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STORIES · THE RĀMĀYAṆA · Hindi & Awadhi · regional retelling

Maya Sita: the real Sita hidden in fire

Variant

In some tellings Ravana never touched the real Sita.

In Tulsidas's Aranya Kand, Rama knows Ravana's plan, so Sita places her shadow, Maya Sita, in her place and hides in fire. Ravana abducts only the shadow, and the real Sita is restored later. This is why the fire ordeal reads differently in these tellings.

Who: Sita, Maya Sita, Ravana, Rama

Bound to

Tribal puppet tellings: only Ravana's shadow was killed mirror

Ramcharitmanas: three conversations nested inside each other located-at

Lakshmana Rekha: the line that is not in Valmiki located-at

Places: Panchavati, Nashik

Where this comes from

• devotional · Wikipedia: Ramcharitmanas Aranya Kand

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