Lakshmana rekha
Lakshmana Rekha (), in some later versions of the Hindu epic Ramayana, is a line in the soil drawn by Lakshmana. This line is drawn around the 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 by Valmiki. In the story, Rama goes chasing a golden deer (which is actually the rakshasa Maricha 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, 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 would be burnt. Once Lakshmana leaves in search of Rama, the rakshasa king, Ravana, arrives on the site in the form of a mendicant, and asks Sita for alms. Not suspecting the ploy, she unsuspectingly crosses the Lakshmana Rekha