Week #3: A Twist on Sita

A Twist on Sita

Sita, Rama, and the Deer
Source: Google Image

Ravana knew he had to have Sita the second he heard his sister's description of her. He concocted this elaborate plan to distract Rama and seduce Sita while he was away. He forced his friend to pretend to be a  golden, magical deer who ate from the garden Sita had worked on so steadily. Seeing his wife's hard work being destroyed by this creature, he immediately set out to destroy it. The deer dashed through the forest knowing he was no match for the king. His only hope was to get the king far enough away from Sita for Ravana's plan to work. 

While Rama was away defending his wife's honor, Ravana attempted to kidnap Sita. Sita, unaware of her husbands departure, asked her brother-in-law, "Where is Rama?" and he explained. 

"Oh, Rama has always thought these trivial matters mean anything to me. I care nothing of an animal eating from my garden. Gardens are designed to feed, so it shall feed.," said Sita. 

This is when Lakshama told her about the deer he saw: golden and beautiful and nothing like he has seen before. Sita knew something was amiss and immediately went on the defense. She cursed her husband for being so foolish to follow a magic deer and prepared for battle. In her hut, she instructed Lakshama to cover himself in armor and to find shelter immediately. As he did what he was told, she dressed in her most seductive outfit and nonchalantly paced outside. 

"Oh, where is my husband Rama? He is always leaving me so lonely.," she cried. 

Ravana saw his chance. He emerged from the bushes and attempted to seduce Sita. 

"Sita, my love. He does not deserve you. I have stayed to protect you while he has left you for some foolish deer. Leave him and rule by my side." 

Sita smirked and let Ravana get closer and closer. Soon, he was face to face with her and she batted her eyelashes. He leaned in for a kiss, and she whipped out a dagger from her back. She plunged the knife into his cold heart and immediately felt the hot lava that was his blood pool on her hand. 

"What have you done?!" cried Ravana. 

"I am ridding the world from misogynists like you. I do not need Rama, and I do not need you. I am with him because I love him not because I will die without him. Your ignorant thinking has caused the end of you, and forever you will pay for your stupidity" 

Rama came upon the scene just as Ravana cried out and fell upon his knees. He took his last breath and looked at Rama before he whispered "Keep her forever." 

Author's Notes

In my reading notes for Part B, I mentioned how disappointed in Sita's character I was. She was weak and needy and portrayed women as burdens rather than blessings. I talked about how if I were to re-write the last battle in Part B, I would change the roles to where Sita was the strong warrior who defeated Ravana, and Rama and his brothers were the naiive fools. I wanted Sita to use Ravana's own misogynistic thinking for his demise to demonstrate just how powerful women can be when they use their supposed weaknesses as strengths. For instance, in this story, Sita uses her seductiveness to drag Ravana out of the bushes and trust her enough to get within arms reach of her. Although physically, Ravana is stronger, mentally he did not see this attack coming. He was so convinced Rama was the only threat and Sita was his once her husband left. Clearly, he was wrong as Sita was the one who ended him rather than Rama. From this story, I want the audience to see the consequences of underestimating women, and for the women, I want them to see just how powerful they can be. 

Bibliography: The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose of the Indian Epic, R.K. Narayan