What was the age of Sita at the time of marriage?

Question

I've read the claims that she was a child at the time of marriage. Is that really true? What scriptures tell about the marriage age of Sita?

Answer 1

Here is what Sita says to Ravana in aranya kanda(sita says that when Rama left ayodhya for exile,Rama was 25 years old and sita says she was or is 18 years old.

मम भर्ता महातेजा वयसा पंच विंशकः ||  अष्टा दश हि वर्षाणि मम जन्मनि गण्यते | (Aranya Kanda 47 Sarga 11 sloka)

"My great-resplendent husband was of  twenty-five years of age at that time, and to me eighteen years are reckoned up from my birth. "

Here is what Sita says to Hanuman

समा द्वादश तत्र अहम् राघवस्य निवेशने || ५-३३-१७ भुन्जाना मानुषान् भोगान् सर्व काम समृद्धिनी | I

ततः त्रयोदशे वर्षे राज्येन इक्ष्वाकु नन्दनम् || ५-३३-१८ अभिषेचयितुम् राजा स उपाध्यायः प्रचक्रमे | I stayed in Rama's house there for twelve years, enjoying the worldly pleasures belonging to human kind and fulfilling all my desires."

ततः त्रयोदशे वर्षे राज्येन इक्ष्वाकु नन्दनम् || ५-३३-१८ अभिषेचयितुम् राजा स उपाध्यायः प्रचक्रमे | Thereafter, in the thirteenth year, King Dasaratha along with his preceptors started to perform anointment of the kingdom to Rama, a celebrity of Ikshvaku dynasty."

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Now if you calculate maths then sita says to ravana she is 18 years and she also says to Hanuman she stayed in Rama s home for 12 years before exile so if this is the case then it sounds weird that Sita was 6 years old when she married Rama.

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UPDATE:-

The above part engages in wrong mathematics. It committed deduction(-) instead of addition(+).

1st statement claims Sita told Ravana she married Rama at 18.

2nd statement claims Sita told Hanuman she stayed with Rama for 12 years and had to leave on 13th year.

So, Sita married at 18 and stayed with her husband Rama for 12 years post marriage and then left for Vanprastha on 13th year at the age of 31.

18+12 = 30. Sita's age on 13th year of her marriage will be 31.

There is no mention of pre marital live-in relationship of Rama and Sita in any version of Ramayana on the planet to even consider that 12 years of living with Rama (mentioned in second statement to Hanuman) is pre marriage.

UPDATE

ऊन षोडश वर्षो मे रामो राजीव लोचनः | न युद्ध योग्यताम् अस्य पश्यामि सह राक्षसैः || १-२०-२Less than sixteen years of age is my lotus-eyed Rama, and I see no warring aptitude to him with the demons. [1-20-2

In this verse King dashratha says to sage vishwamitra that he is less then 16 years not 16 which could mean around 12-13 years.

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UPDATE:-

Full context is, Rama and Lakshamana left for training under Vishwamitra to kill demon Tadka at the age of 12-14. Both Rama and Lakshamana trained under Vishwamitra for years, learned marital arts and weapon usage from him, received a lot of divine weapons from Vishwamitra and only after that engaged in battle with Tadka and killed her.

After killing Tadka both the princes travelled with Vishwamitra and eventually went to Sita's kingdom.

Answer 2

As per the Skanda Mahā-Purāṇa, at the time of their marriage, goddess Sītā was 6 years old, & Śrī Rāma was 15 years old.

Chapter 30, Dharmāraṇya-khaṇḍa, Book 3 - Brāhma-khaṇḍa, Skanda-purāṇa

ईश्वरस्य धनुर्भग्नं जनकस्य गृहे स्थितम् ।
रामः पंचदशे वर्षे षड्वर्षां चैव मैथिलीम् ॥ ८ ॥
उपयेमे तदा राजन्रम्यां सीतामयोनिजाम् ।
कृतकृत्यस्तदा जातः सीतां संप्राप्य राघवः ॥ ९ ॥

8. to 9. The bow of Īśvara that was kept in the abode of Janaka, was broken. In his fifteenth year, O king, Rāma married the six-year old beautiful daughter of the king of Mithilā, Sītā who was not born of a womb. On getting Sītā, Rāghava became contented and happy.

English Translation by G.V. Tagare

Answer 3

In Aranya Kanda of Valmiki Ramayana, Seetha tells Ravana that she had stayed at Ayodhya for 12 years after marriage. When She had left for Vanvaas, she was 18 and Rama was 25 years of age. Does it mean she was 6 and Rama was 13 at time of marriage ? Since vedic era, Upanayana or initiation of education was considered as 2nd birth (Dwija). For Brahmins it was done at age of 8, Kshatriyas at 11 and Vaishyas at 12. They were called Dwija (twice born) after that (Apasthamba Grihya Sutra). Since both Seetha and Rama were from Kshatriya families, both of them were initiated at age of 11. So, after their 2nd birth (initiation), their new age was 6 and 13, but their biological age was 17 and 24 years respectively at time of marriage. After 12 years of married life at Ayodhya, when they left for Forest exile, their new ages were 18 and 25 but biological ages were 29 and 36 years.