In Andhra Pradesh, women sing tales from Ramayana in the privacy of their homes. However, they narrate Ramayana from the women’s perspective highlighting interpersonal relationships, rather than the war scenarios. Thus female characters are the main focus of their telling. For Instance Kausalya’s birth pangs, Sita’s bidai, and the wedding night of Sita and Rama get a lot more attention in these songs . Women’s Ramayana also openly blame Rama for Sita’s plight. They recall how Rama’s envy and suspicion of Sita’s character led to Sita’s banishment. The story is known as the revenge of Shurpanakha .The narrative begins when Rama, Sita and Lakshman have returned to Ayodhya after defeating Ravana.
Shurpanakha, the sister of Ravana, is angry and feels humiliated for Lakshman has cut her nose and ears and further more, her powerful brother Ravana, was killed in the war. Shurpanakha feels she needs to take revenge on Rama. Being a women, she is no match to Rama’s strength and skill in battlefield, and the only way she can belittle Rama is by disturbing his peace of mind and happiness. Identifying Sita, as the root cause of all her pain and tribulations, she decides to humiliate Sita to take revenge on Rama .
Taking the form of a hermitess Shurpanakha goes to Ayodhya, where Rama is now ruling as the King. She goes to Sita’s palace and asks for Sita stating she had met Sita during her days of exile in the forest. Sita is little hesitant to meet her, as she can not recollect any past meeting, but after some persuasion from her aides Sita agrees to meet the hermitess.
Hermitess asks Sita, about Ravana. “Oh great Queen can you describe the wicked Ravana to me ? Can you draw his picture for me” Asks Shurpanakha in disguise. “ No holy lady! I never looked at Ravana? replies Sita. But hermitess is adamant “ Try to remember Ravana for me Oh Queen!. I am sure you must have seen something of him ” Shurpanakha insists. But Sita replies she never set eyes on Ravana as she looked only at his feet. Hermitess encourages her to draw whatever she recollects of Ravana, so Sita draws the picture of Ravana’s big toe.
Shurpanakha then completes the picture –depicting Ravana as a handsome man with a broad shoulders and chest, with strong ankles and thighs. She then pleads Brahma the creator of life, to breath life into the picture so that she can fondly remember her dead brother in this life like image. Not knowing her ulterior design Brahma breaths life into the image which immediately comes alive. Shurpanakha now brings the picture to Sita’s palace and drops it at her feet and runs away saying, “ Do what you want with this picture”.
Ravana’s image comes alive, and starts pulling Sita away, asking her to go to Lanka with him. All the women in the palace including Urmila, Shanta and others are shocked to see picture come alive. They try destroying the image, first by burning the picture. But it cannot be destroyed by fire. Then they try to dump the picture in the well, but there too picture comes back to Sita’s chamber. Sita starts to panic and utters Rama’s name for help. Some how the picture get subdued temporarily.
Meanwhile Rama enters Sita’s chamber to retire for the day. He obviously is not aware of the commotion that has taken place. Not knowing what to do with the picture, Sita hides it under her mattress. In the privacy of their room Rama approaches Sita and embraces her , wishing to make love to her. He tries to untie her blouse but Sita is very distracted and nervous. Rama tires to comforts her with his words and takes her to the bed. However as Rama rests on the bed, Ravana’s image shakes the bed violently and throws Rama off the bed. Rama is perturbed as he wonders why Sita pushed him off. He then finds picture of Ravana tucked under the mattress. Seeing the picture of Ravana in Sita’s room Rama’s eyes swell with anger and suspicion. He is gripped with suspicion “Is Sita is in love with Ravana?” He wonders. He cannot bear the thought of Sita in love with another man. He decides to banish Sita into the forest along with the picture of Ravana.
Now women in the palace, try to protest and explain the truth that Sita is pure and innocent. But Rama is overwhelmed by anger and suspicion and beyond reprieve. When Sumitra – mother of Lakshman tries to defend Sita Rama rudely retorts that she can have Sita as her daughter in law hinting Lakshman could marry Sita. Rama is blinded by his envy and jealousy and beyond reason.
Women try to protest. But Rama does not budge, instead he commands Lakshman to take Sita away into the forest, cut her head off and bring the sword back.
Urmila, Mandavi , Shrutakruti- wives of his brothers protest by singing the following lines
We are all born in one family,
Married into one family,
Our sisters is not the only one
Who loves Ravana now
We all love him together
So kill us together.
Because we are women
Who stay within the palace,
Your action pass without check.
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Story collected by : Vidya Kamat
Text Source: “A Ramayana of their own: Women’s Oral tradition in Telugu” by Velcheru Narayana Rao Many Ramayana- Diversity of many traditions in south Asia ed By Richman Paula
Location: Andhra Pradesh
Image copyright: Vidya Kamat
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