Yet Another Rant on the Role of Indian Women in Mythology

It’s only natural that a wannabe-religious Bengali girl should prefer books about the goddesses over other scriptures. Bengalis are, after all, famous for Durga and Kali poojas. I was not happy to find only one dedicated scripture, the Devi Bhagavata Purana.

In all fairness, the other major Gods also seem to have only one exclusive scripture, but they do a lot more in every scripture where they make guest appearances. Turns out that Sudha Murthy agrees with me, which is why she wrote ‘Unusual Tales About women in Mythology’.

This is not a book review, it’s more of a rant at the way some Indians conitnue to cling to the roles of women in mythology. I kid you not; outside of our Instagram echo-chambers people still bring up mythology when telling you to stick around in your crappy marriage. Now that you know what to expect, dive right in.

Pics sourced from pikisuperstar and others on Freepik

Let’s start with Sita, the epitome of Indian female chastity and self-sacrifice. Sudha Murthy writes that she is an avatar of Goddess Lakshmi and comes upon Earth to trigger the destruction of evil, aka Ravan (I thought I didn’t know this but then it struck that She is Vishnu’s consort) . We are told to be like her- unquestioningly support your husband through everything, be super-faithful (Ravan gave her a choice in that matter, unlike your average woman-napper), and don’t cross the laxman-rekhas.

So, do the elders realize the full impact of Sita’s story? Of what we’d do if we were like her? Consider these:

1. Ram was probably the only monogamous king of his time. His brothers took his example. That already makes him worth more than the average Indian dude from Tretayug, his daddy included. Of course, Sita unquestioningly went to exile with him!
2. When your average Indian Tretayug-er is polygamous, probably misogynistic, and won’t give you any attention, its not hard to want to be faithful to the only decent dude around, who still trusts you and wages war to get you back.
3. Being a Goddess avatar, Sita knows that she can demolish any agnipariksha (plus your husband still believes you but you know that his kingship likely rests on shutting up gossip).
4. Most importantly, Sita never returned after Ram chucked her out to quieten the four people our parents are terrified of (char log anyone?).

So, yeah, Sita did not forgive the real insult to her dignity. Sita did not stick around when her marriage turned….less than ideal.

Moving on to Draupadi- the woman who shows you that polyandry will suck. I don’t think anyone really holds her up as a standard for anything good, so I feel rather happy that the ‘reinvention of mythology’ genre finds her as a fascinating figure. The woman tried her best to take control of her life within the very tight bounds her time and story put upon her.

Next on my list is Goddess Saraswati, always special to me as a book nerd. I absolutely looked forward to piling up my books before the idol on the pooja (and the idea that I would get good marks by doing so). I loved the idea of a goddess whose greatest passion is learning, music, and thinking.

This also begs the question of how anyone ever thought that women need to remain uneducated housewives (yes, I know 150+ years ago), when your epitome of knowledge is a woman. I now find out that Indian society still prefers working wives to be slightly less educated and successful than their husbands.

I also came across a story recently, which claimed that Goddess Saraswati was not particularly into her husband…as a husband. Digging deeper from there I find out that Brahma is a cautionary tale for Hindus and not merely because of the more famous story of him trying to trick Shiva. Basically, harassing a woman might in some cases get you married, but it won’t ever make her really like you.

I think that Goddess Saraswati is also very relevant to the question of what will fulfill you in life. How do you maintain your balance without losing yourself in whichever duty you choose to devote yourself to? How do you find purpose if life’s conventional narrative doesn’t work out for you? Saraswati should have been explored further in mythology as an aromantic intellectual.

Goddess Durga came next. Her slaying of Durgamasura is not the first story in Indian mythology where a dude sees a beautiful woman, disregards her marital status, her lack of consent and, tries to pressure her into being his wife/girlfriend. Remember Sita? It would be nice if the acid attackers and stalker-murderers would pay more attention when their parents tell them these stories. Or do they even hear these stories growing up?

Sudha Murthy’s collection has many such stories. In true mythological fashion, they provide ‘What just happened’ moments mixed with almost teary-eyed admiration for the women. She is a marvelously accessible writer who understands the truly middle-class Indian woman’ as you can see from her books like ‘Gently Falls the Bakula’ and ‘Mahasweta’. Check out her books for thought-provoking plots in very simple language.

I am now agnostic and rather uninterested in rituals if anyone is curious. Also hoping no one finds this offensive what with a certain ruler’s propensity for not liking religious reinterpretations.