Hanuman's visit, in bazaar art with a Marathi caption, early 1900s

Ashoka Vatika was a grove in

Lanka Lanka (, ) is the name given in Hindu epics to the island fortress capital of the legendary asura king Ravana in the epics of the ''Ramayana'' and the ''Mahabharata''. The fortress was situated on a plateau between three mountain peaks known ...

that was located in the kingdom of the

Rakshasa Rakshasas ( sa, राक्षस, IAST: : Pali: ''rakkhaso'') lit. 'preservers' are a race of usually malevolent demigods prominently featured in Hindu mythology. According to the Brahmanda Purana, the rakshasas were created by Brahma when ...

king

Ravana Ravana (; , , ) is a rakshasa king of the island of Lanka, and the chief antagonist of the Hindu epic '' Ramayana'' and its adaptations. In the ''Ramayana'', Ravana is described to be the eldest son of sage Vishrava and rakshasi Kaikesi. He ...

, as mentioned in the

Vishnu Purana The Vishnu Purana ( IAST:, sa, विष्णुपुराण) is one of the eighteen Mahapuranas, a genre of ancient and medieval texts of Hinduism. It is an important Pancharatra text in the Vaishnavism literature corpus. The manusc ...

and the Hindu epic ''

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages ...

'' of

Valmiki Valmiki (; Sanskrit: वाल्मीकि, ) is celebrated as the harbinger-poet in Sanskrit literature. The epic ''Ramayana'', dated variously from the 5th century BCE to first century BCE, is attributed to him, based on the attributio ...

, and all subsequent versions, including the ''

Ramacharitamanas ''Ramcharitmanas'' ( deva, श्रीरामचरितमानस, Rāmacaritamānasa), is an epic poem in the Awadhi language, based on the '' Ramayana'', and composed by the 16th-century Indian bhakti poet Tulsidas (c. 1532–1623). Thi ...

'' written by

Tulsidas Tulsidas (; born Rambola Dubey; also known as Goswami Tulsidas; c.1511pp. 23–34.–1623) was a Ramanandi Vaishnava Hindu saint and poet, renowned for his devotion to the deity Rama. He wrote several popular works in Sanskrit and Awadhi, b ...

, where it finds mention in the

Sundara Kanda Sundara Kanda ( sa, सुन्दरकाण्ड , lit=beautiful chapter, translit=Sundara Kāṇḍa) is the fifth book in the Hindu epic Ramayana. The original ''Sundara Kanda'' is in Sanskrit, and was composed in popular tradition by Val ...

. The Vatika has garden houses around it, built by Vishwakarma himself.''Historic Rama of Valmiki: Shastragrahi Rama'', by Visvanath Limaye. Published by Gyan Ganga Prakashan, 1985. ''Page 142, 189''. It was the location where

Sita Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, ''Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi. She ...

, the wife of

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bei ...

, was held captive by Ravana after her abduction, also because she refused to stay in Ravana's palace and preferred to stay under ''shimshapa'' tree in Ashoka Vatika. It was here that Ravana's wife

Mandodari Mandodari ( sa, मंदोदरी, , lit. "soft-bellied";) was the queen consort of Ravana, the king of Lanka, according to the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. The ''Ramayana'' describes Mandodari as beautiful, pious, and righteous. She is extol ...

came to meet her and also where

Hanuman Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and on ...

met her for the first time, and identified himself with the finger ring of Rama. Sita-Ashok (Saraca asoca) leaves & flowers in Kolkata W IMG 4175

Sita stayed at Ashoka Vatika until the end of the epic battle between Rama and Ravana, which resulted in the destruction of Ravana himself and most of this clan. Much of the Ashoka Vatika was destroyed by

when he first visited Lanka searching for Sita. Also destroyed was the Pramda Vana at the centre of the Ashoka Vatika.

Present location

Its present location is believed to be the Hakgala Botanical Garden, in the area known as Seetha Eliya, close to the resort city of

Nuwara Eliya Nuwara Eliya ( si, නුවර එළිය ; ta, நுவரெலியா) is a city in the hill country of the Central Province, Sri Lanka. Its name means "city on the plain (table land)" or "city of light". The city is the administrativ ...

. The garden is situated at the base of the Hakgala Rock forms, has Sita Pokuna, a barren area atop the Hakgala Rock Jungle, where Sita was supposedly held captive; the Sita Amman Temple is located here. Another connected site is a spot where Sita bathed in a stream at Sita Eliya, called Sita Jharna. The site has attracted media interest in recent years owing to its connection with Hindu mythology."Sita's Ashok Van awaits restoration in Lanka"

Sify.com Sify Technologies Limited (formerly Satyam Infoway) is an Indian information and communications technology company providing end-to-end ICT solutions including telecom services, data center services, cloud & managed services, transformation in ...

References

External links

- Ashoka Vatika in Sri Lanka
{{Ramayana Places in the Ramayana Nuwara Eliya Locations in Hindu mythology