Week 4 Story: Sita's Heartache

Sita sat amidst the Ashoka trees, her only companions over the last several months. She passed the hours praying to the gods that she would soon be reunited with her love. As day by day crept by, she grew more worried that Rama would never come, that some horrible fate had befallen him in her absence. She often found herself awaking from nightmares drenched in sweat with images of Rama's lifeless body burned into her eyes. The rakshasas mocked her relentlessly, taunting her loyalty to Rama and her every present fear that he was not coming for her.

One night after a particularly ruthless attempt to get Sita to come to bed with him, Ravana stalked off back to his chambers, muttering curses under his breath.

(Ravana trying to woo Sita; Image Source)

The rakshasis mocked Sita, using a high-pitched voice and singsonging "Oh Ravana, most wealthy and powerful Lord, why would I ever give myself to you when my homeless and coward husband is coming for me?" Sita simply bowed her head and tuned out the mocking, praying that Rama would rescue her soon.

One night, a strange man with the shape of a monkey came to Sita and reassured her that Rama was still alive and he was coming for her. Sita finally felt hope that her love had not forgotten her and that he would display his might against all of Lanka to find her and hold her again. Word came later that night that the man had been captured and set ablaze, but he set the whole city on fire in an act of revenge. Sita couldn't help but smile to herself as she thought of Ravana looking out at his burning city and knowing that Rama was coming to save his beloved.

The next time she saw the monkey, he came bearing great tidings, Ravana was dead and Rama sought her presence! She quickly bathed and braided her hair, ready to greet her husband and embrace him for the first time in months.

With every step Sita took closer to Rama, her excitement grew and her heart pounded in her chest until she was certain that the entire region would think a drum was banging through the wilderness. At long last, she saw Rama's glorious face and it felt like she was lifted off the ground as her heart sore at the sight of her love. It took all she had in her to not go running into his arms, but she knew that she must preserve his honor and so she maintained her bashful demeanor, waiting for him to call out to her.

As Sita gazed into Rama's eyes, she noticed a sudden shift into a hard and determined stare rather than the love he had just been looking at her with.

At last, Rama spoke. "Sita, I have slayed the Ravana, Lord of the demons, and spent many months trekking the wilderness and fighting beasts to find you. It is finally complete and I have fulfilled my duty."

His stone cold voice made Sita shiver as she worried what would come next.

"I have accomplished what I must and I will now return to my kingdom to rule. A king is an honorable man and my subjects will be looking to me, so it is with this that I declare that I cannot take you back. No man could resist you, and I cannot have a wife who has dwelled with another man that is not her father."

A tear came to Sita's eye and she whispered, "My Lord, I have lived among the Ashoka-"

"Silence." Rama looked away from Sita's eyes and said, "you may choose where you live, but it can not be with me any longer." With this, Rama turned away and entered conversation with the monkey king.

Sita felt like she had been hit with a boulder as her eyes swelled with tears. Lakshmana met her gaze and sorrow overtook his face as Sita turned and walked slowly away.

Bibliography: 
Sita and Rama from Myths of the Hindus and the Buddhists by Sister Nivedita.

Author's Note:
The first part of my story follows very closely to the original, Sita waiting for Rama to rescue her while preserving her innocence all the while. I added the mocking by the rakshasas to try and show some of the torment she probably endured while rejecting Ravana time and time again. In the original story, Rama slays Ravana and sends for Sita. He lectures her on why he will not take her back, but then she ends up arguing that she did maintain her purity and she enters a funeral pyre to prove her innocence, upon which Rama takes her back. However, he does not take her back for long, as he is quick to exile her again when people start talking about her, rather than defending his wife. I didn't see any reason for Sita to go through this embarrassment twice, so I adapted my story to have her only be exiled once by her husband. While reading the original, I could only think of how unfair this was to Sita and how crushed she must've been, so I decided to write my story in a way where we can see her emotion a little deeper. 

Reading Notes: PDE Ramayana, Section D

Today's the day I finish the Ramayana! To be fully transparent, I didn't really expect to enjoy it this much because I thought it would be difficult to understand and relate to. These past couple of weeks have proven to be a pleasant surprise as I've really enjoyed the story and been able to understand the characters and their motivations. Here's to being pleasantly surprised for the remainder of the semester!

Lakshmana and Indrajit
By: Romesh Dutt
This chapter is where we really see the power of having Vibhishan on Rama's side. He was able to tell Rama of the deception that Ravana and Indrajit were using to try and distress him, then he is able to give Rama and Lakshmana advice on how to proceed. I really enjoyed the dialogue here between uncle and nephew, Vibhishan and Indrajit. I thought it was interesting how Indrajit tried to condemn Vibhihshan as a betrayer, but Vibhishan quickly put him in his place and proclaimed the sins of all of Lanka, separating himself from his kin. Of course this chapter ends with the death of Indrajit by Lakshmana's hand, which seems a long time coming.

(Lakshmana taking his final aim at Indrajit; Image Source)

Indra's Chariot
By: Romesh Dutt
Considering the gods were the ones who were calling for Ravana's defeat so adamantly that Vishnu was born as Dasharatha's four sons, I've been wondering if they were ever going to show up to aid Rama and Lakshmana in this deadly battle. This chapter finally gives some relief to that question, as Indra sends aid to Rama in the war. We finally see a glimmer of hope here in this battle that Rama seemed to have been losing, as he now has new celestial weapons and a mighty chariot to go forth and slay Ravana with.

(Mayhem in Lanka as the battle rages; Image Source)

Sita and Rama
By: Sister Nivedita
I'm honestly so disgusted with Rama. In my research for my project, I knew that Rama was going to reject Sita because she had been in the dwelling of another man, but it made this blow no less knowing it was going to happen. I suppose it is a sign of the times, but it is just so awful that this noble and just man, a god personified, would punish his loving wife for being kidnapped. She refused Ravana's attempts and stayed in the trees isolated, waiting for Rama to rescue her, yet he still casts her out because he's concerned with dishonor. I would have just hoped that he would care more about the woman who followed him into exile and lived in misery for years than he would care about the thoughts of the few who would dishonor him for taking Sita in. Whereas the death of Vali is seen as one of the most controversial points in Rama's character, I feel like his treatment of Sita here takes the cake.

(Rama and Sita likely discussing her exile; Image Source)

Valmiki's Hermitage
By: Donald A. Mackenzie
Even after Sita proves her innocence in the fire, the gods vehemently defend her to Rama, and Rama and Sita could have had their happily ever after, Rama still gives in to the whispering of men and ends up exiling Sita. As I mentioned in the last paragraph, I'm so disappointed by this action, because it shows that Rama cares more about his own pride and reputation more than his wife who sacrificed everything for him. Thank goodness Valmiki was there for Sita and took her into his hermitage so that she did not have to wander the forests as she had for the past 14 years. When Rama goes to perform the Ashwamedha 16 years later, his sons (that he knows nothing about) are the ones to capture the horse and defeat many of Rama's men, including Lakshmana.

(Valmiki teaching Lava and Kusha, Sita's sons, to sing 

the songs of Rama; Image Source)

Reading Notes: PDE Ramayana, Section C

Vali's Death
By: Romesh Dutt
I see why this chapter is so controversial, as this whole story line made me a bit sad. I know it explained why Sugriva and Vali had fought, but honestly I don't see why Rama and Lakshmana encouraged Sugriva to go take on Vali again and continue the hatred between brothers. Then we reach this chapter, in which Sugriva and Vali are fighting to the death until Rama steps in and murders Vali. It just seems like the other times that Rama has killed, it has been justified, but in this story line, there was no reason for the brothers to ever fight again, and Rama seems to kill Vali in cold blood. I just feel like this was unnecessary and takes away from some of the godlike characteristics that have been bestowed upon Rama throughout the entire epic. However, we must also remember that Rama is still a human avatar of a god, so he is bound to make mistakes, but it just let me down a little more than expected.

Hanuman in Lanka
By: Sister Nivedita
Hanuman has leaped across the whole ocean to arrive in Lanka, a golden and treasure filled city. The city is described as a woman, which I thought provided excellent imagery in imagining the kingdom. Hanuman traveled from house to house looking for Sita, and he even goes to Ravana's bedroom to see Ravana sleeping on his bejeweled bed, but Sita is not there. After further searching and still not finding Sita, Hanuman resolves that she is dead.

Sita and Ravana
By: Sister Nivedita
Ravana visits Sita and tries to seduce her using every trick in the book, offering power, wealth, pleasantries, etc. but Sita refuses his every effort. Despite her horrible predicament, Sita is still fully committed to Rama and refuses to betray him, even in the face of torture and death.

(Ravana trying to persuade Sita; Image Source)

Vibhishana
By: Donald A. Mackenzie
This is an interesting turn of events, with Vibhishana, Ravana's own brother, joining Rama's forces. Rama mentioned that the rakshasas have magic, so I wonder if Vibhishana will be able to contribute in that way. Nonetheless, he will be a powerful ally in that he knows the ins and outs of Lanka, as well as knowing his brother quite well.