There is a Charming myth associated with the creation of woman by the supreme creator Bramha. In his generosity, Bramha, wished to give man a companion. But alas! He found that he had exhausted all his material in the creation of man. So he borrowed the beautiful bounties of nature and created the woman. Hence she is also known as Prakriti or Mother Nature. Similarly in the Christian creation myth, Eve is made out of the rib of Adam. Thus both myths indicate that woman is either an afterthought of a male god or a mere playmate created for man.

Our two great epics Ramayana by Valmiki and Mahabharata by Vyasdev, both written by men, revolve around two women Sita and Draupadi. These women have been turned into myths and legends and deified when it suited the patriarch. Sita and Draupadi are the two poles of feminine experiences of the world. Whereas Sita absorbs all inflicted misery and humiliation of the male ego, Draupadi challenges the male ego. Sita accepts accommodates and withdraws whereas Draupadi resents rejects and revolts. They represent the peculiar character dichotomy of the Indian woman. They absorb all male injustice and at the same time raise their voice to protest against patriarchal prejudices. Sita was the epitome of Indian women who reveled in love, devotion and purity. Yet she rebelled against injustice in the end by entering into the fire. This is not suicide but rejection of the dogma-ridden society. Draupadi is a challenge of womanhood embodying action, knowledge, devotion and power. Such a woman is considered a threat to patriarchy and is disrobed time and again to keep her under subjugation.

SITA: THE SURVIVOR

Sita, the heroine of the Ramayana, is the wife of Ram and the daughter of Janaka, the king of Mithila. Just as the Rama myth has been exploited to construct an ideal Hindu male, Sita too has been built up as an ideal Hindu female to help serve the system. No one blesses a bride by saying, "Be like Draupadi". It is always Sita and Savitri. They are the saviours. Savitri saved her husband from death, Sita saved him from disgrace. Although Sita's life can hardly be called a happy one, she remains the ideal woman through whom the patriarchal values may be spread far and wide, through whom women may be taught to bear all injustice silently. But there are always alternative ways of using a myth. The village women of rural India have picked up the Sita myth to give themselves a voice. In the women's retelling, Sita is no rebel; she is still the yielding, suffering wife, but she speaks of her sufferings, of injustice, of loneliness and sorrow. It offers the oppressed rural women a persona and a voice.

The Birth

The name Sita means ‘the one found during ploughing’. Legend says that she was found in a chest buried underground during a digging operation by the king. At the end of her story in the Ramayana, she rejected Ram’s offer to return from her unjust banishment to become the empress of Ram’s kingdom. Instead, she chose to return to her mother, the earth.

The Marriage

In a civilized society marriage is (or should be) a privileged place for the interaction of between men and women. It is the blissful coming together of the genders, of equal voices speaking in harmony.

She shows her determination and independence throughout the years in the forest. Although her insistences that Rama get the gold-spotted deer and her command that Laksmana come to his rescue, eventually leads to her abduction by Ravana, she shows self-control and doesn't give in to Ravanna's will. On being freed, she defends herself wholeheartedly against Rama's accusations. She is far from passive.

Sita, offers a voice to the silenced women of the subcontinent. Through her, women express fears and sorrows, their hopes and wishes. She is just any other hardworking woman, ill treated by in-laws, neglected by her husband, with nobody to fall back on, punished for no fault of hers. But till the end, she remains a strong person.