Dharma as an authority.
The Ramayana is a tale of adventures for which grasps readers with belief, drama, love, and good triumphs over evil. It is a fable of an ideal couple whose relationship weakens later into their marriage. It is about the life and quest of Rama to rescue his wife, Sita, from the demon king Ravana. They face many challenges for which they morally fail based on their belief on dharma. It is a system of beliefs, where one can only be liberated if they have acquired good faith and reason. The moral laws and codes of conduct are often complicated and subtle, hence making it easy to violate.
Dharma serves as the authoritative figure to each character of the story. Both men and women have moral roles for which they must abide by. Rama’s brother had been coroneted king and feared it would be a conflict of interest if he would stay in the city. Rama was soon exiled into the forest, by his father, and chose to follow his own dharma as a son.
Sita, his wife, follows Rama, fulfilling her dharma as a wife: “…if she does not serve her husband, [she] is deemed to be a sinner (p.1180).” Women carry the role of submissiveness to their dominate male counterparts in this society. They are merely property of this hierarchical society to which women’s opinion is rarely taken into consideration.
Rama is petrified when he discovers his wife has been kidnaped and soon devises a plan to rescue her. Over a period of a year, he scavenges every angle of the forest and battling demonic creatures in search of his beloved. He locates his wife and is filled with great delight. Although love for Sita was his motivation, he did not let love blindside him from his dharma. He was quick to question her fidelity and was concerned of what the public might think if he did not take action: “I wish to let you know that all this is done not for your sake, but for the sake of preserving my honor. Your conduct is open to suspicious. (p.1229).”
Although Sita assured Rama she was untouched, it did not prevent him from punishing her in public through fire. Her acceptance to undergo such punishment demonstrates the importance of dharma. In this scene, dharma has priority over love and ultimately life itself.
Neli Llangari
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