UNI
 
Chandigarh, Jul 31: The epic Ramayana gives a detailed description of Lord Hanuman destroying the 'Ashok Van (vatika)' where the demon king Ravana had kept Sita after abducting her to his kingdom of Lanka.

For a visitor to the ancient temple dedicated to Sita at this very spot in Sri Lanka, at first sight, nothing seems to have changed since then. Most of the temple is in ruins but the famous garden still has a lot of huge trees and other vegetation.

Ramayana enthusiast Ashok Kainth, an employee of Kuwait Supreme Court, told UNI that he had come upon the shrine during his search for places associated with the Ramayana in Sri Lanka.

The present-day Sita Eliya is a Buddhist-dominated village, seven km from Nuwara Eliya and about 200 km from Colombo, he said.

The temple of Janaki, stands desolately under the shade of huge trees, as the goddess herself was described as having spent her confinement in Lanka in the epic, Kainth said.

A hillock by the side of a stream is said to be the spot where Sita was believed to have spent long hours in meditation, another rock has footprints of Lord Hanuman, made when he first set foot in the vatika and a cave in which Ravana is believed to have performed his penance.

According to local people, the water in the stream near the rock, tastes different, perhaps because the copious tears, which Sita might have shed pining for her Lord, had mingled with the water.

The antique stone idols of Lord Rama, his brother Lakshmana, consort Janaki and Jatayu, which were said to be found near the temple site centuries ago, are in a broken condition.

Kainth took up the matter with Chief Minister of the Central Province V Radhakrishanan and Muthu Shivlingam, Member of Parliament from the area and a Minister in the Sri Lankan government, and persuaded them to get the temple restored to its pristine glory.

Kainth, who hails from Banga town in Nawanshahar district of Punjab, said as Hindus in the area were not in a position to do much, he had approached prominent Hindu leaders as well as social and religious organisation across the world for renovation of the temple and got encouraging results.

So far about Rs 50 lac has poured in for the renovation of the temple. The temple is managed by the Shri Sita Amaan Temple Trust. Work to build a grand edifice has already started in February this year in cooperation with Sri Lanka Religious Reforms Committee.

Kainth, an ardent devotee of Lord Ram, has made eleven trips to Sri Lanka and has offered to send idols of Shri Ram Parivar (family) to the temple.