Sri Lanka ‘Sita Kotuwa’, a place sanctified by Devi Sita’s stay

There are many places in Sri Lanka that have some connection with Prabhu Shree Ram, Devi Sita and Lakshman. ‘Sita Kotuwa’ is one such place, where it is believed that Princess Sita was kept by King Ravana.

Ramayana facts Sri Lanka states that the city of Lankapura once stood in these jungles. The city had a beautiful palace for queen Mandodari surrounded by waterfalls, streams and varieties of flora, this was the palace where Devi Sita was first kept until she was moved to Ashok Vatika. The name Sita Kotuwa means “Sita’s fortress” which got its name because of Devi Sita stay here.

Sita Kotuwa is located at Gurulupotha, Hasalaka in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. On a Sri Lanka Ramayana trip with a Spiritual group in 2017, we went to Sita Kotuwa. We went down the hill, singing Bhajans and Kirtan. The place exudes serene calmness, one can hear the chirping of the birds, the tinkling roar of the stream, and lots of vivid imagination of how Devi Sita would have stayed at this place. As one has to walk down almost 1.5 km and then walk up, the place is not very much visited by the tourists.

We did meditation at ‘Sita Kotuwa’ and experienced the spiritual energy.

One question, which always haunts me, why Ravana made Devi Sita stay with Queen Mandodari? The only answer I can think of, which is suggested in many versions of Ramayana, is that Sita was Ravana’s daughter ?

Rakhi Sunil Kumar