Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana

by Devdutt Pattanaik

  The narrative repeatedly stresses how Lakshman never saw Sita’s face and how Sita never saw Ravana’s face and how Ram never saw Tadaka’s face. Thus looking upon the face has an intimacy that is traditionally associated with eroticism. In the animal kingdom, to look into another animal’s eye evokes a threat response; lowering the eyes or looking away is an indicator of submission.

  Gold is an auspicious metal in India. Ram adorns his Sita with gold jewellery. Ravana lives in a city of gold. For Ram, gold must be placed on the body, while Ravana has gold at his feet. It is a golden deer that enchants Sita. The Ramayana thus reveals the dark side of gold, its ability to lure and entrap. Sita gives up her gold jewellery for what really matters in life.

  Unlike the brothers of the Raghu clan, the vanara brothers have to share their throne but a misunderstanding separates them. No one gives the other the benefit of the doubt.

  In Kerala’s Theyyam tradition, Vali is visualized and worshipped as a deity and is often called the ‘long-tailed’, an indicator of both his physical and sexual prowess.

  In the monkey world, the alpha is the strongest monkey who claims all the females and foraging lands for himself and who keeps bachelor monkeys away from his harem and kills all rivals. Probably Vali and Sugriva followed monkey-like practices and so Valmiki identified them as monkeys. That they were sharing the kingdom shows that they are a step away from animal nature. But the animal nature returns when Vali kicks Sugriva out and claims his wife, Ruma.

  Lessons from the Sun

  ‘Why did you not help Sugriva yourself?’ asked Sita. ‘You are so strong and smart. Surely you could defeat Vali.’

  Hanuman then explained to Sita his relationship with the sun and the son of the sun.

  Hanuman wanted to study everything that there was to study. So he approached the sun who saw everything that there is to see on earth. But Surya was reluctant to teach him as he was busy all day riding across the sky and too tired to do anything at night. A persistent Hanuman had flown in front of Surya’s chariot as the sun moved east to west, facing the sun-god, withstanding his glare, determined to learn one way or another. Pleased with this display of determination, Surya taught Hanuman the Vedas, the Vedangas, the Upavedas, the Tantras and the Shastras. Surya’s teachings helped Hanuman master every siddha and transform into a tapasvi. That is why Hanuman could, at will, expand his body, contract his body, change shape, fly like a bird, become heavy or weightless, attract and dominate. In exchange for this knowledge, Surya had only one request, ‘Take care of my son, Sugriva, who is not as strong as Indra’s son, Vali. Be his friend always.’

  ‘And so I am always by Sugriva’s side, protecting him. But that does not mean I have to oppose Vali, son of Indra. I see Sugriva’s point of view and I see Vali’s point of view. For Sugriva, Vali is being unreasonable. For Vali, Sugriva has done something that is unpardonable. Both are right from their point of view,’ said Hanuman to Sita.

  ‘That is so true,’ said Sita.

  Lakshman, however, did not think so. When he had heard the same story, he had said, ‘You are like Shiva, who supports the rakshasas and the yakshas, the devas and the asuras. Don’t you think you have to take sides, like Vishnu? You must side with the right and fight for the powerless.’

  Hanuman had replied, ‘But who decides who is right? Both Sugriva and Vali are convinced they are right. And who decides who is powerless? Is Ram powerless because he is in exile? Is Sita powerless because Ravana has abducted her? Does power come from within or is it granted from outside?’

  Hanuman then told Lakshman a story he had heard from Surya.

  Once Indra’s Swarga was threatened by an asura who attacked them in the form of a buffalo. So the devas went to Shiva for help. He told the gods to release their inner strengths and merge it into one entity. From within came their Shaktis. The many Shaktis of the devas merged into a blinding light to become Durga. Durga, a goddess with many arms, entered the battlefield riding a lion, attacked the buffalo-demon Mahisha-asura and impaled him with her trident. Hanuman asked Lakshman, ‘Tell me, brother of Ram, who would you protect: the devas from the buffalo or the buffalo from the armed, lion-riding goddess?’

  ‘The devas are the victims and Durga is their saviour,’ Lakshman said.

  Hanuman then told Lakshman another story that Surya had told him.

  ‘Long ago, the devas and the asuras churned the ocean of milk and out came many treasures. Amongst them the wish-fulfilling tree Kalpataru, the wish-fulfilling cow Kamadhenu, the wish-fulfilling gem Chintamani and Amrita, the nectar of immortality. Vishnu took the form of Mohini, enchanted everyone and promised to distribute these treasures freely but gave Amrita only to the devas. This made the devas so powerful that they claimed all the treasures for themselves and turned their abode Amravati into Swarga, paradise of pleasures. The asuras thus cheated never forgave the devas, attacking them repeatedly in various forms, like the buffalo-demon. So who are the real victims? Devas or asuras?’

  This is when Ram spoke up. ‘Why do you assume that Vishnu sides with the devas? Is it because he grants them the nectar of immortality? Yes, after drinking Amrita no longer do the devas fear death. Why then are they still so insecure? What are they afraid of losing? Why do they cling to their treasures? Yes, Vishnu gave the devas prosperity, but did he give them peace, for they still grant themselves an identity through things? And yes, Shiva gives everything to the asuras and to the rakshasas and the yakshas, everything they ask him for. But what do they ask him for? They ask him for wealth and power – things once again. They never ask him to help them outgrow their hunger. They never ask him to expand their mind with thoughts. And so hunger gnaws at their being as fear gnaws at the being of the devas. The fight continues endlessly, with victory following defeat with unfailing regularity, led by those who believe they are right and those who believe they are powerless.’

  Every vanara had then looked at Ram as students gaze upon a teacher. Ram said, ‘Know this: Durga is strength that we get from the outside. Shakti is strength that is inside. Nature gives us Shakti. Human society is designed to grant Durga through tools, rules and property. But having lived in the forest this long, for over thirteen years, both Sita and I have learned to value Shakti, not Durga. For strength from within is always there; strength from without may or may not be there. Ravana, however, seeks strength from outside. He seeks to punish the man whose brother mutilated his sister. He sees my wife as my property; by stealing her he wants me to feel deprived. He does not see Sita as a person, who did him no harm. I do not blame him. I am not angry with him. I see his point of view. I do think he is wrong. I do not begrudge him his power. I just seek to rescue my Sita, restore her freedom to her.’

  ‘You do not judge Ravana?’ Sugriva asked.

  ‘No, I understand where he is coming from, just as I understood where Kaikeyi came from,’ Ram replied. ‘Ravana is capable of so much more. But he refuses to be what he can be. So he imagines me as his enemy, and refuses to see me for who I am. Like Kaikeyi, he is consumed by his own notion of what is reality.’

  ‘Hearing Ram speak thus,’ said Hanuman to Sita, ‘I realized Ram was a true brahmin, he who expands his mind and of those around him, a householder with the mind of a hermit. He does not need a kingdom to be king.’

  ‘He does not need control over a wife to be a husband,’ said Sita.

  Indra and Surya are major deities in Vedic hymns. In Puranic stories, they take a subordinate position to Vishnu. When Vishnu descends as Ram, the old gods join him as vanaras: Indra through Vali and Surya through Sugriva.

  In the Upanishads, Yagnavalkya gets wisdom from the sun. In the Puranas, Hanuman gets wisdom from the sun. The sun is the source of all light and energy and hence the symbol of divinity. The famous Gayatri mantra from the Rig Veda is an invocation to this sun that dispels the darkness of ignorance.

  In temple art, the sun is often visualized seated on a chariot pulled by seven horses.

  Hanuman is at once
the great sage, the mighty warrior and the curious monkey. Though he serves Sugriva and never seeks the limelight, he slowly emerges like the rising sun and becomes a dominant character in the epic. His role becomes increasingly central in medieval times with the rise of devotional texts.

  In folklore, Vali is annoyed that Sugriva has outwitted him by taking refuge on Mount Rishyamukha where he cannot step into because of a curse. So just to rile Sugriva, he leaps over the mountain several times a day and kicks Sugriva on the head. Finally, one day, Hanuman catches Vali by the ankle and threatens to pull him down to the mountain. Vali knows that if he so much as touches the mountain, his head will burst into a thousand pieces. Terrified, he tries in vain to escape Hanuman’s grasp. Finally, they both agree that Vali will leave Sugriva alone as long as he stays in Rishyamukha.

  Hanuman serves Ram unconditionally. Unlike Sugriva, he has nothing to gain materially but he does gain a lot emotionally. Ram becomes a guru and Hanuman the perfect student, content to bask in the guru’s glory even though he can easily outshine him.

  Exchanging stories is a key part of living in the forest. Stories are the tool through which wisdom spread in India. From Shiva comes the Brihad-katha, the ocean of stories, passed on to humanity through bards and storytellers. Scholars see India as the home of many of the folktales that reached Europe through Arab traders.

  Storytelling plays a key role in Hinduism, less explicitly in old ritualistic Vedic Hinduism than in later temple-based Puranic Hinduism. Divinity manifests in three forms: the hermit Shiva, the householder Vishnu and the Goddess who is the earth. Wisdom manifests in how Shiva and Vishnu engage with the Goddess. Ingnorance is expressed through the relationship of Brahma and his sons with the Goddess. The Goddess is invoked by many names but the most common name is Shakti, power. Those who appreciate Hinduism through Shiva are called Shaivas, those who do so through Vishnu are called Vaishnavas and those who do so through Shakti are called Shaktas.

  It is very easy to see Ram as a classical Greek hero, wronged by the villain. But the Ramayana is a vehicle for Indic thought and notions of wisdom. At the heart of it is the human quest for validation through property. Ram is God because he understands the futility of property. Identity must come despite property, not because of it, something the learned Ravana fails to appreciate.

  All Indic religions – Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism – explore the relationship of man’s quest for power through things. Unlike Greek narratives, where achievement is celebrated, and biblical narratives, where submission and discipline are celebrated, in Indic thought understanding is celebrated.

  The Death of Vali

  Hanuman then told Sita how Sugriva finally became king of Kishkindha.

  ‘He is all philosophical like a sage. That is fine. But I really need a warrior who can kill Vali,’ said Sugriva. In response, Ram took an arrow out of his quiver, mounted it on his bow, pulled the string, chanted a mantra and released the arrow. Everyone watched in amazement as the arrow pierced seven palm trees and then turned to return to Ram’s quiver.

  ‘You are skilled. But are you strong?’ asked Sugriva.

  In response, Ram kicked the carcass of Dundhubi, now reduced to bones, so hard that it flew off the slopes of Rishyamukha and landed right in the middle of Kishkindha.

  ‘This is wonderful. You can shoot him with your arrow while I engage him in a duel. You help me become king of Kishkindha and I will get my vanaras to find your Sita and help you rescue her.’

  ‘Why don’t I invite him to a duel and defeat him in a fair fight?’ asked Ram.

  ‘Then you, not I, will become master of Kishkindha. You will be my saviour and not my assistant. The vanaras will follow you, not me. Unless I engage him in a duel and he dies in that duel, no one will respect me. And fairness: that is a concept for cities, not the jungle.’

  To seal this agreement and their friendship, Hanuman lit a fire and, holding each other’s hands, Ram and Sugriva walked around it seven times. Thus bound by ritual, the two were now obliged to be faithful to each other.

  Sita realized that the Sugriva being described by Hanuman was vaishya-varna, a monkey with the calculating mind of a trader, while his rival Vali was kshatriya-varna, a monkey with the dominating mind of a master. Perhaps only Hanuman was a monkey with the empathizing and curious mind of a seer, so strong yet not seeking to be powerful, so wise and yet never flaunting his wisdom.

  Hanuman then described the duel between the two monkey brothers.

  Mace in hand, Sugriva roared out his challenge to Vali. Vali, with a sneer, left the company of Tara, who tried in vain to stop the brothers from fighting, and came to fight his cowardly brother in a clearing of the woods. Bow in hand, Ram hid behind some bushes.

  Sugriva was no match for Vali. A few punches and kicks later, Sugriva was running for cover.

  ‘Why did you not shoot your arrow?’ he asked Ram angrily.

  ‘You both look so alike. Challenge him again at dawn tomorrow. But wear a garland of forest flowers around your neck so that I can distinguish you. By dusk tomorrow, Vali will be dead and you will be king,’ said Ram.

  And so, the next day, Sugriva, with a garland around his neck and a mace in his hand, once again challenged Vali to a duel in the clearing of the woods. ‘This time, I will kill you, so that you do not trouble me again,’ snarled Vali as he stomped out of Kishkindha.

  The fight was fierce. Everyone watched Vali strike Sugriva mercilessly with his mace, biting his cheek in rage and tearing his skin with his nails. Sugriva looked like a helpless prey and Vali a fierce predator. No one would believe they were brothers.

  That is when Ram shot his arrow from behind the trees and it hit its mark, ripping through Vali’s back and tearing into his heart. Vali gave out a yelp and fell to the ground.

  The vanaras who watched this fight from afar hooted angrily at this foul play. Tara ran to her husband and wailed when she realized there was no hope: the great Vali would die. ‘Who did this?’ she demanded to know.

  ‘I did it,’ said Ram. ‘I am Ram, scion of the Raghu clan, representative of Bharata, king of Ayodhya, and friend to Sugriva who will help me find my Sita who has been abducted by the rakshasa-king Ravana.’

  ‘This coward will help you?’ Vali wanted to laugh despite the unbearable pain. ‘He who defeats me through foul play? If you wanted to save Sita why did you not just come to me? I am stronger than Ravana. I had once bound him by my tail and kept him as a pet in Kishkindha. Why did you side with this weakling who uses cunning to defeat the strong? Is that fair? Is that right?’

  Sita interjected, ‘Vali grabs the kingdom he is supposed to share and now demands rules of civilized conduct be followed in war. Is it not strange that the most unfair people in the world often demand fairness?’

  Hanuman, student of the sun-god, who knew the nature of Vali and his father, Indra, explained, ‘Fairness is a human concept. It does not exist in the jungle. All that matters is survival, one way or another. Sugriva had found his way. To be outsmarted by his weaker brother, that was too much for Vali to handle. So he argued by appealing to humanity and civilization.’

  Hanuman then proceeded to tell Sita how Ram had responded to Vali’s accusation.

  ‘You lived by one code of animals: you used force to get your way. Your brother has used another code of animals: he used cunning to get his way. Why do you then cry foul? Why do you speak of human values? You who lived like an animal all your life should accept being killed like an animal. I am the hunter and you are my trophy. And Sugriva is the beneficiary of this sport of kings.’

  Holding the dying Vali in her arms, Tara cursed Ram, ‘You killed my husband so that you can get your wife. May you never find peace when she is by your side.’ Only then, with vengeful satisfaction, did Vali breathe his last.

  Fair or not, a new pecking order had been established in Kishkindha. The vanaras, who until then had followed Vali, simply turned to Sugriva and accepted his leadership. Even Tara accepted Sugriva as h
er new lord. For such is the way of animals.

  Sugriva needs evidence to trust Ram; Lakshman needs evidence to trust Hanuman; neither Ram nor Hanuman need it to trust each other.

  The Valmiki Ramayana narrates the peculiar practice of Ram and Sugriva going around a fire to seal their friendship. This practice is not referred to anywhere else and is seen only in marriages. Perhaps it was an old Vedic practice of publicly acknowledging a relationship, something akin to the modern contract.

  In the Ram-Sita-ni-varta, the Ramayana of the Bhil tribes, the identities of Hanuman and Sugriva are merged. Lakshman drinks water from a pond and finds it is actually a pool of tears shed by a monkey who mourns for his wife. The monkey is identified with Hanuman/Sugriva whose wife has been abducted by Aria and Ram promises to secure his wife if he promises to help find Sita in exchange.

  People are divided on the tale of Ram killing Vali clandestinely. Most are convinced it is an act of cowardice and see any alternative explanation as forced justification. In the Sanskrit play Mahavira-charita, Bhavabhuti makes it a fair fight with Ram and Vali fighting face to face. Kamban does not try to explain it and assumes this is divine play at work that is incomprehensible to mortals. Finally, there are stories narrated to explain why Ram does what he does: Vali has a boon that he will get, over and above his own strength, half the strength of all those who come before him and so the only way to kill him is by stealth.

  Dharma is often assumed to be a set of universal moral and ethical laws. Such universal laws do not exist but are imagined by all humans in every society because humans want them to exist. What exists is universal natural law, where the fit survive using strength and cunning. Social law with its notions of what is right and fair keeps changing with time, with place, with context and with the people involved. The beneficiaries of social law are convinced their laws are fair and right. But those who do not benefit from the same laws reject them and spark revolutions.