Week 4: Reading Diary B: Sita: Daughter of the Earth

For the second half of the reading this week, I continued to read Sita: Daughter of the Earth. It was a quick read, but truly excellent. I love reading the rest of the story from Sita's perspective, and her wisdom and compassion in all things was so much more evident in this edition.

Not quite golden, but a deer all the same. Image from Wikimedia

Sita: Real Life Disney Princess: When Sita first gets to where she, Rama, and Lakshmana will be staying during their exile, one of the first things mentioned is how quickly all the animals take to her. She's a regular Snow White during her time there, and it's actually what ends up getting them all in trouble, unfortunately. Sita completely loses her head here, which is unfortunate, because she's incredibly wise later on, and even before that. Just in this specific instance, she happens to freak out and knows she just has to have the deer for herself. This part has confused me consistently within the readings of the Ramayana--why is it that all of a sudden everyone freaks out and goes after the dear, and gets tricked by Ravana? Up to this point, Rama's been fair, kind, smart, merciful, and just about everything you could want in a husband, except indulgent. He doesn't stand for Sita or Lakshmana being anything but the best, but when Sita wants the deer, by gosh she's going to have it.

I'm not bitter.

Sita: Rama, What Gives?: So after Sita spends a year with Ravana, being fairly consistently tortured mentally and emotionally, sitting under the same tree and presumably not moving, Rama saves her and does not immediately take her back. Because he would look bad. Because she probably didn't have the willpower to not immediately succumb to Ravana, because she's a woman. Let's not talk about the fact that Rama spent who knows how long equally distanced from her, because he's the golden (blue?) child and can do no wrong. Sita, who we can't forget is of equal divine heritage, is the one who messed up though. Nicely done, everyone. So Sita decides she's done with this, and tries to throw herself in the fire, but because of her innocence and purity, is saved by Agni. And everything's happy.

Sita: Rama, What Gives? Part II: Until it's not. A few years go by, and everyone's pretty content to accept that Sita was pure, but then some particularly jaded villagers decide that, no, the word of their beloved king really isn't enough, and that Sita's probably been a harlot the whole time. Rama's on edge, because he doesn't have the respect of the citizens. So she leaves again, this time pregnant with twins. It surprises me not that when the boys go back, and Rama decides to accept her back (again) and Sita decides she's pretty much done. I love this. I much prefer Narayan's ending, because Rama has an ounce of sense and the people of the kingdom trust him, but after Rama being a twit, Sita throws up her hands and asks for her mother to take her back. As moms do best, she opened her own arms and said "You're absolutely right you've been through hell, let's get you out of here." Go Bhudevi.