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Purana and Itihasa (epic history)

Source: archive.org: Puranic Encyclopedia

Ṭiṭṭibhasaras (टिट्टिभसरस्).—A sacred pond near the āśrama of Vālmīki. There is a story about this pond. Once a water-fowl lived there with his mate. One day the male fowl went out for food and as he was returning home he found a few other water-fowls going that way and the male fowl suspected the chastity of his wife. The male fowl decided to abandon his mate and the innocent shefowl prayed to the Aṣṭadikpālakas for help. The Aṣṭadikpālakas instantly appeared there and made a pond and said that if the she-fowl could reach from one shore to the other without getting herself drowned she must be treated as chaste. The she-fowl was accordingly put into the waters and asked to swim to the other shore which she did without any accident. From that day onwards the poṇd was called Ṭiṭṭibhasaras. (Tiṭṭibha = water fowl. Saras = pond).

When Sītā came to the āśrama of Vālmīki after being abandoned by Śrī Rāma, Vālmīki wanted to test her chastity. So the sages asked Sītā to enter the pond and reach the other shore. "Oh goddess of Earth, if even in my dreams no other person than my husband has entered my thoughts, let me reach the other shore safe." So saying Sītā entered the water and the goddess of Earth placed her in her lap and took her to the other shore. Sītā did not get even wet. All the sages called her 'Mahāsādhvī' meaning supremely chaste woman. (Taraṅga 1, Alaṅkāravatīlambaka, Kathāsaritsāgara).

context information

The Purana (पुराण, purāṇas) refers to Sanskrit literature preserving ancient India’s vast cultural history, including historical legends, religious ceremonies, various arts and sciences. The eighteen mahapuranas total over 400,000 shlokas (metrical couplets) and date to at least several centuries BCE.

Kavya (poetry)

Source: Wisdom Library: Kathāsaritsāgara

Ṭiṭṭibhasaras (टिट्टिभसरस्) or Ṭīṭibhasaras is the name of a sacred lake (saras), according to in the Kathāsaritsāgara, chapter 51. Accordingly, as the Munis (hermits) said to Sītā while in the hermitage of Vālmīki: “... there is a famous bathing-place in this forest, called Ṭiṭṭibhasaras, for a certain chaste woman named Ṭīṭibhī, being falsely accused by her husband, who suspected her of familiarity with another man, in her helplessness invoked the goddess Earth and the Lokapālas, and they produced it for her justification. There let the wife of Rāma clear herself for our satisfaction”.

The Kathāsaritsāgara (‘ocean of streams of story’), mentioning Ṭiṭṭibhasaras, is a famous Sanskrit epic story revolving around prince Naravāhanadatta and his quest to become the emperor of the vidyādharas (celestial beings). The work is said to have been an adaptation of Guṇāḍhya’s Bṛhatkathā consisting of 100,000 verses, which in turn is part of a larger work containing 700,000 verses.

context information

Kavya (काव्य, kavya) refers to Sanskrit poetry, a popular ancient Indian tradition of literature. There have been many Sanskrit poets over the ages, hailing from ancient India and beyond. This topic includes mahakavya, or ‘epic poetry’ and natya, or ‘dramatic poetry’.

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Partial matches: Tittibha, Saras.

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Search found 1 books and stories containing Tittibhasaras, Ṭiṭṭibhasaras, Tittibha-saras, Ṭiṭṭibha-saras; (plurals include: Tittibhasarases, Ṭiṭṭibhasarases, sarases). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:

Puranic encyclopaedia (by Vettam Mani)

Story of Sītā

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