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 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.

An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana

Sita

Shreya Bajpai

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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. 

“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.

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.

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

Sita quotes

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