|
Even though Sita plays a pivotal role in the Ramayana, when you actually seek her out you realize she is but a prop, appearing and disappearing, with her marriage, her abduction, her rescue and finally her banishment. Who is she really? There are tantalizing clues in classical as well as subaltern literature and in folk traditions, but nothing else.
And then, of course, there is the attempt of modern writers to portray her as a helpless, hapless victim, shaped both by the tragic state of women in many parts of the world and by modern political prejudices against all things religious. So you wonder if you really know Sita at all. And this enquiry made me seek Sita.
The journey to discover Sita makes you realize that the Ramayana is not a book, as most people assume, but a vast tradition manifesting itself in written, oral and visual traditions. And for some reason, children of India have been kept away from it. Yes, we are told of the Valmiki Ramayana, but we are not told that there are several versions of this original story itself a northern version, a southern version, an eastern version, which have barely a third of the verses common between them. Then there are Sanskrit plays written by dramatists like Bhasa and Bhavabhuti where Ram is a great hero, not necessarily God. Then we find Ramayanas of the Jains, the Buddhists as well as from South East Asia, which retell the same story but with a very different emotion. From the tenth century onwards we find the Ramayana in each and every Indian language, written by several authors, in different scripts, with different styles, all deeply immersed in bhakti. It is through these regional narratives, not the Sanskrit ones really, that ideas related to love, valour, fidelity and wisdom spread to every corner of India.
Besides songs and stories, there are also the visual narrations in the form of carvings and murals on temple walls, paintings on cloth and paper such as the Mewari and Rajasthani miniatures and Kalamkari and Patta-chitra and Chitrakathi artworks. In some of these we find Ram with a moustache, in others with a six-pack. All these amused and inspired me and I wanted to share them with the world.
And in this storm of ideas stands steadfast the quiet Sita, very different from the fiery and vengeful Draupadi. Her silence has been taken to mean submission by those who forget she is the daughter of Janaka who was the patron of the Upanishads, the body of work that captures the essence of Vedic thought. Through her silence she conveyed her serenity and sagacity, unflustered by the restraints of culture, demands of morality and the rage of villains.
We today are too busy wanting to be heard. We do not bother with listening. This book is written so that we listen to Sita and through her discover a uniquely Indian approach to justice, fairness and most importantly, love.
Description
The chariot stopped far from the city in the middle of the forest. Sita alighted, eager to walk amongst the trees. The charioteer, Lakshman, remained seated. Sensing he had something to say, Sita paused. Lakshman finally spoke, eyes to the ground, Your husband, my elder brother, Ram, king of Ayodhya, wants you to know that the streets are full of gossip. Your reputation is in question. The rules are clear on this: a kings wife should be above all doubt. The scion of the Raghu clan therefore has ordered you to stay away from his person and his palace and his city. You are free to go wherever else you please. But you may not reveal to anyone you were once Rams queen.
Sita watched Lakshmans nostrils flare. She felt his embarrassment and his rage. She wanted to reach out and reassure him, but she restrained herself.
You feel your Ram has abandoned his Sita, dont you? she asked gently.
But he has not. He cannot.
He is God; he abandons no one.
And I am Goddess; I cannot be abandoned by anyone.
A mystified Lakshman returned to Ayodhya, while Sita smiled in the forest and unbound her hair.
It is significant that the only character in Hindu mythology, a king at that, to be given the title of ekam-patni-vrata, devoted to a single wife, is associated with the most unjust act of abandoning her in the forest to protect family reputation. This seems a deliberate souring of an uplifting narrative. Rams refusal to remarry to produce a royal heir adds to the complexity. The intention seems to be to provoke thought on notions of fidelity, property and self-image.
And so the mythologist and illustrator Devdutt Pattanaik retells the Ramayana, drawing attention to the many oral, visual and written retellings composed in different times, in different places, by different poets, each one trying to solve the puzzle in its own unique way.
This book approaches Ram by speculating on Sita: her childhood with her father, Janaka, who hosted sages mentioned in the Upanishads; her stay in the forest with her husband, who had to be a celibate ascetic while she was in the prime of her youth; her interactions with the women of Lanka, recipes she exchanged, emotions they shared; her connection with the earth, her mother, and with the trees, her sisters; her role as the Goddess, the untamed Kali as well as the demure Gauri, in transforming the stoic prince of Ayodhya into God.
About the Author
Devdutt Pattanaik is a medical doctor by education, a leadership consultant by profession and a mythologist by passion. He has written and lectured extensively on the nature of sacred stories, symbols and rituals and their relevance in modern times. His books with Penguin India include The Book of Ram, Myth = Mithya: A Handbook of Hindu Mythology, The Pregnant King, Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata, and the Devlok series of stories for children. Devdutts unconventional approach and engaging style is evident in his lectures, books and articles.
|