I feel so sorry for Srimati Sita

[Jainarayan]

She definitely got the short end of the stick.

I can understand the trial by fire after she and Lord Rama returned to Ayodhya. After all, it was an act that Rama, Sita and Agni were in on, just to punk his subjects.

But I think the second banishment was extremely unfair, considering it was an ill-tempered person slandering the king and queen:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sita#Later_life

Sita - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Later life

The couple came back to Ayodhya, where Rama was crowned king with Sita by his side. While Rama's trust and affection for Sita never wavered, it soon became evident that some people in Ayodhya could not accept Sita's long captivity under the power of Ravana.

During Rama's period of rule, an intemperate washer man, while berating his wayward wife, declared that he was "no pusillanimous Rama who would take his wife back after she had lived in the house of another man". This statement was reported back to Rama, who knew that the accusation of Sita was baseless. Nevertheless, he would not let slander undermine his rule, so he drove Sita out.

Sita was thus forced into exile a second time; she was not only alone this time but also pregnant. She was rescued by the sage Valmiki. He gave her refuge in his hermitage, where she delivered twin sons named Kusha and Lava.

In the hermitage, Sita raised her sons alone, as a single mother.[5] They grew up to be valiant and intelligent, and were eventually united with their father. Once she had witnessed the acceptance of her children by Rama, Sita sought final refuge in the arms of her mother Bhūmi. Hearing her plea for release from an unjust world and from a life that had rarely been happy, the earth dramatically split open; Bhūmi appeared and took Sita away to a better world.

 

[Marble]

Sita is the one goddess I don't like.
I have pitty with her, but the whole story of her life is one of submission to patriarchal rules and therefore I don't like the whole story.
My preference is for goddesses like Durga, Kali & the Mahavidyas.

 

[DeviChaaya]

She definitely got the short end of the stick.

I can understand the trial by fire after she and Lord Rama returned to Ayodhya. After all, it was an act that Rama, Sita and Agni were in on, just to punk his subjects.

But I think the second banishment was extremely unfair, considering it was an ill-tempered person slandering the king and queen:

I've been told off by other Hindus for what I'm about to say but considering what you've just said... well...

At the very end, when Rama asks Sita to undergo another trial by fire and she says 'if I am pure let my mother take me back' seems to me to be her way of saying '**** you' to Rama and everyone else. Of course a Goddess would never say anything like that (...maybe Kali... and in some folk stories about Parvati I wouldn't put it past her) but I feel it is her way of saying that she has had enough.

It's the reason I quite enjoyed Sita Sings the Blues. It tells the story from Sita's perspective. She's been the model wife, queen and mother and then to be cast out only because a washer man is talking badly of her is the final straw. When Rama comes and asks her back after his sons sing the Ramayana but says that she must first go through the trial by fire she has clearly had enough.

'No,' she says, 'I have been the perfect model of a Hindu spouse and you have abused that loyalty for the last time. I won't go back to you but to prove that I am pure, Mother Bhoomi, if I am still a shining example of purity, please take me back into your lap.' And Bhoomi Devi does, thereby proving that she is still an untarnished and pure soul and releasing her from the woes of the world.

I also think if Rama had tried anything like that with Durga or Kali he would have been told where to shove it, to be honest... but Kali and Durga are Goddesses who buck the mould...

 

[Jainarayan]

I see it as Srimati Sita having had enough also, yet she was a survivor, having raised her sons alone, and refusing to prove herself again. It was probably a very courageous act to set her own test and conditions by asking her mother to take her back if she was indeed pure.

 

[sentry]

I've been told off by other Hindus for what I'm about to say but considering what you've just said... well...

At the very end, when Rama asks Sita to undergo another trial by fire and she says 'if I am pure let my mother take me back' seems to me to be her way of saying '**** you' to Rama and everyone else. Of course a Goddess would never say anything like that (...maybe Kali... and in some folk stories about Parvati I wouldn't put it past her) but I feel it is her way of saying that she has had enough.

It's the reason I quite enjoyed Sita Sings the Blues. It tells the story from Sita's perspective. She's been the model wife, queen and mother and then to be cast out only because a washer man is talking badly of her is the final straw. When Rama comes and asks her back after his sons sing the Ramayana but says that she must first go through the trial by fire she has clearly had enough.

'No,' she says, 'I have been the perfect model of a Hindu spouse and you have abused that loyalty for the last time. I won't go back to you but to prove that I am pure, Mother Bhoomi, if I am still a shining example of purity, please take me back into your lap.' And Bhoomi Devi does, thereby proving that she is still an untarnished and pure soul and releasing her from the woes of the world.

I also think if Rama had tried anything like that with Durga or Kali he would have been told where to shove it, to be honest... but Kali and Durga are Goddesses who buck the mould...

it is perfectly understandable why some hindus especially worshippers of vishnu or ram would be offended by your obscene statements
you may not worship vishnu, and may see vishnu as being seperate from shiv or shakti, but most hindus see it as being one source/one god and see ram, krishna, kali, hanuman, etc. as being the many depictions of that one source/god
therefore statements such as "my god would kick your god's ***" etc., are not only highly immature but also irrelevant

even if you want to see shiv or shakti as being seperate from vishnu, let me tell you that i've gone through some scriptures, and at one place it mentioned a conversation between mahadev and parvati, where he tells her about the greatness of ram
so your comment that kali or durga would tell ram "where to go shove it" is purely a product of your own twisted mind.

 

[DeviChaaya]

it is perfectly understandable why some hindus especially worshippers of vishnu or ram would be offended by your obscene statements
you may not worship vishnu, and may see vishnu as being seperate from shiv or shakti, but most hindus see it as being one source/one god and see ram, krishna, kali, hanuman, etc. as being the many depictions of that one source/god
therefore statements such as "my god would kick your god's ***" etc., are not only highly immature but also irrelevant

even if you want to see shiv or shakti as being seperate from vishnu, let me tell you that i've gone through some scriptures, and at one place it mentioned a conversation between mahadev and parvati, where he tells her about the greatness of ram
so your comment that kali or durga would tell ram "where to go shove it" is purely a product of your own twisted mind.

Sentry, I'm sorry you've taken offence. Not once did I say that Kali or Durga or Shiva are separate from Visnu. Not once.

I don't personally worship Visnu but I respect those who do and admire their devotion, just as I hope they would mind. I see Visnu, Shiva, Durga, Sita... all as manifestations of the one God but I think Sita's portrayal in the Ramayana and how she is treated is, to use a word you shot at me, obscene.

If it had been Kali in Sita's position can you honestly say you see Her as just sitting down and taking it? Sita is a remarkable example of enduring loyalty but another aspect of her is often neglected. In the end she says 'no' to going through the fire ritual again and stands up to her mistreatment. This is often overlooked but what it demonstrates that there is a cracking point for everyone, even the most dedicated and loyal of spouses, where they will say 'enough is enough'. Maybe they leave and go back to their parents' house or maybe they give an ultimatum.

I believe this lesson is often overlooked.

We all have different opinions, Sentry. I was merely stating mine.

 

[Ardhanariswar]

The way I learned and interpreted Sita in the Ramayanam was as her role as a character. The purpose of Vishnu's avatar as Rama was to demonstrate righteousness and his perfect adherence to Dharma, almost to a fault. Sita did bear the brunt of such display of righteousness, but I believe the purpose of that is to rely the message of how the world isn't black and white. Rama behaved appropriately to his Dharma as a King and a leader, but failed as a husband.

 

[Jainarayan]

Rama behaved appropriately to his Dharma as a King and a leader, but failed as a husband.

And therein lies the contradiction in the tradition of referring to him as the perfect man, king and husband. Now, giving him the benefit of the doubt, maybe there is something on a deeper level that does show him to be the perfect husband, despite the surface view of Sita's treatment. Maybe there is something I am overlooking wrt to Rama being the perfect man, king and husband v. his treatment of Sita.

 

[Ardhanariswar]

And therein lies the contradiction in the tradition of referring to him as the perfect man, king and husband. Now, giving him the benefit of the doubt, maybe there is something on a deeper level that does show him to be the perfect husband, despite the surface view of Sita's treatment. Maybe there is something I am overlooking wrt to Rama being the perfect man, king and husband v. his treatment of Sita.

You're right! I've never encountered anything saying Rama was a perfect husband until I just looked it up.

That's weird. Clearly in the Ramayanam he places his duty as a King above his duty as a husband when he sends her away into the forest. But maybe it was to compensate for when he placed his duty as a husband above his duty as a King when he waged war against Ravanan? That's the only thing that makes sense.

 

[Jainarayan]

That's very possible. And I guess we shouldn't forget she was kidnapped and held prisoner, and made advances on by Ravana. I don't doubt that Rama and Sita loved each other, and Rama never did re-marry, but it's a sad story anyway.

 

[Andal]

I think if we see Srimati Sita as a victim and not as an actor in this great epic we are missing half the story. The Ramayana is just as much about Sita as it is Ram. Both Rama and Sita are avatars. They are engaging in lila. Rama teaches us about following Dharma as a leader and Sita teaches about devotion. She is first devoted to her husband and then devoted to truth.

What a beautiful story Sita gives us. She loved her husband so much that she followed him into exile. When captured by Ravana she never relented to his advances. When she returned she went through trials and raised her and Ram's children. Then when the time was right she stood up for her self. She stood up for truth, even if that meant giving up her earthly family.

Sita is not to be pitied. She is to be admired for what she teaches us.

Rama is Vishnu and Sita is Lakshmi, they both love each other and often times their lilas on earth are filled with heart ache- Rama and Sita, Krishna and Radha, Srinivas, Padmavathi, and MahaLakshmi. All of this is divine sport and mirrors the sorrow and heart ache we experience as a part of life. When God and Goddess take roles on earth, they do it completely including taking on our illusory suffering.

Aum Hari Aum!

 

[Satyamavejayanti]

She definitely got the short end of the stick.

I can understand the trial by fire after she and Lord Rama returned to Ayodhya. After all, it was an act that Rama, Sita and Agni were in on, just to punk his subjects.

But I think the second banishment was extremely unfair, considering it was an ill-tempered person slandering the king and queen:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sita#Later_life

I think the later stories of Sita Maa, are a caution/example to men. It kinda shows that no matter how virtuous a woman may be, in the world of men she is hardly given any trust, even if she survives trial by fire, and no matter how noble a man may be, he could be as blind to true Love as any of us.

 

[Jainarayan]

I think if we see Srimati Sita as a victim and not as an actor in this great epic we are missing half the story. The Ramayana is just as much about Sita as it is Ram. Both Rama and Sita are avatars. They are engaging in lila. Rama teaches us about following Dharma as a leader and Sita teaches about devotion. She is first devoted to her husband and then devoted to truth.

What a beautiful story Sita gives us. She loved her husband so much that she followed him into exile. When captured by Ravana she never relented to his advances. When she returned she went through trials and raised her and Ram's children. Then when the time was right she stood up for her self. She stood up for truth, even if that meant giving up her earthly family.

Sita is not to be pitied. She is to be admired for what she teaches us.

Rama is Vishnu and Sita is Lakshmi, they both love each other and often times their lilas on earth are filled with heart ache- Rama and Sita, Krishna and Radha, Srinivas, Padmavathi, and MahaLakshmi. All of this is divine sport and mirrors the sorrow and heart ache we experience as a part of life. When God and Goddess take roles on earth, they do it completely including taking on our illusory suffering.

Aum Hari Aum!

Excellent insight. So I was right in saying

"maybe there is something on a deeper level that does show him to be the perfect husband, despite the surface view of Sita's treatment. Maybe there is something I am overlooking wrt to Rama being the perfect man, king and husband v. his treatment of Sita."

There is more to it than meets the eye.

 

[Jainarayan]

I think the later stories of Sita Maa, are a caution/example to men. It kinda shows that no matter how virtuous a woman may be, in the world of men she is hardly given any trust, even if she survives trial by fire, and no matter how noble a man may be, he could be as blind to true Love as any of us.

Another good insight. This is what I was hoping to learn.

 

[sentry]

Sentry, I'm sorry you've taken offence. Not once did I say that Kali or Durga or Shiva are separate from Visnu. Not once.

I don't personally worship Visnu but I respect those who do and admire their devotion, just as I hope they would mind. I see Visnu, Shiva, Durga, Sita... all as manifestations of the one God but I think Sita's portrayal in the Ramayana and how she is treated is, to use a word you shot at me, obscene.

If it had been Kali in Sita's position can you honestly say you see Her as just sitting down and taking it? Sita is a remarkable example of enduring loyalty but another aspect of her is often neglected. In the end she says 'no' to going through the fire ritual again and stands up to her mistreatment. This is often overlooked but what it demonstrates that there is a cracking point for everyone, even the most dedicated and loyal of spouses, where they will say 'enough is enough'. Maybe they leave and go back to their parents' house or maybe they give an ultimatum.

I believe this lesson is often overlooked.

We all have different opinions, Sentry. I was merely stating mine.

divinekala, you were probably just expressing yourself in a casual carefree manner, but it did sound a bit disrespectful
ofcourse you meant no offense by it so I apologise for what I said to you.