Vanavasa (Sanskrit:वनवास,romanized: vanavāsa,lit. 'forest dwelling')[1] is a Sanskrit term meaning residence (vāsa) in a forest (vana). While it can be undertaken voluntarily, it usually carries a connotation of forced exile as a punishment. It commonly figures as a harsh penalty in ancientHinduepics (such as theRamayana and theMahabharata)[2] set in a time, thousands of years ago, when much of theIndian subcontinent was a wilderness.[3]
Whenvanavasa is self-imposed, it can imply seclusion from worldly affairs to focus on spiritual matters, as in the case ofashrams (hermitages) established by ancientrishis (sages). When imposed as a punishment, it carries an implication of enforced isolation from society and exposure to life-threatening extreme situations (the elements and wildlife).
Rama is described to have undertaken a period ofvanavasa for 14 years in the forest ofPanchavati, accompanied by his wifeSita and younger brother,Lakshmana. This was invoked byKaikeyi as one of her two boons from her husband, KingDasharatha, desiring her sonBharata to be the successor to the throne ofAyodhya.[4]
ThePandavas andDraupadi were exiled from the kingdom ofHastinapura by their cousinDuryodhana and his uncleShakuni after they lost in a game of dice with them and their common wife, Draupadi, was humiliated in the court before the elders. A chapter in the epic is called the Arjuna-vanavasa parva, focussing on the experiences ofArjuna.[5]
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