Extra Credit Reading Notes: Ramayana (Part D)

It’s safe to say this section of the epic was my least favorite for its moments of sexual inequality and injustice toward innocent Sita. In these episodes we Sita saved and then promptly slut-shamed and made to prove her loyalty and purity for the time she was held captive in Ravana’s capital. As if her being a victim of kidnapping wasn’t enough, being blamed for her abductor's abuse of power over her during her time as his hostage in which she couldn’t control whether he “touched her person” seems unethical and excessive. To punish her in place of Ravana, though he did 'get his' eventually, promotes a backward message that a person in her situation is somehow liable for the actions made against her by another. How she continued to ask for Rama’s mercy when he would subject her to such treatment makes her fidelity seem foolish when he, in turn, has no faith in her and in fact turns her away to exile after the peer pressure of gossip got to him. This absolute allegiance the reader has revered her for in the past three sections now has come to be seen as something sad, almost pitiful. The modern feminist reader I’m sure would have liked to see her rebel against this sexism.

Apart from these disappointing, sexually regressive features, the sections of poetic styling redeemed the story for me. There were also some points of the story with vivid descriptions like those during the battle scenes which impressed the socks off me. I think there were two—the poem of Ravana lamenting over his son’s death, and his wife lamenting over Ravana’s death were two sections that I earmarked for being especially moving language-wise. I know that this whole time I kept feeling like I would bite the bullet and buy the Narayan version, but after reading the Ramayana in its entirety I am glad I powered through the PDE version. In fact, while at first I was overwhelmed by the variation of writing styles, numerous links, and attached voice recording of the readings, I now feel like my experience reading of the Ramayana was enhanced for these reasons.

Bibliography:Author: Various

Title: Ramayana
Source: Public Domain Edition, Web

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)

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