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Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Faithful Penelope or Ramayana's Sita


Faithful Penelope:
Penelope -wife of Odysseys,waited  for her husband's return from Trojan war for 10 years rejecting all proposals from potenial suitors. In Odyssey, Odysseys was held as hostage by Calypso, she held him for seven years to have fling with him. However Odysseys managed to escape and reached Penelope and proved that he is infact Odysseys after stringing the bow and shooting it through dozen ox heads which could have been done by "one and only" Odysseys. He also slayed cyclop-one eyed monster as part of his adventure.

Ramayana's Sita :
Pic from here
Rama married Sita by stringing same kind of bow in Sita's swayamvara (the one-day bachelorette contest where the winner is awarded princess's hand in marriage?)
Rama(Odysseus) lived in exile with his wife Sita(Penelope) and his brother in forest. One day Ravaan's sister Surpanaga(Calypso) saw him and approached him and asked him to have fling with her. But Rama refused and cut her nose. Surpanaga returned to her brother Raavan and fabricated a story and manipulated her brother Raavan to confront Rama. Just make a note that Ravana is a 10-headed fellow. Imagine the rage :)

Instead of trying what Calypso did, ie keeping Odysseys as hostage, the angry Raavana kidnaped Sita and kept her in his garden in his kingdom in Srilanka and tried to have fling with her. Kidnapping a married woman is never a good idea. Even if she willingly eloped, it would be labelled as kidnapping , remember Paris kidnapping Helen?!?! Eye for eye, tooth for a tooth, Raavan should have cut Sita's nose instead of kidnapping.

But Sita refused and waited patiently for her beloved husband Rama to come and rescue her during the exile period of 14 years just like Penelope. Rama did resuce her which included an adventure where he slayed one-eyed monster Kabantha(cyclop)
 .
She rejected mighty gentleman Raavan's proposal alltime only to have her husband burn her alive to test her fidelity and sexual morality, after her return to her husband's kingdom in Ayothya.

Moral of story: Burn your wife alive to check her fidelity , if she doesnt turn to ash, she aint cheating.

Check more of my comparison mythology stories here