A legend -touching all forms of human emotions, a stupendous narration of the expected and the unexpected. The Ramanayana portray multifarious duties of a man – towards parents, country, spouse and most prominently, towards “dharma”! It acts as the zenith of an idle conduct that can be expected from a man. Undoubtedly, the main protagonist – Lord Rama is the venerable “maryada purushottam”. But when such idealist ideologies serve the sole purpose of dharma, the rational minds of the 21st century start riddling the metamorphic horses of multiple questions that seem obvious, trailing the turn of events as in the epic. Maybe with the set in of the “kali yuga”, the context and the frames of right and wrong have changed quite a bit!
My observations, as a natural inclination maybe, was not on the cynosure himself, but the various prominent female characters from the edifying literature. First and foremost, let’s discuss the character, who becomes the means to the glorious end signifying victory of good over evil-“Sita”. Like a dutiful wife, she follows her husband – be it to the grandeur of the royal castle or be it into the harsh woods. She is a very brave character, with endurance as her key strength! The beloved daughter of a king, daughter-in-law of another mighty ruler and wife of one of the greatest kings of his time, Sita lives in the hardships of the forests with the same alacrity, as in any palace. She withstands the torture of the cruel demons, protecting her pride and dignity, not giving into either the temptation of an easier life, or the fear of subjugation. She even stands the test of chastity when her character is questioned by the mob. While the character is synonymous with strength and determination, I wonder why she always remains on an asking end! Despite being a “swayamwar”, she has no say in selecting her husband, she is supposed to be married off to the one fulfilling the conditions of the contest. During her journey in the woods, she is simply trailing her husband, adhering to the conditions in which he decides to live. She is kidnapped to a foreign land, with no resort but to pray for her husband to come and rescue her. People raise fingers on her character and she is asked to walk through fire to prove her virtue. It is only when water rises beyond her head that she finally takes active action for herself, but alas, finding solace only in another world. Maybe this was the definition of a quintessential wife, and she was a part of the story only to depict the same. After all, it was the story of Rama, and the world remembers Sita as the wife of Rama!
Following in line are the other sisters from Mithila. Urmila was asked by her husband to stay back and serve his parents for 14 years while he would follow his brother in exile. While it all sounds great when we let the voice of Ramayana – that of dharma and rectitude narrate the story. But in absolute sense, it appeared that she was asked to follow her duties without even considering if she was willing to take it up. Was it a price paid for being a wife? Similar was the case of tacit agreement from Bharat’s wife, Mandavi & Vibhishan’s wife, when he left Ravana’s court to join Rama’s army. Looking at these stories, it seems like men sacrificed their women amongst many other things, to reach the heights of glory that they did!
Another female character, who acts as the trigger for the climax of Ramayan,is known to defy her duties as a pious wife or mother. Yes, we are talking of “Kaikai” the lady who personified the saying “Vinaash kale viprit buddhi”. Though not for an ideal cause, but she seems to be the only female character in the epic, who stood up for her rights, for what she thought was in her son’s well-being. Will she still be considered as wrong and ill-intentioned, if the scenario changes from that in Treta yuga to Kali yuga – a time when people don’t mind stepping on the other for their purpose. Maybe not! In that case, the behavior of all other lady characters will also no longer be considered ideal, but helpless and feeble! Maybe that is why, context and time are of prominence while deciding the virtue of an act.
Time has the power to make things relevant and irrelevant. So has the epic lost relevance? Maybe not. But are certain things and behaviors questionable? Possibly yes. Is it this change in time that necessitated a Krishna with his twisting and turning mannerism to get rid of the evil in a changed era, instead of a “dharmapurush” like Rama? The Ramayana refers to an age when probably women considered such sacrifices a part of their duty towards their families, especially their husband. However, the zeitgeist of the current times has changed, where the man has somehow assumed an upper hand, imposing such sacrifices on the so called second sex, rather than it being a willful exercise. Will these asks still be construed as rightful and adhering to dharma? Though not qualified enough for the exegesis of these scriptures and books, it would only be a cogent argument that context setting may act as a fillip to alter the reaction of even great men in different times.
