasting role models from two ends of the moral universe.

According to the play, Vishwamitra invites Janaka to attend his sacrifice, but he sends his brother Kushadhvaja and daughters Sita and Urmila, as his delegates.

Some see her as victimized and oppressed who obeyed her husband's commands, remained faithful to him, served her in-laws or yielded to parental authority.

Yet, there are others who see a more liberated Sita, who was outspoken, had the freedom to express herself, said what she wanted to in order to get her way, spoke harsh words, repented for it, loved her husband, was faithful to him, served her family, did not get seduced by the glamour and material objects in Lanka, faced an angry husband, tried to appease him, reconciled her marriage, later accepted her separation, raised well balanced children as a single mother and then moved on.

It is celebrated on the navami (ninth day) of the Shukla Paksha (first lunar fortnight) of the Hindu month of Vaishakha.

[127][128] Vivaha Panchami is a Hindu festival celebrating the wedding of Rama and Sita in the Janakpurdham which was the capital city of Mithila.

The epic and its dramatic play migrated into southeast Asia in the 1st millennium CE, and Ramayana based Ramlila is a part of performance arts culture of Indonesia, particularly the Hindu society of Bali, Myanmar, Cambodia and Thailand.

[136][137] In some parts of India, Rama and Sita's return to Ayodhya and their coronation is the main reason for celebrating Diwali, also known as the Festival of Lights.

[139] Abhishekam – specifically called Snapana Thirumanjanam (Holy bathing), is performed to the utsava murthy and his consorts on all the three days.

[142] The next story is not much different from the original version, namely the marriage of Shinta to Sri Rama, her kidnapping, and the death of Ravana in the great war.

In the seventh month, Kanun who was "mitoni" her pregnancy, suddenly caused a stir in the Alengka palace, because the baby he was carrying was predicted by several priests who were at the party that he would become Rahwana's "wife" (his own father).

Sure enough, when Ravana was on an overseas service, his empress gave birth to a baby girl with a very beautiful face glowing like the full moon.

Wibisana (Ravana's sister) who is holy and full of humanity, immediately took the baby and put it in Sinta's diamond, then anchored it into the river.

[160][161] The Ramayana became popular in Southeast Asia from the 8th century onward and was represented in literature, temple architecture, dance and theatre.

[163] In Indonesia, especially Java and Bali, Ramayana has become a popular source of artistic expression for dance drama and shadow puppet performances in the region.

Sendratari Ramayana is the Javanese traditional ballet in wayang orang style, routinely performed in the cultural center of Yogyakarta.

[164][165] In Balinese Hindu temples in Ubud and Uluwatu, where scenes from Ramayana are an integral part of kecak dance performances.