Name: Ditipriya Acharya's review of Sita by Devdutt Pattanaik
Item: Sita
Rating: 2
Author: Ditipriya Acharya

Devdutt Pattanaik

It is significant that the only character in Hindu mythology, a king at that, to be given the title of ekam-patni-vrata, devoted to a single wife, is associated with the most unjust act of abandoning her in the forest to protect family reputation. This seems a deliberate souring of the narrative, made even more complex by Ram’s refusal to remarry despite the pressure on royalty to produce an heir. The intention seems to be to provoke thought on notions of fidelity, property and self-image. And so mythologist and illustrator Devdutt Pattanaik narrates the Ramayan, drawing attention to the many oral, visual and written retellings composed in different times by different poets, each one trying to solve the puzzle in their own unique way. This book approaches Ram by speculating on Sita—her childhood with her father, Janak, who hosted sages mentioned in the Upanishads; her stay in the forest with her husband who had to be a celibate ascetic while she was in the prime of her youth; her interactions with the women of Lanka, recipes she exchanged, emotions they shared; her connection with the earth, her mother; her role as the Goddess, the untamed Kali as well as the demure Gauri, in transforming the stoic prince of Ayodhya into God.

An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana

Sita

It is significant that the only character in Hindu mythology, a king at that, to be given the title of ekam-patni-vrata, devoted to a single wife, is associated with the most unjust act of abandoning her in the forest to protect family reputation. This seems a deliberate souring of an uplifting narrative. Ram's refusal to remarry to produce a royal heir adds to the complexity. The intention seems to be to provoke thought on notions of fidelity, property and self-image. And so the mythologist and illustrator Devdutt Pattanaik retells the Ramayana, drawing attention to the many oral, visual and written retellings composed in different times, in different places, by different poets, each one trying to solve the puzzle in its own unique way. This book approaches Ram by speculating on Sita: her childhood with her father, Janaka, who hosted sages mentioned in the Upanishads; her stay in the forest with her husband, who had to be a celibate ascetic while she was in the prime of her youth; her interactions with the women of Lanka, recipes she exchanged, emotions they shared; her connection with the earth, her mother, and with the trees, her sisters; her role as the Goddess, the untamed Kali as well as the demure Gauri, in transforming the stoic prince of Ayodhya into God.

Shreya Bajpai

You feel Ram has abandoned his Sita, don't you? she asked gently. But he has not; she stated confidently. He cannot. He is God; he abandons no one. And I am Goddess: I cannot be abandoned by anyone. 

 He was the most beautiful and serene creature I have ever seen in my life: silver and gold, with large eves, wide nostrils and an upraised tail, the body of a warrior and the aura of a sage. We fought. No, we wrestled. I just wanted to feel his toughness. But he withdrew, sensing my desire. He said he would serve only Ram, no other. 

‘He can take you by force’ and that is an option for Him while She should kill herself even if she is pure of thought and mind. ‘He can take you by force’ because HER body is the only thing that matters. 

And that is supposed to frighten me? You give too much value to this body, much more than I do. I am not my body. I will never ever be violated.'

Then why does he care for his happiness over mine? asked Sita. Why does he not let me go?

Ram looked at Sita,curious andintent. Then his eyes lit up in wonderment. Sita immediately looked away, suddenly shy, becoming formal herself, trembling at the intensity of his gentle gaze.

“My wife sits in my heart: I exist for her satisfaction.”

I am a husband now who has a wife. Should I be king, then my wife will also become queen. The two are not the same, Sita. My wife sits in my heart: I exist for her satisfaction. The queen sits on the king's throne and she exists for the kingdom's satisfaction, he said, still formal.

The practice of yagya in times of happiness or problems is still followed. We feed the gods saying swaha and in return we receive satisfaction. 

Rishyashringa declared Dashratha as the yajaman, initiator of the yagna, and prepared the altar, lit the fire and chanted potent hymns to invoke the devas. He instructed Dashratha to feed the devas who were being invoked with offerings of clarified butter. Each time Dashratha poured ghee into the fire, he was asked to say 'svaha', reminding the gods it was he who was feeding them. As the devas burped in satisfaction, Rishyashringa requested the gods to satisfy Dashratha's hunger, in exchange. The invocation, the offerings and the requests continued, until the devas were so pleased that from the yagna emerged a potion, the havis. This when consumed by Dashratha's wives would enable them to bear sons. 

I am a woman, revealed Shanta, 'a different kind of a human. You can create life outside your body but I can create life inside mine.

Suddenly, the daughter became the answer to Dashratha’s problems. 

Dashratha, king of Ayodhya in the land of Kosala, also had a daughter. Her name was Shanta, she who is peaceful. But she did not bring Dashratha peace, for he wanted sons

When Vishnu is Krishna, Lakshmi is Radha, Rukmini, Satyabhama and Draupadi. When Vishnu is Ram, She is Sita.

Ramayana cannot be seen in isolation, and to do so is to see the stars and miss the sky.

The Ram they describe is so perfect. The Sita he remembers is even better.

AnjB

Ditipriya Acharya

Where is Sita?

Animals compete for mates and fight over territory. Humans do not have to. Rules ensure this. Animals do not eat more than they have to. But humans do. Rules prevent this.

To be fair to the author, I started reading Devdutt Pattanaik’s Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of Ramayana right after I finished another mythological retelling: Circe by Madeline Miller. Some part of my disappointment while reading this book may have come from the high standards that Miller had set for stories about mythological women. But correct me if I am wrong, the book is named after Sita. So I wasn’t really wrong in going into it with expectations of reading an exploration of the Ramayana from the perspective of the woman at the forefront of it. 

She is the one born from the earth, the one who witnesses the Upanishads as a young girl, the one who is kidnapped, the one who becomes the reason for a war of epic proportions, the one who has to prove her purity by walking through fire and the one who asks to be taken back into the depths of the earth after spending years away from her husband due to gossip; and yet she plays second fiddle in a book literally named after her. As someone always on the lookout for different takes on mythological stories, I went into the book expecting something like Miller’s Circe or Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s Draupadi (The Palace of Illusions) and throughout the book I was left searching for Sita’s own opinions or thoughts. He makes an attempt to keep Sita at the centre of the story by having Hanuman narrate to her all that has happened while she is trapped in Lanka, but even that feels half-hearted. The book has a line that I found very apt given the story of Ramayana: Those who trust need no proof; those who do not trust reject all proof.

In all, it was just another retelling of a story I already knew. It didn’t bring anything new to the table in terms of narrative. However, the illustrations do add a quirky touch. Coming to the grey boxes at the end of each chapter, they didn’t annoy me as much as they did when I read Pattanaik’s Shikhandi: And Other Tales They Don’t Tell You. It did give a lot of extra information in terms of all the different versions of the story that exist in the country, which I found interesting. Having said that, towards the beginning of the book some of the comments in the boxes made by Pattanaik made me grit my teeth and I had to force myself to continue. However, the book did have a few lines that I thought were well put.

Knowledge is like a floating log of wood that helps us stay afloat in the ocean of misery. To find the shore, we have to kick our legs and swim. No one can do that for us.

‘And I am a Goddess- I cannot be abandoned by anyone.’

Seemingly structured around Sita for it does throws insights into Sita’s stories like her picking up the bow, her entering into the kitchen for the first time, etc., meanwhile having several other elements for it to reliably convey her impression.

Shows a perfect patriarchy, where “pure of thought and body” does not matter. Therefore, Ram fought the war to protect the honor of the Raghu clan and that Sita should have killed herself rather than staying under the roof of another man. 

‘And I am a Goddess- I cannot be abandoned by anyone.’

Seemingly structured around Sita for it does throws insights into Sita’s stories like her picking up the bow, her entering into the kitchen for the first time, etc., meanwhile having several other elements for it to reliably convey her impression.

Shows a perfect patriarchy, where “pure of thought and body” does not matter. Therefore, Ram fought the war to protect the honor of the Raghu clan and that Sita should have killed herself rather than staying under the roof of another man. 

AnjB &
Sita by Devdutt Pattanaik

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