The Ramayana by R.K. Narayan

The Ramayana as retold by R.K. Narayan, explores the roles and duty of women and what it takes in order to be a good woman in Indian society. He explores these roles through the women through out the epic whether it is the wife of a King or some form of deity. While in general women were viewed as subpar to men and were seen as second-class citizens, the women in the book shape the men into who they become and account for much of the manipulation of the individuals and the caretaking of the individuals. Women such as Sita and Kausalya demonstrate those women that are good. These women were regarded as beautiful, not only for their physical attributes, but for their behavior in regards to the males in the epic. They are everything women should be- they are kind and respect the males in their lives above all else. However these women are also met with their opposites, those women who have much improvement to make before being recognized as good women in the Indian society. These women, like Kaikeyi and Soorpanaka go against all Indian ideals. They use their sexuality in order to attempt to manipulate the men of the epic. They do everything in their power in order to get their way, even if it is at the cost of others.

Kaikeyi is first introduced in The Ramayana as the wife of the King along with the mother of Bharatha, she is taking up her son’s claim that he should in truth be the valid king. Kaikeyi is overcome by this fact, a fact that does not truthfully involve her as she is the mother and has no true role in this type of politics. She is manipulated through Kooni because she is so overcome by her own ego: “And you owe your position as the queen of a world conqueror to your beauty?” . She is further more manipulated into fear...

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...shouldn’t be.

R.K. Narayan’s translation of The Ramayana brings out the characteristics of an ideal Indian woman and everything that these women shouldn’t be. The women of respect and those that should be looked up to have beauty that is both physical and spiritual. The good women make loyal, thoughtful wives and have a sense of maternal instinct. The bad women are those that rely solely on their physical beauty and are manipulative. They do not respect men and in fact go against all the advice the men in their life give them, even if it is good advice. The ideal Indian woman is beautiful, respectful, and puts the men in their lives above all other individuals. The women in The Ramayana portray everything about society’s ideals about Indian women, both the good and the bad characteristics.

Works Cited

Narayan, R.K., trans. The Ramayana. Penguin, 1972. Print.