In the story Ramayana of Valmiki is a story that has often been passed down from generations from the original version of the story. In the story the Ramayana majority of the Ramayana’s view Sita as the wife who follows her husband when he is exiled for fourteen years who upholds her chastity when she is abducted by the Rakshasa king Ravana who goes through the ring of fire to prove her chastity (Anand). During the tenure of the abduction even after passing all these tests quietly, leaves her husband Rama who is the ideal man. When an ordinary washer man from his kingdom tells Rama about Sita of the doubts of her character forcing him to leave her. Despite the culture that these people live in an Indian society Valmiki’s Ramayana is one of those stories that compares women as creatures rather than humans as men use to treat woman as property. In the Ramayana culture they expect the wife the woman to be a virtue a figure assigning no reciprocal duties to the husband. In the sense the wife is nothing more than just a piece of property to her husband.
The Ramayana also depicted the love and care of Lord Rama for his wife and the obstacles he willingly faced to save her from the clutches of Ravana but over the years, these acts have failed to acquire the status of obligations of a husband and have been reduced to insignificant details of the great text (Anand). In the Ramayana Rama portrays his wife as the ideal Hindu woman beautiful chaste and aware of her duties loyally to
There was a time when gods and demons roamed the earth. A time when humanity lived at the mercy of divine beings, who executed their wills against the humans, following their own selfish desires and placing humans in a position of piety to these dominant beings. This time on earth is one of great men who fought against these demigods, giving them great fame passed on as stories in the oral tradition. Though it is unrealistic to believe that these men truly fought against divine beings, their stories played a role in the ancient world, which was the beginning of the formation of society and civilization. The epics of “Gilgamesh” and “The Ramayana of Valmiki” both served their societies as an outline of a moral code,
Ramayana, translated by William Buck, is an ancient Indian epic telling the story of a prince named Rama who fights against his adversary, Ravana. Although there are many important female characters throughout the book, they are often seen as subordinate to their male counterparts where intelligence and strength are concerned. One character who proves this stereotype wrong is Sita, Rama’s wife, who often shows that she has the capacity of being just as powerful as the men of the story. By being more mindful than most people around her, Sita defies the expectations that many characters have placed on her. Sita lets the reader see another side of women’s power and shows us the strength that women could have. The reason that Sita proves to be powerful is that she seems to have an understanding of the deeper meaning of her life; precisely the quality that men don’t expect her to have.
The original The Ramayana is a great epic that has stood the test of time, and has been influential yet controversial throughout history. R.K Narayan’s version has been the same; his composition of stories adds another layer to the already plentiful themes, leaving the reader satisfied with his brilliant description and insight. Through Narayan’s constant comparison that parallels Rama to a perfect specimen, he is demonstrating a “Straw Man” argument. Its effect illuminates Rama’s flaws rather than his seemingly perfect composure. Narayan consciously chooses moments at Rama’s darkest hours to transform him into the relatable human figure he was meant to become.
The Ramayana is an Ancient Indian epic poem that follows the story of a young prince named Rama who is a mortal incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. The plot follows a narrative that starts from his first time outside the royal palace, through his banishment from the kingdom and his quest to save his beloved wife Sita from Ravana, the evil King of Lanka, all the way to his coronation as King of Ayodhya, the kingdom from which he was originally banished. Throughout the whole narrative, there is one factor that remains constant, the role of women in the culture. The acceptance, or rejection of these cultural values by the women directly corresponds with how their character is perceived by the reader and how their role directly influences the
In today’s society men are expected to have only wife and not multiple and it is also the same for a woman and if that is broken then it is considered cheating which is a unacceptable thing. That was not the case in the Ramayana. In our current time men and women rule. An example of this is the ruler of England Queen Elizabeth II is the current leader of England and is a female. Also America had a women run for president and even though she didn’t win there is out to be a time soon that a female will become the next president for the United States. This would of never been heard of in the time of the Ramayana. For war and battle it is acceptable for a women to be enrolled into the army with men now. There are quite a bit of women
The Vindication of Sita is considered the culmination of the epic Ramayana, and had attracted numerous artists to choose it as the subject of their artistic creations. It is always illuminating to examine the differences of the paintings with the same subject matter. The Vindication of Sita from Singh’s Ramayana and the one that illustrates the Persian translation of the Ramayana show varied themes, iconography, composition, and narrative techniques that correspond to the nature of their patronages. The Mewar version is colorful and complex in layout with a full demonstration of the court’s political standing, financial power, and an attachment to what was truly Indian. The Sub-imperial Mughal version is much more modest and simple with an allusion to the Persians’ fascination of Indian classics yet a persistence of presenting it in an Islamic way.
They are entertained, but not respected. Within the Ramayana, Sits, similarly to Penelope, is questioned for her loyalty. When Rama rescues her from Ravana, her fidelity is in question so he rejects her. Only when she throws herself into a fire and is brought back to life due to her faithfulness does Rama accept her back. Other example of women and their roles in the Ramayana are, Ahalya, was turned to stone for Indra having sex with her in her sleep.
War has been treated as an acceptable response to political or personal disagreements. The Bhagavad-Gita shows how a person can have a moral dilemma when faced with the prospect of fighting against people who are familiar. This story explains how, if there are no other options available to solve a dispute, then violent conflicts are acceptable responses. The use of armed conflict to resolve any political or personal disputes has been a theme that is visible in famous warrior stories. The Odyssey, The Ramayana of Valmiki, and The Bhagavad-Gita all deal with conflicts of war and how it can affect the lives of those involved. Violence as a solution to combat any disagreements or problems has been viewed as noble and necessary in many stories. Armed conflict and violence has an effect on everyone involved and the aftermath can be just as destructive as the initial fighting. The characters in these stories are defined by their status as a warrior and hero. A man’s ability to be successful in battle has been praised in these stories. Odysseus and Rama are both viewed as strong heroes and they have been praised for the violent actions taken in order to solve the situations in their lives. Arjuna was a warrior who was expected to fight against loved ones because that was his job as a solider. The nature of war in these ancient stories showed how accepted and valued violence conflicts were to a hero’s status and legend.
The Ramayana focuses more on the need to obey and respect each other and one’s rightful duties. These dharmic beliefs focus on relationships. Lord Ram must obey his father, King Dasaratha, in his decision to take away his inheritance of the throne and must respect that decision. Although no one except for the new king, Bharata‘s, mother wanted him to leave and convinced the King that he must fulfil his oath he made to her many years ago. Rama strove to be the perfect son thus fulfilling his duty of obeying his father’s wishes. Even as Bharata begged him to take his place as ruler instead, Rama denied it on the basis that he had to obey his father and follow his every word.
You all must be aware of the epic tale of Ramayana that begins as Lord Rama was exiled to a forest for 14 years with his dear wife, Sita and brother Laxman. To get to the main point straight away, Sita, the epitome of grace and beauty was abducted by the main antagonist of the Ramayana written by Valmiki- Raavan. My mention on Valmiki as the writer is on purpose because it was according to him that Raavan was termed as the villain but in reality,
The epic story of Rama and Sita, as portrayed by Valmiki’s Ramayana and the modern day film Sita sings the Blues are two different versions of the same story which contain several contrasts as well as similarities. The Ramayana is the ancient version which was written by a sage named Valmiki in 550 B.C.E, featuring a love story between an ideal prince and an ideal woman. It outlines the adventures of Rama in his journey to find his abducted wife Sita. Rama is portrayed as an avatar, being the eighth incarnation of one of the Hindu gods Vishnu, while Sita is representing Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of light. The modern day version of the Ramayana is seen in Sita Sings the Blues, where the animator Nina Paley is relating her love story to that of Sita’s predicament. This paper will compare and contrast the epic story of Valmiki’s Ramayana and Sita Sings the Blues in the quest for power, honor, faithfulness and the conflict between good and evil.
We will start with the main character of the book Rama. Rama has many karma events that happens throughout the book, one being that he followed the golden deer into the woods even thought his brother Lakshmana told him not to and the result was that his wife was kidnapped. He was not there to help her because he was following the golden deer ( pg ). Another example of karma in Rama’s life is when he killed, Vila, the brother of and at the time the monkey ruler because of this Rama was able to have an army of monkey help him search for his wife ( pg ). A final example in Rama’s life is when
There is no hint of displeasure on her face as she diligently carries out her duty as an ‘ideal wife’. Also why should she have any objection for ‘as long as she lives, a woman’s God and master is her husband’. This scene emphasises the nature of a traditional marital relationship in Indian culture and the presumed duties of a woman as a wife. The text of the Ramayana is considered to be sacred and is followed religiously by people. If it happens to call a woman’s husband her master and God, its influence on the psyche of the people, especially the women, is self
In Sita Sings the Blues, Paley has an alternate, customized picture of Sita. All through the motion picture we see that Sita is crying, and is assuming the part of the casualty instead of being solid and following the Dharma of Indian culture. Paley conflicts with the conventional understanding and overlooks the possibility of Dharma in general and social perspective. The account of Rama and Sita in Ramayana goes ahead and Rama who was viewed as the perfect child and spouse, abandons Sita after she was captured, trusting that she was touched by another man making her debased and not deserving of him. She is surrendered by her significant other to live in a timberland while she was pregnant with Rama 's twin young men. Regardless she remains faithful to him and brings forth two young men and shows them to love their dad and regard him like a God.
Dharma is the duty that people must fulfill in order to achieve their life’s purpose. In the Hindu religion, it is what guides the followers’ life choices and actions. Only the utmost just decisions and choices will lead down the path of obtaining dharma. At first glance, the Indian epic, The Ramayana, is a love story about a prince who is banished to the forest and an evil creature subsequently kidnaps his wife. However, it serves a much greater purpose in the Hindu culture. The Ramayana serves as a guide to living a life of moral righteousness. Rama and Sita are role models of how men and women should interact with each other and with society. There is multiple times throughout the epic that Rama faces morally difficult decisions that he flawlessly surpasses, a feat that his human peers surely would not have had the mental strength to accomplish. Rama is the supreme example of how to live a moral life. Rama’s dharma is to destroy evil, and throughout the book the difficult choices he makes and the heroic actions her performs are what guide him in his quest to fulfill his duty. Other characters in the epic, such as Ravana, are faced with the same moral dilemmas and chose incorrectly, which ultimately lead to their demise. Rama’s profound greatness is a result of his ability to place dharma above all other humanly desires and personal interests.