Spiritual Crossroads – Episode 2

Sita on fire

November 3, 2023. 6:43 AM 

Subject

There is a general view that in Ramayana, the fact that Sita was asked to prove her chastity by entering into the Agni (fire) is an example of how women are suppressed in our Sanathana Dharma.

Was it correct to subject Sita to Agni Pariksha - literally trial by fire?

Our dharma has always held women in the highest esteem. All three goddesses, respectively representing valour, wealth, and knowledge, are all women. Several parts of our Vedas came out of women. There were many great women sages. Mountain peaks (Parvatam) and rivers and named after women. Mother Earth is the only planet with life. All the other planets, moons, and even the Sun with no life are named after men. Mother is revered as the first God, followed by father. The sanctity accorded to women in our dharma is unparalleled. 

Context

With great difficulty and with the help of the Vanara Sena, Lord Rama killed Ravana and rescued Sita. Rama was coronated as the king of Ayodhya.

 A dhobi questions Sita in the Uttara Khanda of the Valmiki Ramayana.

 Here is the sloka in Sanskrit:

राक्षसेन हृतां सीतां पुनरेव समाश्रयन्।

अयोध्यावासिनो राम न प्रसादयिष्यसि।।

This translates to:

By accepting Sita back after she was abducted by the demon, Rama, you will not please the residents of Ayodhya.

Rama asks His wife to prove Her chastity by entering into the fire.

अग्निं प्रवेश्य चैव त्वं शोधिता भविष्यसि।

त्वामहं नित्यमेवैवं प्रतिजाने महीपते।।

This verse translates to:

Enter the fire, O Sita, and be purified. I promise thee this, O king of kings.

Sita enters the fire and emerges unscathed. Her chastity is now proven beyond question. 

Paradox

Rama fully knows about the chastity of Sita. When they went to Vanavasa, they were already married for twelve years. And then they spent fourteen more years in the forest. So, they had been married for almost twenty-six years when the demon Ravana abducted Sita. Is Sita to be blamed for the dastardly act of a wicked demon? Isn’t it cruel on the part of Rama to suspect his wife, a victim, to prove her chastity? 

Truth

When Rama decided to move to the forests, he wanted to do so alone, but Sita insisted that she would come along. When Rama discouraged her from coming with Him to the forest, citing various reasons, Sita responded:

 सान्त्व्यमाना तु राम्ēण मैथिली जनकात्मजा.

वनवासनिमित्ताय भर्तारमिदमब्रवीत्৷৷२.३०.१৷৷

When Rāma thus sought to console her

while denying her plea to live in the Vana,

the princess of Mithilā, the daughter of Janaka,

said the following words to her husband:

 

सा तमुत्तमसङ्विग्ना सीता विपुलवक्षसम्.

प्रणयाच्चाभिमानाच्च परिचिक्ष्ēप राघवम्৷৷२.३०.२৷৷

Highly agitated, Seetā taunted

Rāghava, of mighty chest,

with the indulgence of offended love.

 

किङ् त्वा.मन्यत वैद्ēहः पिता म्ē मिथिलाधिपः.

राम! जामातरङ् प्राप्य स्त्रियङ् पुरुषविग्रहम्৷৷२.३०.३৷৷

O Rāma! (I wonder,) what my father,

the king of Vidēha and the lord of Mithilā felt,

getting you, a woman in the form of a man,

for a son-in-law!

 

…and she continues:

 

न त्वहङ् मनसा.प्यन्यङ् द्रष्टा.स्मि त्वदृत्ē.नघ!.

त्वया राघव! गच्छ्ēयङ् यथा.न्या कुलपाङ्सिनी৷৷२.३०.७৷৷

I am not like other women

who ruin the name of an entire lineage.

Not even the thought of

another man will cross my mind.

O flawless one! I am firmly devoted to you.

O Rāghava! I shall go along with you!

We could see that Sita was not after all a timid one. She was assertive and bold. Bold to the point of taunting Rama as, “ a woman in the form of a man”, when he hesitated to take her along with him to the forest. Sita was respectful of Rama, but not afraid. She stood her ground and was a strong woman. Rama did not take this taunting seriously. I am not sure how many men would take it in stride when their wives compare them to a woman in man’s form! So, the relationship between Rama and Sita was one of equals. Mutual respect with no fear. It is an example of how ideal a couple must be.

Now, let us see what happens when the demon Maricha deceives Rama in the form of a golden deer. Lakshmana suspects something fishy.

 

शङ्कमानस्तु तङ् दृष्ट्वा लक्ष्मण्ō राममब्रवीत्.

तम्ēवैनमहङ् मन्य्ē मारीचङ् राक्षसङ् मृगम्৷৷३.४३.४৷৷

Lakshmaṇa felt suspicious seeing it and said to Rama:

‘I think this deer can be none other than Māreeca, the Rākshasa’.

 

Rama nonetheless goes chasing the deer, leaving his brother Lakshmana to guard Sita. Maricha is blessed with death at the hands of Rama, but while dying, he shouts, “Hey, Sita! Hey, Lakshmana!”

Sita panics and implores Lakshmana to rush to Rama’s aid. Lakshmana is unperturbed and explains that Rama’s prowess is unparalleled and it is the mischief of some demon.

Sita gets wild and says:

इच्छसि त्वङ् विनश्यन्तङ् रामङ् लक्ष्मण मत्कृत्ē৷৷

ल्ōभात्त्वङ् मत्कृत्ē नूनङ् नानुगच्छसि राघवम्. ३.४५.६৷৷

I am not giving all the slokas here, but the translation from 3.45.6 onwards is given here (translated by Krishna Sharma)

O Sowmitri! You do not respond

to your brother in a plight like this!

You are your brother’s enemy,

disguised as a friend.

 

O Lakshmaṇa! Do you want to see

Rāma perish, because you want me.

You indeed covet me and

hence are not following Rāghava!

 

It seems his trouble is your pleasure.

You have no love for your brother.

That is why you remain here unmoved

even when the supremely radiant one is not seen.

 

When his life,

for whose sake you came here mainly,

is in question,

what purpose does it serve

if you sit with me here?

 

Lakshmana replies, without losing his cool. Note that Lakshmana is prone to anger, unlike Rama.

Neither Pannagas, nor Asuras,

nor Gandharvas, nor Dēvas,

nor humans, nor Rākshasas

are capable of defeating your husband.

There is no doubt about his, Vaidēhi!

 

O lively lady! There is none

among Dēvas, humans, Gandharvas, Rākshasas,

Piṡācas, Kinnaras, or the dreadful Dānavas,

or among the birds or beasts,

who can stand up to Rāma,

the one comparable to Vāsava, in a fight.

 

Rāma cannot be killed in a fight, period.

You shall not speak like this.

I cannot leave you (alone)

in this Vana, without Rāma (here).

 

All the men of strength

and their forces combined,

cannot prevail against his strength;

nor all the three worlds coming together

along with their lords, and the Dēvas.

 

May your heart be at ease!

You shall leave your worry alone.

Your husband will come soon,

killing that best of the deer.

 

That is not the voice of Rāma.

It is faked by someone.

It is the make of that Rākshasa,

like a city created by a magician.

 

O Vaidēhi of excellent Kaṭee!

You are left under my protection by Rāma, the Mahātma.

I cannot bring myself to abandon you here.

 

We have made the night rovers hostile to us

by killing Khara and other Rākshasas of Janasthāna.

 

Rākshasas, who roam around causing menace,

let off all kinds of sounds in this w ide Vana.

O Vaidēhi! You shall not be worried by them.

 

Sita:

 

Hearing those words of Lakshmaṇa,

she became angry and her eyes turned red.

She responded harshly to Lakshmaṇa,

w ho w as speaking nothing but the truth.

 

O cruel one, you are a disgrace to your race!

You are bent upon doing what should not be done!

I can only think that you rejoice in Rāma’s tribulation.

 

You see Rāma in trouble, and speak like this?

There is no surprise that

a cruel enemy like you

who moves about in disguise,

harbors such evil (thought)!

 

You are so evil that

you followed Rāma one on one to the Vana,

while secretly coveting me,

or at the instigation of Bharata.

 

That is not going to happen, O Sowmitri,

whether it is coming from you or Bharata!

How could I, having had the love of

the dark-lily-complexioned

and lotus-petal-eyed husband

wish for other men?

 

O Sowmitri, I am going to give up my life

right in front of you.

I would not live on the surface of the earth

even for a moment, without Rāma!

 

Lakshmana:

 

Hearing those harsh words of Seetā

that would make one’s hair stand on its end,

Lakshmaṇa, master of his senses,

said to her, palms joined in reverence:

 

I do not feel like retorting to you,

for you are like a goddess to me.

O Maithili! Words unparalleled like these

are not a surprise from a woman,

for such is the nature of women

as is seen throughout the world.

 

Lakshmana now becomes truly angry.

 

Women who forgo Dharma are whimsical, sharp-tongued

and are the cause of rupture (in relationships).

O Vaidēhi, O daughter of Janaka,

I cannot bear words like these,

which hit my two ears now,

like flaming hot Nārāca arrows.

 

May all creatures of the Vana bear witness that

I, who said what was proper and just,

was repaid with such unjust and harsh words.

 

Dhik, may you perish this very day,

for making an allegation like this on me,

who is simply following the

instructions of the elder brother,

being vile, like any other woman!

 

I will go to where Kākutstha is.

May all bode well for you,

O you of best countenance!

May all the Dēvatas of the Vana

protect you, O you of wide eyes!

 

O Vaidēhi, O daughter of Janaka!

I feel such baleful omens stemming within me,

that I do not know whether I will

see you together with Rāma upon my return.

 

Sita responds:

 

Spoken to thus by Lakshmaṇa,

she, the daughter of Janaka,

responded sharply,

crying and drenched in tears:

 

O Lakshmaṇa, bereft of Rāma

I shall throw myself into Gōdāvarī,

or hang myself or jump from heights

and give up my life.

 

I will drink virulent poison,

or consign myself to fire,

but would not touch any other man

than Rāghava, even with my foot.

 

Abusing Lakshmaṇa thus,

Seetā, taken over by anguish,

beat her belly with her hands

and cried out in anguish.

 

Lakshmana still tried to console her:

 

Seeing the wide-eyed one

crying, losing her mind and

looking like an embodiment of distress,

Sowmitri tried to console her.

But Seetā would not utter even

a single word to her husband’s brother.

 

Then Lakshmaṇa, a man of conscience,

left to reach where Rāma was,

after paying obeisance, taking a

slight bow with palms joined in reverence

and looking back at Maithili many times.

Rama admonishes Lakshmana for leaving Sita alone and brushes aside the latter's remonstrations.

Ravana abducts Sita. 

Interpretation

Sita made the following blunders:

Naturally, if innocent and loyal persons like Lakshmana and Bharata are suspected by Sita, why shouldn’t Sita be suspected? Yet, Lakshmana and Bharata were ready to give their own life for Rama and Sita. Naturally, Sita was asked to demonstrate her chastity, when she took the liberty of suspecting Lakshmana’s and Bharata's chastity.

I don't intend to even allude to a judgment as to whether what Rama did was right or wrong. It is natural to pity Sita and look at her as a vulnerable person and Rama as a hardened soul. Sita is not a victim. I just want to show the other side of Sita and the extreme provocation that she subjects Lakshmana to. It shows her human side. She allowed her passion to hijack her reason. Here was a brother-in-law who shadowed Rama and Sita, leaving his own wife elsewhere. Lakshmana behaved much more responsibly and his responses to Sita were measured and within the norms of decency. 

Lakshmana could have well turned the table as follows:

"Hey, Sita! When Rama left for Vanavasa, it was I who immediately jumped in to join him. Knowing that I was accompanying my brother, you put up a drama and joined us. Since your husband is dark-complexioned and I am fair, you always had an eye on me. You were waiting for an opportunity to put your husband in harm's way so that you could have me. Never ever imagine that you could have me. My chaste and lovely wife Urmila is waiting for me in expectancy and I would never do anything that compromises my married life. You don't measure the dust on the feet of my wife Urmila. I warned that the deer was a demon. Yet, you pestered my dear brother and sent him on a hot pursuit so that you could be alone with me. Why? You could have asked me to get that deer for you. My brother and I have equal prowess. You wanted to send Rama away so that you could be with me alone and if Rama gets killed, it would become easier for you to make me your husband. In your wildest dreams sister! Now I realize why even after twenty-six years of marriage you were never able to conceive a child! Your birth itself was strange. You were not conceived by a woman and were an orphan that was dug out of the mud while ploughing the fields. Naturally, your head doesn’t have any brains – only mud, manure, and clay.

You felt that Rama was the hindrance between you and me, and you plotted to eliminate him. Perhaps the whole episode of the demon taking the form of a deer was your evil plot to get my dear brother out of your way! Perhaps you made a pact with the demon and want to marry the demon himself. Even God cannot understand the sinister plots of a woman. It was you who sent Rama to chase the deer. I forewarned both of you that it was a demon in the form of a deer. But still, you pestered Rama to chase the deer and now you are putting a big drama knowing that he is dead. You are a vamp. I was tolerating you all these days because of my respect for Rama. Now that he is dead, I have nothing to do with you. How dare you accuse me falsely! You are, from now on, left to your own devices. I don’t care whether you live or die. That is your choice. Get lost and go to hell. I am heading back to Ayodhya to my Urmila." **

Lakshmana never spoke anything that crossed the limits of decency. He tried his best to reason out with Sita despite her extreme accusations and provocations.

Anyway, the agni-prevesa happens in the Uttara Kanda of Ramayana, which itself seems to be a later appendage to the epic. Many scholars are of the view that Uttara Kanda is not part of the original Ramayana, which ends with Yuddha Kanda.

So, Ramayana in no way disrespects women. The words of Sita on Lakshmana and the latter’s patience is a clear example of the authority vested upon women of yore.

BTW, there is another story about the chastity of Rama.

The story of Rama moving away from Mandodari's shadow is a significant episode in the Ramayana. It takes place after the war between Rama and Ravana, and it highlights the importance of honor and respect for women, even in the face of defeat.

After the war, Rama was sitting in his camp, reflecting on the events that had transpired. He had defeated Ravana, rescued his wife Sita, and restored order to the world. However, he was also deeply saddened by the loss of life on both sides.

At that moment, Mandodari, Ravana's wife, approached Rama. She had lost her husband and her kingdom, but she still maintained her dignity and composure. She bowed to Rama and said, "I know that I should not come to you in this state. But I am a woman, and I have a request to make."

"Please ask," Rama said.

"I beg of you to protect the women of Lanka," Mandodari said. "They are innocent and defenseless. Please do not allow them to be harmed."

Rama was touched by Mandodari's request. He assured her that he would protect the women of Lanka. He also said that he would treat them with respect and compassion.

As Mandodari was about to leave, Rama noticed that his shadow was falling on her. He quickly moved away so that his shadow would not touch her.

Mandodari was surprised by Rama's gesture. She asked him why he had moved away.

"I am a warrior," Rama said. "It is my duty to protect women and children. I cannot allow my shadow to fall on you, because it might be seen as a sign of disrespect."

Mandodari was deeply moved by Rama's words. She realized that he was a true hero, not only because of his strength and valor, but also because of his compassion and respect for women. This act signifies Rama's unwavering commitment to Sita and reinforces the purity of their love and relationship.

The story of Rama moving away from Mandodari's shadow is a reminder that all women deserve to be treated with respect and dignity, regardless of their social status or circumstances. It is also a reminder that true heroes are not only those who are strong and brave but also those who are compassionate and respectful.

------ 

BTW, ChatGPT converted my imaginary rebuke by Lakshmana on Sita into the following poem:


In the realm of epic tales, a saga unfolds,

Hey, Sita! In the shadow of Vanavasa it began,

I leapt, companion to my brother's fate,

But your drama played, a web to entwine.


Your eyes, on me, fair against his dusk,

A covetous gaze, a longing desire,

Yet, in my heart, Urmila resides,

Chaste and lovely, my wedded bond.


Your thoughts stray where they shouldn't tread,

My wife's feet, dust untold,

Never measure what you cannot grasp,

A warning echoed, the deer concealed.


Demon in guise, yet you persisted,

Lured my brother into perilous pursuit,

A hot chase, a sinister plan,

To be alone with me, your hidden desire.


Rama was the barrier, you believed,

Plotting to erase him from the scene,

The demon's guise, a ruse, a pact,

To rid yourself of his watchful eyes.


Strange is your birth, a tale untold,

Dug from mud, an orphan's mold,

Clay and manure in your mind,

No brains, only mud, a misguided kind.


Accusations fly, false and wild,

A vamp, you stand, in the aftermath,

Tolerated for Rama's sake,

Now he's gone, and you stand alone.


I care not for your schemes and lies,

You're left to your own demise,

Live or die, your choice to make,

Get lost, farewell, my path I take.


Back to Ayodhya, to Urmila true,

A journey away from shadows and you,

In the echoes of your twisted tale,

I leave you behind, to your own trail.



(c) Dr M Sathya Prasad


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