Reading Notes: Ramayana, Part B

(Sita undergoes trial by fire to prove her purity; source: Wikipedia)

I am drawn towards the character of Sita who falls victim to the seemingly outmoded views on purity in ancient India. In reality, such notions persist today and plague many victims of sexual abuse in India and elsewhere. Therefore, I have chosen to focus my notes on the section about the trials that Sita undergoes after the war.

Plot:

• After Rama defeats Ravana in battle, he requests that Sita be brought to him. Though Sita approaches him with tears in her eyes and an outpouring of relief, Rama says he can't take her as his wife because she was held in Ravana's home.
• Sita claims that she would rather die than be the target of such suspicion. She asks Lakshmana to build her a funeral pyre and entreats the god of fire, Agni, to spare her life if she has remained faithful to Rama.
• Agni returns Sita unharmed to Rama who then embraces her and declares that she has proved before all men that she is virtuous and pure.
• Rama, Lakshmana, and Sita return to Ayodhya where they are greeted by Bharata. Rama is coronated and the people of Ayodhya rejoice.
• Despite Sita having proven her innocence, the people of Ayodhya suspect her purity. These whisperings eventually cause Rama to renounce Sita. Lakshmana accompanies Sita to the hermitage of Valmiki where she is to take refuge.
• Sita gives birth to twins Lava and Kusa who she had conceived with Rama. Sixteen years later the twins capture the horse being used for Rama's Aswamedha sacrifice. The boys defeat Satrughna, Lakshmana, and the royal army.
• When Rama enters battle, he notices that the twins bear a striking resemblance to him. He asks them who their mother is, and when they answer Sita, Rama tells Valmiki to bring Sita to him so that he can take her in because she bore his sons.
• After much reluctance Sita follows Valmiki to the area where Rama and the people are present. She invokes Mother Earth and asks that if she really had been virtuous, Mother Earth would take her in. The earth opens up and Mother Earth guides Sita to a golden throne. After Sita takes a seat on the throne, the earth closes above her.
• Rama is anguished and weeps in sorrow. Despite assurances from Bhrama and the completion of the Aswamedha sacrifice, Rama continues to mourn and eventually ascends to heaven where he takes on the form of Vishnu who is accompanied by his consort Lakshmi.

Characters:

• Rama - rightful king of Ayodhya, husband to Sita, doubts his wife's purity, succumbs to the wishes of his subjects and banishes his wife
• Sita - Rama's wife, unwaveringly faithful to her husband, desperate to prove her innocence
• Agni - god of fire, recognizes Sita's purity
• Valmiki - sage who narrates the Ramayana in poetic meter, takes in Sita out of pity
• Lava and Kusa - twins of Sita and Rama, great warriors, resemble their father, faithful to their mother
• Mother Earth - mother of Sita, recognizes her virtue and purity

Bibliography. Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913).