Lakshmana Rekha (Sanskrit:लक्ष्मण रेखा), in some later versions of theHindu epicRamayana, is a line in the soil drawn byLakshmana. This line is drawn around the cottage and dwelling in the forest that he shared with his elder brother,Rama, and Rama's wife,Sita. The line is meant to protect Sita, while he was away searching for Rama. This line is not featured in the original epic byValmiki.
In the story, Rama goes chasing a goldendeer (which is actually therakshasaMaricha in disguise), and does not return for a long time. When Sita beseeches Lakshmana to depart in search of his brother, the prince, who could not bear to see Sita cry in grief, reluctantly decides to go and search for Rama. However, before leaving he uses his divine powers and draws this protective line around the cottage . This is subject to his condition that Sita not cross the protective line that he draws around the dwelling. According to this legend, anybody other than Rama, Sita, and himself who attempted to cross the line with any kind of malicious intent would face severe divine resistance from the line and it will be impossible to cross it. Once Lakshmana leaves in search of Rama, therakshasa king,Ravana, arrives on the site in the form of a mendicant, and asks Sita for alms. Sita goes inside and Ravana tries to enter the cottage but is immediately stopped by the divine power of the line and realizes that its impossible for him to enter forcefully. He then tricks sita to cross the line and not suspecting the ploy, sita unsuspectingly crosses the Lakshmana Rekha to provide alms to him. Ravana promptly abducts her and flies her toLanka upon hisPushpaka Vimana.
TheRamacharitamanas, the popularnorth Indian rendering of the story of Rama, does not feature the Lakshmana Rekha story in the Aranya Kanda. However, in the Lanka Kanda of the Ramcharitmanas, (35.1) Ravana's wifeMandodari rebukes him on his boisterous claims of valour by hinting that his claims of strength and valour are shallow, for he could not even cross a small line drawn by Rama's younger brother, Lakshmana.
The Radhey Shyam Ramayana mentions that the crossing of Lakshamana Rekha by Sita was done absent-mindedly by an anxious Sita only to honour the Indian tradition ofAtithi Devo Bhava : guests are to be accorded the respect of God himself. Sita crosses the boundary only to give alms to Ravana once he insists that the alms cannot be accepted across a barrier as crossing it was against the principle of thefree will of the donor.
In local tradition, the line is believed to have been drawn atPanchavati, in the forest ofDandakaranya, which is now part of the city ofNashik inMaharashtra.
Lakshmana Rekha, in modernIndian parlance, refers to a strict convention or a rule, never to be broken. See the AmericanBright-line rule. It often refers to the ethical limits of an action, traversing which may lead to undesirable consequences. Example of use:
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