Week 5 Story: Sita the Demon Queen
Creation of Maya Sita, Adhyatma Ramayana folio, Wikicommons
Sita has been away from Rama for almost six months since she was kidnapped by the Demon King Ravana. For this entire duration Sita had not heard a word from Rama. Sita believed with all her heart that Rama would eventually come and save her from the abomination that was Ravana.
Day in and day out Sita would spend most of the day praying that Rama would come and save her. She would pray to Shiva, Vishnu, and even minor gods. Sita was desperate to have her prayers answered. Sita began to day dream that even if Rama did not come to save her that atleast someone strong and capable would come to conquer Lanka so she could get off this dreaded island.
Weeks started to pass freely and there was still no sign of her hero Rama or anyone for that matter. Doubt started to grow from within Sita.
"Could Rama just toss me aside for someone more fair?" she thought.
These dark thoughts started to flood her mind. Sita fought virtuously to hold back these ideas, but Sita found no evidence fighting for Rama's case.
A few months pass and Sita had beat herself down. The idea that Rama had found another woman was much less and idea in her head but more of a fact. Sita started to realize how well Ravana has been treating her. Ravana has provided her with food, shelter, and apart for threatening to murder her if she did not wed him he was a decent demon. In this clouded thought Sita decided that she was waiting no longer for her virtuous lover Rama and would decide to marry Ravana. Sita stood and immediately headed for Ravana's quarters.
Ravana was surprised to say the least that Sita had accepted his proposal. In order to appease his new wife he asked if she had any requests. Sita responded promptly that Rama must be slain and the army must be set in motion immediately. This pleased Ravana as it was his goal to kill Rama.
That next morning Sita was awoken by a vision of Shiva decreeing that Rama was on his way to rescue her. This message shook Sita to her core, and she quickly began to realize that she was the villain. Overcome with guilt Sita took her own life.
Authors Note: I started with the story of Sita being captured and being given the ultimatum of marriage or death by Ravana, in this story she accepts but ultimately regrets it. I wrote it with the moral "patience is a virture" in mind.
p. 89. Ravana abducts Sita. / R. K. Narayan
Brad,
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting way to retell the story of Sita and Ravana; although it was dark towards the end, I was interested in reading it! Sita marrying Ravana would be a complete game-changer in the whole Ramayana story because her marriage to Rama is so important. The moral lesson in this story is definitely highlighted in the final paragraph. This is a great interpretation, good work!
Hi Brad!
ReplyDeleteYour story was very interesting. I definitely was not expecting Sita to turn on Rama like that, but I guess stuff like that actually does happen sometimes! Good people can do bad things. People often let something get the best of them when they should have just been more patient. Sita definitely made the wrong decision going with Ravana in your version of the story!
Brad,
ReplyDeleteI really like the angle you took with this story. Sita did seem a bit unstable to me throughout the Ramayana and was always threatening to take her own life anyway, so I like that you incorporated that into your own story. I also like how many of your stories revolve around a single character, as it allows you to develop them more than a story that contains many characters would.
Awesome work!
Hey Brad, You did a great job recreating the story of Rama and Sita. I was able to follow along and see how you retold the story. We all know that Sita is a woman that is very emotional and even though the ending to your story is very sad. I think that it actually goes with Sita's story because she was a woman who prided herself on being with Rama because of how much she loved her.
ReplyDelete