Who was Sita? A
goddess, a dutiful wife, a doting mother, a victim of the patriarchal society
or a survivor? I had never given any thought on the role of Sita in Ramayana,
till I read this beautifully written book. The book is a collection of essays,
insights, various forms of Ramayana, role of Sita, characterization of Sita in
modern times and snippets of dialogues with some of the well-known
personalities who have done extensive research on Sita. It is a very different
concept for a book - very well-written and a must read for the one and all!
Ramayana has 300+
variants, with different messages. While the Valimiki Ramayana, which we are
all aware of, talks about the greatness of Rama and the wifely obedience of
Sita and how Ravana lusted Sita and abducted her, there are other Ramayana's
which throw light on why Sita was abducted.
In one variant, it
is said that Sita was Mandodari's daughter. Mandodari had drunk the forbidden
blood of the sage, to spite Ravana, because he did not pay attention to
Mandodari while he was doing his penance. When Ravana returned from the
tapasya, Mandodari was pregnant with Sita, so she hid Sita in a pitcher and
sent her away. Sita was eventually discovered by King Janaka in Mithila.
In another variant,
it is said that Mandodari had asked Ravana to get lotus from the pond to show
his valor. When Ravana tried to capture the lotus, it kept moving away and
finally he had to go underwater / to hell to retrieve the lotus. In order to
get the lotus, he was asked to either build a ladder to heaven or to marry
Sita. Ravana chose marrying Sita as he thought it would be easier….
Then another variant
talks about Ravana being captivated by Sita's culinary skills rather than
anything else. He had tasted her food which was carried by a crow!
And then there is
this variant, which serves inspiration for all our Bollywood movies, where
Surpankha has been insulted and disfigured by Lakshmana and ridiculed by Rama
is also interesting. Surpankha is in her teens when this incident happens, she
is enraged and seeks Ravana's help. In order to avenge his sister's insult,
Ravana decides to abduct Sita - an eye for an eye! However, Ravana doesn’t
molest Sita, instead treats her with respect and honor.
The book portrays
Sita as a survivor - she was not a submissive wife. She had a mind of her own!
When she was asked by her husband to prove her chastity once again when
Luv-Khush and Rama were reunited, she flatly refused Rama and instead chose to
leave him and return back to Mother Earth. One of the essays mentions that Sita
challenged Rama publicly about the concept of chastity. Chastity is not a
physical thing, but it is a psychological thing. And why was Sita alone asked
to prove her chastity - wasn’t Rama also alone when she was abducted by Ravana?
Why dint the people question Rama's chastity? In a patriarchal society, the
woman is always questioned, she is the one who has to prove her innocence. Come
to think of it, a woman who is promiscuous, is always looked upon like dirt,
she is an outcast...but at the same time a man with the same
"qualities" is not an outcast!
The book has some
heart wrenching stories, based on Sita, especially the one where the husband
accuses his wife of infidelity based on what he has overheard from the drunk
dhobi!!
Even today some of
the traditional songs sung during marriages tell the bride to be pure, to be
coy, to be submissive and what not! Gender equality will become a reality when
the men who aspire to have brides like Sita, will themselves want to emulate Rama!
All in all, a well
written book with a wide variety of insights about Sita - a must-read esp for
the male chauvinists :)
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