One of my first memories about this final episode of the Ramayana involved reading the Amar Chitra Katha, and asking my sister where Sita went (on being swallowed up by Mother Earth), baffled by physical realities more than anything else as an eight year old. A few years and another read later, my first instinct was to reject Rama’s apparent chink in the armour. Now, I seem to find consolation in the fact that most Hindu divine figures are fallible, Rama being no exception.
To sum up, the Ramayana narrates the abduction of Sita by Ravana, the demon king. Rama follows him with his monkey army to rescue her from Lanka. At the end of the war, Sita undergoes a test of chastity at Rama’s behest. The Agnipariksha, or test of fire, requires her to throw herself into a blazing fire. However, despite having passed the test, she is banished from Ayodhya, an act instigated by public suspicion. Years later, after finding Sita in the forest with her sons, Rama asks her to go through another Agnipariksha. This time though Sita does not comply and instead asks Mother Earth to receive her.
The story of Ramayana is centered on Sita, yet she is only seen in a supporting role throughout the epic. It is clear that Rama and Sita, in which ever version you read it (although I refer to Valmiki’s most often), are portrayed as the ideal couple. Their relationship is characterized by close companionship, beginning at Sita insisting on accompanying Rama to the forest for his fourteen year exile. However, there is a dichotomy at the end of the epic that portrays the two figures separately: Rama as the ideal man and Sita as the ideal woman. Today, as I reflect on my denial of Rama’s inconsistencies (I’d rather not use shortcomings) in behaviour towards his wife, I mirror a predisposition shared by many others. Yet, Rama’s actions serve as a perfect example of the dynamic nature of dharma.