Sita as the Hidden Hero of Ramayana

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Sita as the Hidden Hero of Ramayana

Valmiki's Ramayana was written around 300 B.C.E. (Carrier 207). Typically, the character of Rama is seen as the hero and the character of Sita is seen as the hero's wife. In this essay, I will compare Sita's journey of capture and inner growth with the "save the kingdom" journey of Rama, show how the two correlate, and eventually connect in the influential chastity scene. I will also prove that Sita is the "hidden hero" of this epic even though she is seen as taking a secondary role to Rama and show how this reflects women's secondary roles in society today.

To begin our comparisons, we must first look at each character and recognize their separate journeys. Through summarization of the characters and their story, we will begin to see Rama's role and Sita's role. By this process, I will demonstrate how they correlate, differ and combine to form the Ramayana. Rama, the hero of the Ramayana, is a god known as Vishnu who has been reincarnated and sent to earth in mortal form. Rama must take an archetypal journey known as the "quest." During the quest, a hero must conquer obstacles to save the kingdom (Guerin et.al.154). Rama's obstacle is Ravana, an evil monster who is slowly taking over heaven and earth. Because Ravana never asked for protection from a human being, he can only be destroyed by a human being and this makes Rama's need for success especially important (Narayan 5). a the beginning of the narrative, Rama is forced into exile from his kingdom into the forest for 14 years. This exile begins his quest.

Sita, Rama's wife, is reincarnation of the goddess Lakshmi, Vishnu's spouse in heaven. Sita accompanies Rama into the forest on his "quest" and is captured by Ravana. Th...

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...of society. If women want to take control of their own lives and are tired of "proving"themsleves to others, they must first find a voice and then act upon their convictions, otherwise these gender roles will never change.

Works Cited

Carrier, Warren, ed. Guide to World Literature. Illinois: National Council of Teachers of English, 1980.

Guerin, Wilfred L., et.al. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992.

O'Flaherty, Wendy Doniger. Hindu Myths. London: Penguin Books, 1975.

Singh, Khushwant. India: an Introduction. New Delhi: Vision Books, 1990.

Valmiki. The Ramayana. Trans. Aubrey Menen. New York: Charles Scriber's Sons, 1954.

---. The Ramayana. Trans. R.K. Narayan. New York: Penguin Books, 1972.

---. The Ramayana. Trans. Elizabeth Seeger. New York: William R. Scott, Inc., 1969.

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