One day as Raja Janak was ploughing his lands, a lidded gold urn decorated with a lotus flower design popped out of the soil beneath his plough. Inside the urn was a beautiful baby girl. The king brought this gift from the gods home to be the royal princess Sita.
The Ramayana describes Sita as the reincarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu's consort Laksmi, who was reborn as a princess in the demon kingdom of Lanka. At her birth, however, the baby called out ill omens for Lanka and its demons, so they put her in an urn and floated her down the river. She then was discovered by a king who had left his throne to become a hermit farmer, but returned to his rightful rule once he found the beautiful Sita.
AS per Wikipedia
Birth
The birthplace of Sita is disputed. Janakpur of Mithila, Nepal in Eastern-Madhesh Plain of Southern Nepal and Sitamarhi, Bihar, India near the Nepalese border are described as Sita's birthplace.
- Valmiki's Ramayana: In Valmiki's Ramayana and Kamban's Tamil epic Ramavataram, Sita is said to have been discovered in a furrow in a ploughed field, and for that reason is regarded as a daughter of Bhmi Devi (the goddess earth), Sita Birthstar is Ashlesha Constellation in Chaitra month. She was discovered, adopted and brought up by Janaka, king of Mithila, and his wife Sunayana.
- Ramayana Manjari: In Ramayana Manjari (verses 344-366), North-western and Bengal recensions of Valmiki Ramayana, it has been described as on hearing a voice from the sky and then seeing Menaka, Janaka expresses his wish to obtain a child. And when he finds the child, he hears the same voice again telling him the infant is his spiritual child, born of Menaka
- Janka's real daughter: In Ramopkhyana of the Mahabharata and also in Paumachariya of Vimala Suri, Sita has been depicted as Janaka's real daughter. According to Rev. Fr. Camille Bulcke, this motif that Sita was the real daughter of Janaka, as described in Ramopkhyana Mahabharata was based on the authentic version of Valmiki Ramayana. Later the story of Sita miraculously appearing in furrow was inserted in Valmiki Ramayana.
- Reincarnation of Vedavati: Some versions of the Ramayana suggest that Sita was a reincarnation of Vedavati. Ravana tried to molest Vedavati and her chastity was sullied beyond Ravana's redemption when she was performing penance to become consort of Vishnu. Vedavati immolated herself on a pyre to escape Ravana's lust, vowing to return in another age and be the cause of Ravana's destruction. She was duly reborn as Sita.
- Reincarnation of Manivati: According to Gunabhadra's Uttara Purana of the ninth century BCE, Ravana disturbs the asceticism of Manivati, daughter of Amitavega of Alkapuri, and she pledges to take revenge on Ravana. Manivati is later reborn as the daughter of Ravana and Mandodari. But, astrologers predict ruin of Ravana because of this child. So, Ravana orders to kill the child. Manivati is placed in a casket and buried in the ground of Mithila where she is discovered by some of the farmers of the kingdom. Then Janka, king of that state adopts her.
- Ravana's daughter: In Sanghadasa's Jaina version of Ramayana and also in Adbhuta Ramayana, Sita, entitled Vasudevahindi, is born as daughter of Ravana. According to this version, astrologers predict that first child of Vidyadhara Maya (Ravana's wife) will destroy his lineage. Thus, Ravana abandons her and orders the infant to be buried in a distant land where she is later discovered and adopted by Janaka.
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