Journal of Interdisciplinary Cycle Research ISSN NO: 0022-1945

The Modern : A Comparative Study of ’s Ramacaritamanasa and Amish Tripathi’s Sita; The Warrior of

Archna Tanwar PhD Research Scholar Under the guidance of Prof Hemalatha K. Department of English Kanya Gurukul Campus, Dehradun

Gurukul Kangri Vishwavidyalaya, Haridwar. [email protected] (+91) 9555157412

Abstract: Mythology serves as a way of life advocated voraciously by popular narratives binding the society together. But there are many questions related to the mythology such as, can mythology serve the society best if passed on unaltered from generation to generation. Or is it important to attempt to re-tell mythology trying to accommodate new world scenarios in order to understand it better? An attempt to answer these and some other similar questions in this paper with reference to Amish Tripathi’s novel: Sita, the Warrior of Mithila. Key words: Mythology, Religion, Knowledge, Courage and Women

There are several questions that bug one when one delves deeper into mythological fiction. Is mythology history or is it fiction? Is mythological fiction supposed to align with the mythology or is it allowed to take its course in the stream of narrative? Then, which version of mythology can be held to be authentic and which ones to be considered mere alterations? How much of deviation from the main storyline is allowed if it is allowed at all? These questions cannot have any definitive answer. They can be debated forever. But what can be agreed on is that mythology is an inexhaustible ocean of knowledge, holding life lessons, healing distressed, comforting desolate and

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binding a multitude of people together. This is the power of mythological narratives that humans keep going back to them in difficult times. A global survey conducted by Prof Maya Khemlani David from in the Corona Pandemic that the world is facing together, reveals that more than fifty percent people all over the globe from different ethnicities went back to their religious texts to find solace while entrapped within their own houses. It is a usual phenomenon that believers tend to go back to their religious roots whenever fear looms on their head. So can it be said that the religious texts written centuries ago are perfect to be referred even today? Literatures of various kinds prove relevant through long stretches of time but it’s not always the case. Since literature is the mirror of society, with changing times, a new kind of literature is demanded. Keeping in line with this fact it becomes important to introduce few changes in mythological texts as well and that’s how contemporary mythological fiction takes birth. There is a myriad of contemporary mythological fictional texts in the Indian context. There is an ever growing readership for mythological texts in India. Amish Tripathi is a contemporary fiction author, basking in the light of popularity for the same reason. Although he has greatly altered the basic storyline in his books but the portrayal of Sita in his Ram Chandra series is too far from the basic one. It’s true that any one cannot be ascribed to be the original Ramayana. As one of the most popular versions of Ramayana, Tulsidas’s Ramacaritamanasa has been taken to serve as a yardstick to analyze the length to which Amish has altered the character of Sita. This paper also tries to answer the questions such as - is the mythological fiction rewriting, reinterpreting or twisting mythology? What is the parameter to question the way that mythology is interpreted? Is there a limit to rewriting mythology? What is the limit of suspension of disbelief? There are huge differences between Tulsidas’s Ramacaritamanasa and Amish Tripathi’s Ramayana series. They are not even expected to be the same but what should be the limit of differences between the two? Sita is the main heroine in Tulsidas Ramacaritamanasa but she didn’t have any significant role in the story other than proving the strict conduct of behavior of a high class Hindu lady. Sita hardly says anything in the whole narrative. She is merely a mouthpiece of the cultural protectors who dictate the role of conduct for women. Amish has however made Sita a fierce competitor of for the title of Vishnu. The title of Vishnu is accorded “to the greatest of leaders, who are Propagators of Good.” (Tripathi, 79)

It’s not just Sita who has an authoritative role in the novel but all the women have significant roles. In Ramacaritamanasa, most of the women don’t have well developed characters; they are brought to the front only when their role is indispensible. There are so many instances where Tusidas has restrained the rightful presence of women in the narrative. One such instance being, when Rama touches the stoned with his feet, Ahalya’s much needful historical background is skipped for it was not in consonance with the praises of the Lord. It’s agreed that Ramacaritamanasa is the story of Lord Rama and he is the central character of the text but is it justified to not even mention a little background of the lady who was cursed to become a stone by her husband. She is comfortably used as a tool to shower praises on Rama thus skipping her own story -

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I am an impure woman, while the Lord is able to sanctify the whole world and is the delight of His servants. O lotus-eyed enemy of , You rid your devotees of the fear of rebirth; therefore, I have taken refuge in you. Pray save me, save me. My consort (Gautama) did well in pronouncing a curse on me, and I have deemed it the greatest favor. (Tulsidas, 227) Rama’s physical beauty is described through exaggerated similes throughout the text but every time it came to describing Sita, Tulsidas sidelined describing her by simply saying that a thousand Sesas could not have described her. Sometimes the story seems to be racing through. At the wedding of Sita and Rama, the other three brothers and sisters are shown getting married without any prior information. All of a sudden, the six other people are shown ready to get married. After marriage there is no reference ever made to the other three princesses even though the turmoil they must have been going through was great. Tulsidas simply didn’t feel the need to state the whereabouts of who had to live without her husband for fourteen years and is never even mentioned after her marriage to Bharat. Sita also has only a minor role in the story. She is mentioned only when her part in the story cannot be done away with. Tulsidas has focused only on the character of Rama as if Rama’s journey and his character remained unaffected by other characters. Rama’s journey was a consequence of the several forces at work and would not be complete without their mention. Although that would have been alright in any other case but a text which is a cultural icon in itself and has rendered its characters as cultural icons too cannot be dismissed with its follies too easily. It is because of several of these glitches that contemporary authors have taken up re-writing modern versions of our traditional epics. Before moving on to the question of the limit of re- interpreting or altering the mythology, here is a brief look at how Amish Tripathi has portrayed the character of Sita in his book Sita: The Warrior of Mithila. On the cover page itself, Sita is shown as a lean muscular woman in attack position with a stick in her hand. She seems to be engrossed in fighting with all her might the several men who are running towards her. She doesn’t have any jewellery save for single solid bands on ankles and triceps, beaded bracelets on her wrists and a beaded chain in her neck. This image inspires awe for a powerful strong woman fighting for herself. As we go on to read the novel, we find that it starts with the end. The beginning of the book is the day when Sita faces Raavan and Kumbhakaran. From our previous knowledge we know that this is the day when Sita is kidnapped by Lankans but what is new and refreshing to the sight is how Sita is portrayed as a tough princess well-versed in warfare, is quick-witted and valiant enough to face an enemy army alone. However as the chapter comes to an end, we’re taken back to Sita’s childhood. The day when Queen Sunaina, Sita’s mother and the Queen of Mithila found her shows the source where Sita gets her strength from. She is backed by a valiant vulture who dies protecting her from a pack of wolves and a mother who bravely makes her way towards the scene of battle between a lonely vulture and a pack of wolves. Queen Sunaina is herself a courageous woman who fearlessly takes her decisions. She smartly reviews the situation and is ever ready to find solutions rather than sitting ideally. Be it the welfare of her kingdom or adopting a baby, she knows how to get her way. Being headstrong and intelligent she single handedly manages her kingdom and brings up her daughter to be an efficient ruler. Even King Janak is relieved of kingly duties with Queen Sunaina in action.

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Since the novel is about Sita, Rama is introduced only as a side character but that doesn’t mean that he is completely forgotten. While mostly Sita enjoys the limelight, Rama gets his due whenever he is with Sita. With Sita’s childhood, a glimpse of ideal parenting is also provided. Sunaina makes sure that Sita learn everything that will help her in the future. She narrates the story of the vulture who gave up its life fighting valiantly to save Sita. Sunaina wants Sita to remember that nobility may come in any form and one such form was the vulture to whom she owes her life. Sita, though an uncommon girl had a common childhood. She got her regular dose of mother’s scolding in response to her antics. Sunaina made Sita aware of her culture and traditions by incorporating these things in her day to day life and making Sita participate in every little thing. Sunaina had a unique way of teaching her daughter. She would wait for the most appropriate time for every lesson and sent it across in carefully measured words. Sita even got her strategic ruling from Sunaina. In fact, it is delineated through small incidents like when Sita was in the Gurukul and was forbidden to hit anyone by her mother; she unnerves a boy (who was harassing her) just by screaming in his face. Sunaina made sure that minor differences that existed between her and Janak do not affect Sita’s upbringing. Sita had a special place for her mother. When no one else could have had their way with Sita, her mother was the only one whom she would listen to without any reservations. Sunaina was only for some ten years with Sita and died when Sita was sixteen but had such a profound impact in such a short time that Sita turned out to be like her even as a grown up. Just like any other normal child Sita often wonders about her birth mother but the wonderment doesn’t go too far as she always ends her questions with an answer that she knows the best that she is Sunaina’s daughter. She tries to uphold the faith that Sunaina had in her all throughout her life. Such parent child relationships are not easy to achieve but still the ideal parenthood must strive to attain a comfortable yet guiding atmosphere as depicted here.

Sita even gets her unbiased attitude from her upbringing environment. There is an air of equality in Mithila. People are not distinguished by their looks, money or other worldly attributes. Guru Ashtavakra, the chief guru of the city was deformed in eight places and very young of age when he assumed the position of the chief guru but his deformities or young age were not a barrier in view of his extraordinary mind. Everyone gets a fair chance to move up the social ladder based on their capabilities. Sita was extremely curious as a child. She wanted to know everything that was going on anywhere and that is why she would eavesdrop on her father’s conversations or run out to the slums where she was forbidden. Her curiosity always got the better of her which often puts her in trouble but was also a source of life lessons for her. Sita was not the one to just keep on living purposelessly; on the contrary she observed life closely and remembered her lessons which made her stronger by the day. She was a little nine year old when she challenged her uncle who was trying to cheat her mother, by breaking his forged seal and protecting her mother from the intended insult. This shows the fierce and responsible attitude ingrained in her. Sita is a kind soul but nevertheless she is capable of fighting for herself ferociously whenever the need arises. She stood up for herself even as an eight year old when she was rounded up by some boys in the slum area. Even when she became the prime minister of Mithila and was attacked, she decided to give a fitting reply to the attackers. When it was the question of giving up her own ways to save the

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life of her partner, Rama Sita tactfully worked around the available information to secure Rama’s life along with freedom to live life on her own terms. This shows that being kind doesn’t mean to keep on compromising on self-security and respect. In her early years, we see Sita lacking the stereotypical feminine virtues. She easily gets in fights with other students and her response in such fights is by no means a mild one. She resolvedly thrashes anyone who challenges her self-respect or the respect of her parents. Her teacher Guru Shvetketu is even worried about her short temperament and arranges some extra classes on non-violence and impulse control in response. But these scenes are described in a straight forward simple manner without implying any attention to Sita being abnormal for being unfeminine. In such cases Sita is looked at as an impulsive person but not as someone that she should not be. It is rare to find impartial use of a partial language but this narrative by Amish Tripathi is commendable for being brilliantly impartial. Sita even gets to lighten the funeral pyre of her mother, something that is the sole right of sons in Hindu culture. She is so devoted to the cause of her land that while choosing a life partner her only parameter is whether her life partner will be able to help her cause. Her talent is not just limited to her fighting skills and brilliance in studies. The best example of her able administration comes forth in the way that she manages her kingdom to extract the best benefits out of small changes and hence improving the living standards of her people.

Amish Tripathi has tried to address the issues that often unnerve the present day society. For example through Vishwamitra, Amish says that extremism of anything is dangerous to a civilization. For the flourishing of any civilization it is important to strive towards a balance in the competing ideologies in the society. An imbalance of ideologies is the root of destruction for any civilization. It also addresses the issue of the caste. He says that the imbalance in society comes from not allowing people to live life according to their inherent nature. They are rather forced to live life according to their birth but the inherent nature does not always align with the birth caste. It must have been difficult for the author but he achieved what he set out to do – making Sita the protagonist of his novel. Our society is terrifically set in shackles of gender stereotypes. So much so that, it is difficult to accept feminism even now. There are so many uncountable misunderstandings about feminism that it is difficult to answer each of them through debates. It is important that the mainstream art drives home the needful message of gender equality. It is only through this way that we can expect to see a noticeable positive change in the future. It is outrageous how some people keep on openly trying to perpetrate anti-feminist sentiments and toxic masculinity in young men, especially on social media platforms. In India people treat their mythological heroes as cultural icons. Rama and Sita are not just fictional characters but treated as sentiments here. They represent the ideal man and wife in culture. Not only Hindus but almost everyone in India is aware of the basic storyline of Ramayana. It’s significant that Rama and Sita have a stronghold on popular public opinion in this country. As soon as one names Rama or Sita or even Raavan for that matter, popular images of these characters as the ideal man, the ideal wife and the demon respectively pop up. It would not have been so important to attempt a change the image presented by the ancient popular versions of Ramayana if the

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text had not had such a massive effect on people. There is an urgency to change the attitude of our mainstream society today. For how long will the examples of mythological characters serve to be the backbone for female subjugation? How long will the meek and docile Sita continue to bear all that is thrown to her unquestioningly? No one is sure if mythology is fiction or history so the question of altering the facts of mythology is not even a valid one. In a society like the one that exists today, art cannot just be for art’s sake. Any art can survive for a long period of time only if it serves the society. It can be safely said that the most influential movements around the world have had the most forceful impact from authors so the authors have this added responsibility to write that which can bring about impactful change in the readers. Amish Tripathi is one of such new age writers who has not chosen to re-interpret mythology only as a subject for writing but has taken up the subject closest to the popular imagination in order to address some unnerving issues plaguing our society today.

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Works Cited:

Tripathi, Amish. Sita, Warrior of Mithila. Westland Publications, Chennai. 2017. Print

Tulsidas, Goswami. Sri Ramacaritamanasa. Gita Press, Gorakhpur. 1992. Print

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