The Liberation of Sita

by Volga

Since Rama insulted Surpanakha, Ravana wanted to take revenge on Rama by abducting me. Do women exist only to be used by men to settle their scores?

Rama’s objective was to provoke Ravana; his mission, to find a cause to start a quarrel with Ravana, was accomplished through Surpanakha. It was all politics.

‘I’ve realized that the meaning of success for a woman does not lie in her relationship with a man.

‘All men are the same, Sita. Especially in the matter of their wives.’ ‘My husband is not such a person. He will enquire into truth and untruth.’ ‘But he does enquire, doesn’t he?’ Ahalya said sarcastically. ‘Meaning?’ ‘Meaning … What does conducting an enquiry imply, Sita? Distrust, isn’t it? Wouldn’t it be better, instead, to believe in either your innocence or guilt?’

Most often, women don’t realize that they are part of the wider world. They limit themselves to an individual, to a household, to a family’s honour. Conquering the ego becomes the goal of spirituality for men. For women, to nourish that ego and to burn themselves to ashes in it becomes the goal.