RAMA WAS 24 AND SITA WAS 17 WHEN THEY GOT MARRIED!
Child marriages did not exist in Ancient India. Vedas, Ithihasas, or Puranas do not mention any child marriage. All women in ancient times married after at least attaining 16 years of age, and most weddings were at Swayamvar.
Susruta, the ancient surgeon of India, wrote in his book ‘Susruta Samhita’ that the marriage age of a girl must be above 16 and for boys must be above 25 years. Many pseudo-scholars wrongly claim that Rama and Sita were kids when married, but Valmiki Ramayana proves them wrong.
In Aranya Kanda of Valmiki Ramayana, Sita 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 Sita was 6 and Rama was 13 at the time of their marriage? The answer is a big NO.
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. Since both Sita and Rama were from Kshatriya families, both of them were initiated at 11. So after their 2nd birth (initiation), their new ages were 6 and 13 respectively, but their biological ages were 17 and 24 at marriage.
After 12 years of married life at Ayodhya, when they left for exile, their new ages were 18 and 25 but biological ages were 29 and 36 years.
When Ravana abducted Sita after 13 years in forest, her actual age was 42 and Rama was 49.
When Rama killed Ravana and returned with Sita back to Ayodhya, their ages were 50 and 43 respectively.
Padma Purana describes Sita before marriage as a fully grown adult woman. There are many instances in the Ramayana to prove that Rama and Sita were adults when married. In fact, until 1000 years ago, there were no child marriages, no forced arranged marriages for Indian women.