Indian culture is a very complex culture with a large amount of diversity.

Sita by Devdutt

Pattanaik is a retelling of the Ramayana. The Ramayana is an ancient Hindu text. It is the

source of many religious beliefs. There are many versions of the Ramayana, these versions

vary between time periods, locations, religions, and authors. Although, the tale is originally a

part of Hinduism it is also used in the teachings of Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. Sita pulls

many of them together in a way that allows people of the current generation an easy

understanding of it. This retelling uses aspects from each and leaves a description of which

aspect of the story is from which original story. Similar to all other religious texts in different

parts of the world the Ramayana and Sita are used in modern day to make decisions and are

reflections of the culture during the time period which they were written. These reflections may

or may not still be an aspect of modern cultures. Ramayana and Sita are reflections of gender in

Indian culture.

In traditional Indian culture, people would rather have sons than daughters.

Dashratha, the king of Ayodhya, has one daughter at the beginning of the story. He is

not happy with this though and desires sons. He conducts a yagna. This is a form of religious

cermony. As part of the yagna a potion is made. “This, when consumed by Dashratha’s wives,

would enable them to bear sons.” (Pg15) After this, his three wives each give birth to one son.

The reason that sons are so important in this culture is all connected to marriage. Traditionally,

a dowry is paid by the woman’s family to the husband’s, and the wife moves in with the husband

and his parents. Additionally, sons will carry on the family name and wives won’t. Essentially the

husband and his family get things out of the marriage, and the wives family loses things.

Dashratha wanting three sons in addition to his one daughter is a reflection of the ideal of sons

in traditional Indian culture.

 Two of the king's sons, Ram and Lakshman, go to the forest for fourteen years to live as

hermits. Ram’s wife, Sita, goes with them as well. The hermitage is to uphold their family’s

honor. During this period a group of people comes from the kingdom to find them. Their father

has died, and they must go back for the cremation. In Indian culture when someone dies

celebrations don’t happen for a year in a family. No holidays, no parties, nothing fun, or exciting.

The people in the family of the deceased live a very plain and simple life for the first year after

the person passed away. After the King of Ayodhya dies Ram and Lakshman come home to,

“No music, no smiles, no fragrances, no color… In his mother’s courtyard, he found his mother

with a shaven head, wearing the ochre robes of a widow.” (pg93) Ram and Lakshman find their

mother with a shaven head after their father has died. If a woman died her husband would not

have to shave his head. In extremely traditional India when a husband dies his wife is expected

to jump into the pyre which his body is burning in. This is called Sati. It is now illegal and rarely

practiced. It is symbolic of how women are expected to dedicate their entire lives to their

husbands, and husbands are not expected to do the same. This is a reflection of gender bias

within Indian culture.

After Ram, Lakshman, and Sita have returned from Ayodhya Sita gets kidnapped. “She

pulled off her armlets and anklets, the chains around her neck and her earrings, and began

dropping them below, hoping they would create a trail for Ram to follow. She removed

everything except her hairpin. She remembered her mother’s words, ‘As long as you are a

married woman and matriarch of a household, your hair must be tied up. Untie it only for your

husband in the privacy of your bed, never when you step out of it. “ (pg 135) Married Indian

women will traditionally wear a Sindoor, Mangal Sutra, and keep their hair tied back. All of which

is a symbol of their marriage. Sindoors are a red line placed in the hair part, and mangal sutras

are a necklace. Men have no such things that they are asked to wear at any point in their lives.
This reflection of gender bias is again showing how the woman is supposed to dedicate her

entire life to her husband while he is not expected to do the same.

Indian gender biases are reflected in Sita: A Retelling of the Ramayana by Devdutt

Pattanaik. Although some of these biases are only in practice in more traditional places in India

they are still a prevalent part of the culture. Just like every aspect of Indian culture, gender

biases are complex and diverse from place to place. These biases can include having more

male children than female children, certain practices women take part in when their husband

dies, and things worn by women to symbolize marriage. Although India is considered a less

progressive and more traditional country, it is slowly working towards equality amongst all

people.