Rama said "Oh Sita, you represent purity at its highest, but you have lived under the shelter of Ravan. As a king, I am answerable to my people, and therefore, I would like you to prove your purity in front of all (publicly) so that in future people on this earth would not cast doubt, dare not put any blame of infidelity on your noble character."
"Oh my lord, we BOTH were separated for an year but I alone will prove purity of my character by passing through the raging fire flames" saying so Sita entered the sky high raging flames.
She remained in fire unscathed and unharmed, her face shining with divine luster, the raging flames reduced themselves to ashes and turned into lotus flowers.
Now Sita asked "Oh my lord, there will always be some one who cannot be satisfied by any 'test' or any proof, for they do not want to get convinced and will raise doubts about the Truth itself. Then should I continue to pass the test every day or will you make your own judgment and act accordingly."
Rama said "I am a righteous king, as the caretaker of all, not only in matters of food and shelter, but also regarding their emotions and conventions, I am always accountable and need to set an right example for generations to follow, so if the question arises again unfortunately I might ask you for another agnipariksha".
Sita already knew Rama would say so, she thought after living a righteous life she had no strength to face this humiliation again from the one whom she unconditionally loved and worshipped.
Sita with great grief prayed to Mother Earth to make room for her so that she could find peaceful rest for sometime in her life, the Earth separated into two and Sita buried herself under the protective cover of her Mother.
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P.S: I don't intend to hurt anyone's religious beliefs, its just my opinion purely fictional.
A different perspective on the Ramayana, Ananya. Appreciate this. I've always felt that Ramayana is Sita's story as much as it is Rama's, so it is Sitayana too. And sincere appreciation for linking this up with the prompt. :)
ReplyDeleteThank u so much ... I feel so relived after reading ur comment.
DeleteSitayana-- wow what a way to describe the epic.
A twist in the story of Ramayana depicted so naturally !! A nice narrative.
ReplyDeleteThanks Usha, and yes this is what I perceive could have Sita'a natural reaction thinking from a women's perspective.
DeleteI wonder why the comments above mention it as a twist. Isn't this what did happen? I always felt that Sita was horribly wronged at the end...
ReplyDeleteWell WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED IS :
DeleteAfter Sita's agnipariksha, Rama finally accepts her and all return back home.Then Ram was given his due honour as King of Ayodhya.
One washerman and his wife doubted the purity of Sita because she had stayed as a prisoner of Ravan! In the Royal Court, they declared:
"O Noble king, as a perfect master you should always lead the most ideal life, above any reproach. There should not be darkness under the lamp!She must be deserted or banished. Sita has stayed in the custody of Ravan as a prisoner."
" What proof she has to prove her innocence and purity! Who will believe her? It will be better if you leave her. It will be in conformity with the noble tradition of Raghu Dynasty, as well as a just gesture on your part as the king of Ayodhya.
Ram passed many sleepless nights. Sita was carrying his two sons in her womb. She was innocent, Ram knew and believed. But as a righteous king, as the caretaker of all, not only in matters of food and shelter, but also regarding their emotions and conventions, he was accountable. Ultimately, Ram decided to desert Sita, the Purity personified!!!
One humble Rishi was already briefed about Ram's decision. The sage was pleased to receive Sita and promised every care for her health. Sita gave birth to two lovely sons: LAV and KUSH.
Rama then asked Sita to prove her chastity again by performing a miracle,
In response Sita sought final refuge in the arms of her mother Bhumidevi, the Goddess Mother Earth
Ram was distressed. His golden rule and prosperity of his people, his Ram-Rajya meant little to him now; the episode of Sita hovered constantly over his heart. The folly and compulsions of authority and social welfare became clear to him. One day, all alone he drowned himself in the holy waters of river Sarayu.
Sita was always misunderstood and wrongly asked to proved her purity. But nowhere in the Ramayana has she asked Rama to prove his fidelity which is unjust. This post has made Sita question what a modern day woman would have questioned. A brave , bold and interesting post.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kalpana ! In last few days, I read hundreds of posts which all give various reasonings for why sita took the agnipariksha (maybe I should write another post about it), but not one tiny question or thought raised against Rama's Chastity.
DeleteI appreciate your comments, its a great source of encouragement when understood by a reader.
It seems an oft-repeated saga for women, no? I guess all scripture and mythology too was controlled by men!
ReplyDeleteSad but might be true !
DeleteLovely rendition from Sita's perspective. You should read Sita , a graphic novel by Saraswati Nagpal. Brilliant book.
ReplyDeleteWould you mind turning off CAPTCHA for your comments? It is difficult to comment
Thanks Shailaja , I didnt realize CAPTCHA was on I will immediately turn it off and I appreciate your suggesations.
DeleteNicely narration. I always feel that Rama is not the Maryada Puroshotam and according to me is a weak man, for not trusting his wife and listening to people. I would love to read Sita's perspective in Ramayana.
ReplyDeleteThank you ! Yes it was indeed sad that after proving her chasity publicly, still rama was affected by rumors and society's opinions and banished Sita, who was then carrying his child.
DeleteA story which still makes me feel that the realities of religion and mythology often escape us. This was in my words a most disrespectful thing for a woman to be accused of..
ReplyDeleteRicha
Yes Richa, a sad reality which is so rarely spoken of !
Deletea nice read...:)...questions that have plagued women over the years...
DeleteYes questions which are never answered nor encouraged.
DeleteThanks for stopping by!
heavy stuff
ReplyDeleteYes ! Till date this has been the most difficult post for me to write.
DeleteA twist that does hail to feminism. It was a matter of choice I think. This version of the story would have been a real one, if Ramayana would have taken place probably closer to Kaliyug and not in Tretayug....using the word "Closer" to Kaliyug, becos, Kaliyug ki Sita would have reacted much much more boldly :) ....
ReplyDeleteThis twist-in-a-tale engulfs one of the biggest facts of Ramayana, and that's existence of Luv-Kush!
ReplyDeleteHow can a DHARMIC DACORIAN law having Religious sanctity be declared an ADHARM , without Sita getting Physically involved in it…………THINK..>>>>>THINK, then answer .
ReplyDeleteVALMIKI RAMAYAN contains lot of additions, alterations made subsequently and accepting the fact that Ramayan, Mahabharat, and all Puraans are also coded, the history that they contain, actually has to be culled out.
RAMCHARITMANAS written by Goswami Tulsidas Ji, also followed the same pattern except that it ignored altogether, the incident of disownment of Sita.
When Shri Ram took Avatar, all important events in which he was involved, as Human, would provide a Dharm. Agni Pariksha is one such event which Shri Ram established EITHER as DHARM or ADHARM…I WANT YOUR ANSWER ON THIS ISSUE.
Hindus by and large are afraid to accept Shri Ram as human incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Once we accept Shri Ram as Avatar, who came on this earth for establishing Dharm, we then have to start looking at all important events in which he was involved differently and to find what the Dharm was, which HE tried to establish.
Now the question is Why do you want to look for supernatural powers in history where NONE exists?
NOW the answer: GO and read full post after clicking on the link and you will know how Agnii Pariksha was declared as ADHARM.
Excerpts from the post:
‘King Ram REJECTED the results of Agni Pariksha and held that the only time when Sita was on her own, free to make her own decision, and under no duress, was when she was alone in Panchvati. Her decision to cross the Lakshman Rekha, without the use of any external force, can also be construed as her consent to go with Ravana. He also observed, that after his victory over Ravana, none of the action of Sita can be construed to be her own free decision and without any duress. He further said that it is true that, as a King, it is difficult to reject the result of Agni Pariksha, because it has religious sanctity, but he would like to go with People’s representative in as much that although Agni Pariksha required special skills, but those skills in no way certify the loyalty or chastity of the lady. He DISOWNED SITA AND TOLD HER TO GO WHERE EVER SHE DESIRED TO GO.
‘He also declared that hence forth Agni Pariksha will not be used for certifying or testifying the loyalty or chastity of a female. Use of Agni Pariksha will be deemed to be an act of ADHARM and NOT an act of dharm, he declared. He also declared that if ever he became a Chakravarti Samraat (one whose writ runs all across the globe), he would make sure that such dastardly acts are never performed by humanity in all ages and yugs. ‘
PLEASE READ FULL POST BY CLICKING ON THE LINK below, & THEN COMMENT
AGNI PARIKSHA OF SITA ….FACTS
post URL : http://awara32.blogspot.com/2009/02/agni-pariksha-of-sita-facts.html
HINDI:
सीता का त्याग राम ने क्यूँ करा… सही तथ्य
http://awara32.blogspot.com/2011/11/blog-post_30.html