Durga

As Sita walked into the flames, she was entirely consumed. Those who surrounded the fire could only see its bright radiance, and hear the crackle of the fire.

Sita, however, saw much more. As she walked closer and closer into the flame, its light began to dim. She could no longer feel the increasing heat of the fire. As she looked up, she saw what looked like a horse from afar. Sita quickly turned to see Rama and the rest of those surrounding the fire, but she saw nothing.

As the horse galloped closer, Sita noticed that it wasn’t a horse, but a lion! Her eyes widened as she saw the Goddess Durga approach her.

“My eyes must be fooling me,” said Sita. “Durga, why have you come?”

Durga quickly hopped off of her lion and walked closer to Sita. “A great dishonor has been brought upon your name, Sita. I am here to help you fix it.”

Confused, Sita continued with the conversation. “But Durga, my dear Rama means me no harm! He does what he has to as monarch.”

“No, Sita,” said Durga, “I have been watching you both. Time and time again I have watched Rama disappoint you, and each time you seem to have no problem with it. I can’t let you go on like this. Sita, you represent divine femininity and virtue! It is about time you regain a voice for yourself.”

Sita looked up at Durga. In a way, she knew that Durga was right. Sita showed Rama nothing but love and respect, and he couldn’t reciprocate that. She knew what had to be done.

Durga armed Sita with three powerful weapons. The Trishula, Headed with three spears. The Bharagavastra, bow and arrow. And the Sudharshana Chakra, the spinning disk. "Drink this," said Durga hastily as she handed Sita what looked to be a can of water. "I have blessed it so that it will give you strength, should you choose to fight for your freedom." Sita drank it quickly.

“Rama must learn how to treat you with the utmost respect. I have given him many chances to prove himself to you, as a testament towards his respect for all women, but each time he has disappointed. I cannot tell you what to do, Sita. But what I can do is make you see the other side of Rama. The side you have chosen to turn a blind eye to.”

On the other side of the fire, Rama stood silently. His anticipation was growing, and he knew something was wrong. Finally, the fire on his side began to dim. He stood in shock when it was Durga who revealed herself, rather than Agni.

“Rama, you have disappointed me, and all the women under your rule. Your inability to put your faith and trust in your wife makes me question your integrity as a monarch.”

Rama drew out his sword. “How can you question my place as monarch? I am the rightful ruler of this kingdom! For fourteen years, I agreed to remain in exile for the greater good of this kingdom. Now that I finally have it back, you can't take it away.”

Sita came out from behind Durga with the Trishula in her hand.

“This is our fight, Rama. You have dishonored my name the minute you put my virtue into question. I have done nothing but love you. I followed you into exile. I stayed by your side, and you repay me by condemning me to a trial by fire. Durga is right. There is only one way we can settle this.”

And with that, Rama and Sita began to battle. Rama was swift, but his sword was no match against the powerful weapons that Sita wielded. Sita caught him on the floor and pressed with the Sudarshana . At that moment, she hesitated. Durga empowered her to fight for her beliefs, but she couldn't just kill the man she followed to exile. Regardless of how he treated her, a part of Sita will always love Rama.

She lowered. her spear and began to speak “From this day forward, Kosala is mine to rule. And when the time comes, I will decide who to appoint as my successor. Agree to these terms and you will be set free.”

Afraid to die, Rama swallowed his pride and allowed Sita to rule the kingdom of Kosala. From that day forward, the narrative for the women of Kosala changed. Femininity was indeed divine, and with Sita as their ruler, they found power in their voice.

Image: Durga

Find more about Durga here

Author's note:

Durga is the goddess of war, so of course I thought it was fitting to have her empower Sita in the way that inspired her fight Rama in battle. When Durga was created, the Gods gifted Durga with ten weapons to fight a powerful demon. I wanted to play off of that when I wrote of Durga gifting Sita the three weapons. Fun Fact: Some of the weapons Durga gifted Sita were given to her by the Gods! Anyways, throughout the Ramayana, Sita has always been very forgiving. That is why she hesitated when she had her chance to kill Rama. I didn’t want to take that part of her character away. So instead, she made a deal and ended up becoming the ruler of Kosala. I think she got the better end of the stick with that agreement. Plus, she would make a marvelous queen.