From Sita to Shurpanakha: What the women of Ramayana symbolise
Ramayana’s women play roles that are rich in symbolism. The Federal takes a look at their portrayal and what their characters stand for in the Indian psyche:
The Ramayana, the epic ascribed to Maharishi Valmiki, portrays women as submissive, obedient wives, mothers, and daughters, who seem to lack individual agency, and are subject to the decisions of male family members. They bear the weight of unwarranted blame, and judgment. A good woman, according to the epic, is one who is controlled, both mentally and physically, by her husband (or, in his absence, her father, brother, or son) and whose sexuality is channeled into childbearing and service to her husband. Yet, a close look at these characters reveal that it’s women who uphold the principles of dharma (righteousness). And it is often the male characters, regardless of whether they hail from the vanara or rakshasa kingdoms, who veer toward adharma (unrighteousness). The Federal takes a look at the Ramayana’s women and what they stand for:
1. Sita — the ideal wife and woman: Sita, a consort of Rama, the avatar of god Vishnu, is depicted as the epitome of virtue, devotion, and sacrifice. Her deep commitment to dharma and her devotion to Lord Rama make her ‘the ideal wife’. Also known as Siya, Janaki, Maithili, Vaidehi and Bhumija, Sita’s character embodies the traditional Indian concept of pativrata — a woman who is devoted to her husband. Her willingness to accompany Rama into exile, her steadfastness during her captivity by Ravana, and her agni pariksha (fire ordeal) to prove her chastity are seen as her adherence to dharma.
A reincarnation of Vedavati, Sita is brought up as the adopted daughter of King Janaka of Videha (Mithila). In her youth, she chooses Rama, the prince of Ayodhya, as her husband in a swayamvara. After the swayamvara, she accompanies her husband to his kingdom, but later chooses to accompany her husband, along with her brother-in-law Lakshmana, in his exile.
While in exile, the trio settles in the Dandaka forest from where she is abducted by Ravana, the Rakshasa king of Lanka. She is imprisoned in the garden of Ashoka Vatika, in Lanka, until she is rescued by Rama, who slays her captor. After the war, in some versions of the epic, Rama asked Sita to undergo the trial by fire, through which she proved her purity, before she was accepted by Rama.
2. Kaikeyi — ambition and desire for power: The most prominent trait of Kaikeyi, the second consort of King Dasharatha, and a queen of Ayodhya, is her ambition and desire for power; she wanted her son, Bharata, to be crowned as king instead of Rama, her stepson; she, thus, pursues personal goals even at the expense of family relationships. Influenced by her maid Manthara, she asks for Rama’s exile. Her action raises ethical and moral dilemmas, raising questions about the sacrifices individuals might make in their lives, especially when personal ambitions are at stake.
The daughter of Ashwapat, the King of Kaikeya, she has become synonymous with betrayal and treachery in the Indian cultural psyche; maligned by myth, she is often painted with the brush of malice. But the truth is that the Ramayana as we know it would not exist without her. In the end, Rama not only forgives her, a woman who had consigned him to a life in the forest, but he goes a step further by touching her feet — a gesture of reverence and forgiveness.
Rama also insists that his half-brother, Bharata, who had disowned his mother for her role in his exile and who had ruled Ayodhya in his absence, also forgives her. After her forgiveness, Kaikeyi lives out the rest of her life in the royal station in Ayodhya, presumably under the weight of social tension and lasting ill feelings from those who could not easily forget her actions. Nevertheless, officially, she is granted full pardon.
3. Ahalya —redemption and deliverance: Brahma, the god of creation, fashioned Ahalya (unplowed or untainted), a princess of the Puru dynasty, as the most beautiful woman. She was married to the sage Gautama Maharishi, a man considerably older than herself. However, it was her ill-fated encounter with Indra, the king of the gods, that shaped her legend. In the earliest versions of the story, Ahalya, despite seeing through Indra’s disguise as Maharishi, succumbs to his advances. Later renditions often absolve her of culpability, depicting her as falling victim to Indra’s cunning tricks. Cursed by her sage husband for an act of infidelity, she was turned into a stone and remained in that state until she was redeemed by Lord Rama’s touch; the fact that she had to wait for centuries for her salvation also makes her a tragic figure, a victim of patriarchy.
In Ramayana, Ahalya is a symbol of curse, redemption, forgiveness and deliverance. She is celebrated as the first of the “panchakanya’ (five maidens), archetypal symbols of female chastity whose very names are believed to dispel sin when recited. This paradoxical portrayal of Ahalya reflects the diversity of interpretations that surround her character. While some extol her loyalty to her husband and her unyielding acceptance of the curse, others condemn her for her act of adultery. Still others hail her for being a woman who responded to her desires, and had the courage to face the consequences.
4. Mandodari — loyalty and piousness: Daughter of Mayasura, the King of the Asuras (demons), and the apsara (celestial nymphs) Hema, Mandodari (slender-waisted) was the sagacious wife of the demon king Ravana of Lanka, who bore him three sons: Meghanada (Indrajit), Atikaya and Akshayakumara. She was one of the panchakanyas, along with Ahalya, Draupadi, Kunti, and Tara. She is often portrayed as a symbol of quiet strength and resilience. Despite her husband’s evil actions and her knowledge of them, she remains steadfast in her loyalty (which is tested and examined throughout the epic) to him.
In one of the most defining moments in the epic, during a conversation she has with her husband, she strongly advises him against such an action, warning him of the dire consequences that would befall him and his kingdom. Despite her wisdom and moral grounding, she is unable to deter Ravana from his destructive course of action. After the demise of Ravana and the loss of all her three sons, Mandodari marries Ravana’s brother Vibhishana. After the marriage, Vibhishana is crowned as the King of Lanka and Mandodari is made the queen of Lanka.
5. Shurpanakha — impurity and seduction: A rakshasi (demoness) born as Meenakshi, her name comes from her sharp nails (shurp+nakh). Believed to have eyes like fish, she was married off to Dushtabuddhi, a demon (asur), who was later killed by Ravana. In the Ramayana, Shurpanakha, the younger sister of Ravana, her motive is to seek revenge against Rama and Lakshmana for injuring her brother Khara and his army. She attempts to seduce both Rama and Lakshmana, but they reject her advances. She goes to Ravana and describes Sita’s beauty in such detail that he hallucinates an image of her and falls in love with her. Surpanakha confesses her love for Rama to her brother, saying that when Ravana takes Sita as a wife, she will have Rama to herself.
Shurpanakha’s character in the Ramayana points us to the nature of desire, beauty, and the consequences of unfulfilled passions. In Valmiki's Ramayana, she is an ugly woman. When she first sees Rama in the forest, Valmiki describes her as ‘facially unpleasant, pot-bellied, wry-eyed, coppery-haired, ugly featured, brassy-voiced, deplorably oldish, a crooked talker, ill-mannered, uncouth and abominable.’ In contrast, the Tamil epic the Kamba Ramayanam humanises her by describing her as a lovelorn and beautiful woman, attributing her behaviour to loneliness.
Compiled by Nawaid Anjum