The story of the abduction of Sita and the subsequent
search for her by Rama is more than an epic of heroism and dharma. Rama’s
search for Sita can be viewed as a deeply symbolic journey, much more than a
husband’s effort to recover a beloved wife. Can we not look at it as an
endeavour to reconnect with the feminine principle that sustains balance,
grace, and meaning?
Sita is not merely a passive figure
in the Ramayana. She is the feminine force that acts as the fulcrum of the
epic’s action. What if Ravana chose not to abduct Sita? There would be no epic!
Sita generates the epic. When she is abducted, it is not merely the stealing of
a woman by a man in lust, but a disruption of the cosmic order or harmony.
When Sita is lost, Rama is plunged
into a whirlwind of grief. His composure crumbles – he weeps, calls out her
name, wanders the forest in despair. He even blames the trees and animals for
not protecting her. He becomes irrational. He is not what he has been so far;
he has lost a vital part of himself. He is only half of what he is supposed to
be, so to say.
The universe is incomplete without
the feminine.
Sita’s abduction is tantamount to the silencing of the feminine. The feminine has been objectified by Ravana as a mere instrument for his sensual delight.
Interestingly, Ravana does not touch
Sita because he has certain principles. He won’t touch a woman without her
permission. Sita is kept in the Ashoka Garden. She is rendered voiceless in the
public sphere. The feminine is present but powerless, seen but not heard. Her
strength lies in her moral and spiritual resilience, but socially, she shas
been silenced.
However, what happens after her
redemption from the evil fortress is not a harmonious reunification of the
masculine and the feminine. When Rama casts an aspersion on Sita’s purity, and
gives more weightage to public opinion than to his intuitive awareness of his
wife’s goodness, the feminine becomes objectified yet again. The feminine is
now reduced to her purity and her worth is measured by society’s standards. The
feminine is made to walk through fire to prove its merit in a tilted cosmos.
Sita is driven to the fire not by her
fate, not by her karma, but by the dominating masculine. The fire doesn’t harm
her, because the fire knows more than what the masculine half of the cosmic
reality knows. But the very need for this test shows a dismal disharmony, a
tilted world that mistrusts the feminine. When truth has to be demonstrated
through pain, truth is driven to silence by and by, especially when the demand
for the demonstration comes from the very same quarter that should know better.
What is most distressing is that the
passing of the fire test turns out to be insufficient. Sita, the feminine, is
exiled again. Fear of public opinion by the masculine political power.
Ayodhya does not survive after that
final exile of the feminine. No kingdom, no society, can flourish in harmony
when the feminine is suppressed, silenced, or, worst of all, driven away.
Ravana, the evil force, was defeated.
Rama, the avatar of goodness, is crowned king. Dharma is restored.
But the Ramayana does not end there.
The Ramayana ends with Rama’s
desolation after Sita is engulfed by the earth on her own request. The feminine
half is lost from Ayodhya. Rama realises his incompleteness. He lives in grief
and solitude. The Sarayu carries his tears. And finally, the Sarayu carries him
away. To eternity.
The final desolation of Ayodhya from
where the feminine was driven away is the real ending of The Ramayana.
PS. I’m
participating in #BlogchatterA2Z. This
series looks at the Ramayana from various angles.
Monday: Ravana and
the Question of Evil
Previous Posts in this series:
Chitrakoot: The Antithesis of Ayodhya
Hari OM
ReplyDeleteExcellent perception! The big picture of balance - a fragile thing. YAM xx
That fragility is what bewitches me these days... Sambhavami yuge yuge.
DeleteEvery line speaks so honestly about what it means to be a woman—the balance, the strength, the quiet power. And then there are those lines that hit hard, exposing the harsh truths about how society views and treats women. One thing stands out: it’s almost always society that tries to decide a woman’s fate. This take on the epic is powerful and eye-opening. I just wish more people understood the simple truth—no society can truly thrive without honouring and uplifting its women.
ReplyDeleteIt's a fragile balance, friend, as Yamini mentions above. Ultimately it's Ravana's world. The difference is that today's Ravanas have propaganda machinery to project them as Ramas.
DeleteFemininity is a mystery that sometimes feminine could not understand and those who did becomes the Goddesses and Deities! And Sita is one among the Goddesses that is why it is always SitaRam and not RamSita.
ReplyDeleteInvaluable perception, Sir.
It's like calling Ganga Ma and then throwing all the waste into her!
DeleteI just finished reading your post, "The Quest for Sita," and I have to say, it profoundly resonated with me. Your interpretation of Sita's abduction as more than a mere plot device—viewing it instead as a disruption of cosmic harmony—offered a fresh and thought-provoking perspective. The idea that Rama's journey is not just about retrieving his wife but about restoring balance between the masculine and feminine energies is both insightful and deeply symbolic. Your portrayal of Sita as the embodiment of the feminine principle, whose silencing leads to chaos, challenges traditional narratives and invites readers to reflect on the broader implications of her story. The notion that even after her trial by fire, Sita's exile signifies society's persistent mistrust and suppression of the feminine is both poignant and unsettling. The conclusion, highlighting Rama's desolation and the ultimate loss of Ayodhya's harmony, underscores the consequences of marginalizing the feminine. It's a powerful reminder that true balance and dharma cannot be achieved without honoring and integrating both energies.
ReplyDeleteThank you for shedding light on these deeper layers of the Ramayana.
It's only when I undertook a deep study of the epic that I began to realise how deep it is. Now what I wonder about is why all these Ram bhakts who wield supreme power in India fail to see the depths of their own religion, culture, and literature. I don't expect them to gauge the depths, but just try to walk on the shallow banks... I'm sorry to say, dear friend, My country is failing me.
DeleteThanks for perhaps the Finale Piece on Ramayana. Now that humaniMahaty has become conscious of the Transpersons, part of the LGBTW + would you delve into the Symbolic depths of the Ramayana, for any elements of the Transperson in the Ramayana. In Mahabharatha, there is the Shikhandi. Just the Complementarity oe the Absence of the Feminine and Masculine Dimensions, looks too reductionistic and oversimplified and too much of Seamless Robe, without knots.
ReplyDeleteWait for the grand finale, dear Fr Maliekal. I think W B Yeats was right: this millennium is turning feminine. Even Pope Francis speaks about the importance of the feminine in his autobiography.
DeleteHumanity
ReplyDeleteSurely, Tomichan. Let the Feminine Celebrated. Also the Transpersons be given their space, Due, Right(s)... Seamlessly... As normal as we breathe, not in New Delhi, but in Arikuzha.
ReplyDeleteArikuzha is a sweet place
DeleteExcept that my present parish priest is more interested in à´ªിà´°ിà´µ് than à´ª്à´°ാർത്ഥന
And yet, after so many years of Ramayana , of praising Lord Rama, the world keeps forgetting Sita. Then and even now. The feminine force is still only for objectification. When will the masculinity understand this and be masculine in real terms ? I often wonder !
ReplyDeleteA question that deserves attention, I'm with you on this.
DeleteAh, balance. One must have balance to survive. Interesting story.
ReplyDelete