Sita's agnipariksha proves that the trend of blaming women for atrocities committed against them by men is ancient. Women still bear the burden of this. Is it fair?
Sita’s agnipariksha proves that the trend of blaming women for atrocities committed against them by men is ancient. Women still bear the burden of this. Is it fair?
Sita’s agnipariksha (fire-test) is one of the most famous acts-of-sacrifice by women of our country.
As a child, I was a hard-core idolatry. I never questioned history, especially the part which is linked to gods and goddesses. This, however now I realize, has hindered me most from exploring history and persuaded me into believing in the fairy-tales instead of in facts.
Well, they say that Sita had to go through a fire to prove her purity. I don’t understand what exactly does that mean. Suppose character testing had to be done, how on earth was this possible by checking whether a woman gets burnt or not when passed through the fire?
That’s something just so unscientific, illogical and above all, an inhumane thing to have ever happened publicly.
However, if you research deeper, you would know that Lord Rama always trusted his beloved wife. After all, she left everything behind, the kingdom, the affection of parents and in-laws, just so she could accompany him everywhere to serve to his needs.
But he still made her take the fire-test to prove her character. He made the point that the test was required so that his countrymen could be assured about their king’s wife’s character’s purity.
So you see, trying to convince everyone about anything you may strongly believe in is not something India has adopted in last few decades. It has been there since EVER.
Pleasing everyone is not a new thing. It was important then, and it’s important now. Almost a few thousands of years have passed, but we seem to have not evolved at all, especially when it comes to women’s-character’s-purity-affairs.
Moreover, they also say that it was a planned action on part of Ram and Sita. The fact that Sita came on to this earth from the earth only in a pot, she had to go back there once her job was over. The fire-test was only a medium of this to happen in front of everyone. Additionally, it was setting an excellent example of a woman’s surrender, sacrifice and suffering etc for generations to live on this soil!
Sita was mainly meant to spark and facilitate the pre-destined war between Ravan and Ram. And the war basically was meant to end the Ravan-Rajya and prevail the Ram-Rajya. Now, I wonder why this inhumane scene was ever included in the making of this plan, and by extension made a wrong example of woman’s self respect and tolerance forever.
Our women have been bearing the curse of that stand by Sita ever since. We don’t even know if any of this has ever happened, in exactly the same or different way as books tell us. The carbon-dating has never really been done for any landmarks, temples, forests, kingdoms, etc. where our ancestors have supposedly lived and made those great moves!
Nonetheless, the hardest and saddest truth of this tale is that our governments are willingly spending crores of money even today, to build more such temples to pray for another chunk of generations to learn this tale, even if, almost half of our country don’t have toilets to pee!
Author’s note – This is an analysis of the incidents as portrayed in the epic Ramayana. It does not aim to be an ‘authentic’ or ‘definitive’ account of any events.
Image source: nirmukta.
I am an odd bird! read more...
Women's Web is an open platform that publishes a diversity of views, indivisual posts do not necessarily represent the platofrom's views and opinions at all times.
Stay updated with our Weekly Newsletter or Daily Summary - or both!
Hiding family issues to patriarchy, 'House of Secrets: The Burari Deaths' throws a light on several problematic aspects within the typical Indian family.
The spine-chilling Burari deaths that happened in 2018 were brought to light again with the Netflix series ‘House of Secrets: The Burari Deaths’. The eleven member Chundawat family were like any other middle class family who had been living in the neighborhood for the last twenty years. They also had a grocery and plywood shop in the same vicinity.
Rajeev Tomar the policeman who entered the Burari house after the incident, stated that he had never seen a scene like this in his entire career and the visuals still haunt him. He was in shock to see the entire family hanging with their hands tied and their eyes covered. The documentary mentions that there were 11 diaries that were found with various other notes that further deepened the mystery surrounding the deaths.
‘I don’t wear the bindi anymore na, Didi! Neither the thread. He felt I am not wearing signs. Signs of being his. So he lost his temper.’ Preeti pressed the ice against her cheek and walked to the sink full of dishes.
She stared nervously at the bed again. It was not going to be a good day – the dark brown blotches, staring at her as they spread, still fluid, told her.
The women of the Ramayana, especially Sita, have become benchmarks for Indian women over time. Here is a list of books with various approaches to the women of the Ramayana.
Like most Indian children, I had been introduced to the Ramayana at my grandmother’s knee. She taught me the Ramraksha Stotram, at a very early age, and would tell us stories from the epic, in her inimitable way. She, of course, came from a position of devotion, and that coloured her stories. I lapped them up; the storytelling mesmerizing me, making me want more.
Rewriting Indian epics done by these women writers have brought to us the stories of women and other minor characters in these stories. A MONSTER list for you.
My maternal grandmother has been a reigning influence on me since I grew up solely in her care until I was 8. She used to tell me stories of Draupadi, Arjuna, Krishna, Sita, Bhishma Pitamaha, and at an age like that, stories influence the way you think and behave.