Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana Read online

  In the forest there are no boundaries, no rules. As he stepped in, Ram remembered his ancestors and said, ‘Ram may leave Ayodhya, but Ayodhya shall never leave Ram.’ Then glancing towards Sita, he added, ‘As Videha has never left Sita.’

  Dandaka was the great forest south of Aryavarta that thrived on the Gangetic plains.

  That the rape of his daughter makes Shukra turn a kingdom into a wilderness draws attention to the sanctity of boundaries. Humans create boundaries and humans violate them as well. To respect boundaries is the hallmark of humanity, an indicator of dharma. To disrespect them is to be bestial, to follow the path of adharma. Animals, who do not have imagination, do not have the wherewithal to create boundaries or violate them. This is what makes them innocent.

  The epic Ramayana is aligned along the Dakshina-patha or the south highway that connects northern India to southern India while the epic Mahabharata is aligned along Uttara-patha or the north highway that connects western India to eastern India. Thus the two great epics cover the length and breadth of India.

  Based on the details found in Valmiki’s Sanskrit Ramayana, many scholars are of the opinion that the events of the Ramayana did not take place beyond Central India. But for the faithful, based on the tales of pilgrims, sites of the Ramayana are located across the subcontinent and beyond, in Sri Lanka. Here one finds footprints (charan-chinnha) of Ram and temples of Shiva established by Ram.

  Meeting Shanta

  The trio decided to spend the night at the edge of the dreadful forest. Ram could not sleep. As the wind whistled, he watched the stars and sensed Sita watching him. ‘This too shall pass,’ she said. He knew that too, but knowledge is no antidote to anxiety. His mind was like the restless comet. ‘Let us enjoy what we have, my husband, rather than wonder about what we had or could have. Let us enjoy the stars,’ she said. So while Lakshman watched over the fire, Ram and Sita watched the skies until they were overtaken by sleep. Before he shut his eyes, however, Ram placed his bow between him and his wife, just in case.

  At dawn, Sita woke up to find Ram and Lakshman at the feet of a beautiful woman. She had large eyes, a generous smile and a sensuous figure. Who was she? The lady noticed Sita, and called out, ‘Come here, little one. I am your husband’s elder sister, Shanta.’

  Shanta made Sita sit on her lap and said, ‘Your decision to follow your husband to the forest is indeed a noble one. But it will not be easy for you to travel dressed as a bride, with two handsome men beside you, neither of them looking at you, one because he is a hermit and the other because you are his brother’s wife. Everywhere around, you will hear the mating calls of birds, you will see snakes and frogs and deer and tigers in intimate embrace, and you will smell flowers calling out to the bees and butterflies. Your body will cry out; how will you resist the call of your senses, Sita? And the rakshasas: they do not know the meaning of celibacy and fidelity. They will compel you and these two brothers of mine to satisfy their desires, for it is the most natural thing to do. What will you do then, Sita? How will you save yourself from your desires and those of the men around you? There are no boundaries in the forest, Sita. Where there are no boundaries, there is no violation.’

  Sita wondered why Shanta was telling her these things. She had heard the feelings Shanta spoke of in the romantic stories and love songs of bards, but had never really felt them. Yes, she liked the way she had felt when Ram looked at her during the wedding ceremony and the few times they had met in the women’s courtyard, but now he never looked at her, at least not in that way. Is that what Shanta spoke of, or was it something else?

  Sensing her thoughts, Shanta elaborated, ‘You are still young but your body is changing, my child. I can sense it. You will sense it too. It is as if your stepping into the forest has caused it to bloom. You are truly the daughter of the earth.’

  Songs depicting conversations between Sita and Shanta are often found in South Indian folklore.

  An implicit assumption is often made that Ram and Sita had conjugal relations before and during the exile. In fact, these are made rather explicit in some Sanskrit plays. But there is no child born of that supposed union, which is highly unlikely, considering that both are in the prime of their youth. So it is most likely that they lived celibate lives, Ram because he had sworn to be a hermit and Sita because she was the chaste wife of a celibate hermit. Lakshman was under no such obligation but he too chose celibacy out of solidarity with Ram and Sita. This celibacy adds to the tension of the narrative.

  In the tales of Ram that are part of Tamil temple lore and Sri Vaishnava tradition, Ram sleeps with his bow between him and Sita, thus indicating his desire to live a celibate life.

  Anasuya and Atri

  Shanta took Sita to the hermitage of Anasuya and Atri. Anasuya, like Arundhati, was renowned for her chastity. Unlike Renuka, she had never wavered even in thought. And unlike Ahilya, she had never wavered in deed.

  Once three handsome tapasvis came to her, while her husband was away, and said, ‘We have been fasting for twelve years. To break our fast we have to suckle on the breasts of a rishi’s wife. Will you help us?’ Anasuya agreed. She saw the three youths as the children she never had. So she uncovered herself and the three youths, of questionable intent, turned into three infants.

  The wives of the youths then begged her forgiveness and Anasuya was surprised to learn their true intentions: they were seeking to seduce her, to destroy her reputation as the most chaste woman on earth. Anasuya forgave the tapasvis unconditionally, for in her view, despite performing tapasya, the youths were still children, seeking pleasure in trickery. She restored them to their original youthful forms and offered them food from her kitchen to break their fast.

  In gratitude, the three youths blessed Anasuya that she would be mother of a great son, Datta, who would need no teacher; he would learn from all the things he saw: the sky, the earth, fire, water, wind, rocks, rivers, plants, animals, birds, insects, men and women. He would become Adinath, the primal teacher.

  Anasuya welcomed Janaka’s daughter and took her under a flower-bearing tree, where she revealed to her the secrets of her body that had finally started to unfold. She gave Sita a garment, a garland and a pot of cream. The garment would never become dirty, the garland would never wither and the cream would always soften her skin.

  ‘Had you been in the palace, this would have been a great ceremony. Your father would have sent you gifts, so would your mother. Your mothers-in-law would bathe you in turmeric water and bedeck you with flowers. You would be given a courtyard of your own and when you felt ready, you would send areca nuts wrapped in betel leaves to your husband and invite him to show you the Arundhati star. But alas, for that to happen, you have to wait for fourteen years. What can I give you to compensate?’

  ‘The strength to survive these fourteen years in the forest, being true to both mind and body. My sister-in-law says it will not be easy,’ said Sita.

  ‘If you see chastity as an obligation, it will be tough, not otherwise,’ said Anasuya. ‘If you acknowledge the desires of your body, not suppress them, and reflect on what really matters to you in life, it will not be tough.’

  Atri saw his wife bedeck Sita. So he asked Ram and Lakshman, ‘It is spring and the flower has bloomed. Can the bee resist the nectar?’

  Lakshman spoke first: ‘My flower sleeps in Ayodhya. She will bloom fourteen years hence.’

  Then Ram said, ‘I am not a bee. Neither am I a butterfly. I am a human, scion of the Raghu clan, who has to live as a hermit in the forest for fourteen years. Nothing will make my mind waver.’

  Wondering if this was just a grand oration meant to impress or the genuine wisdom of a young prince, Atri said, ‘Do not punish yourself if you waver. Humans judge, nature does not.’

  In folklore, the three ascetics who try to seduce Anasuya are Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.

  Datta or Dattatreya, son of Atri, is worshipped as Adinath, the primal teacher, and is considered a form of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. H