Was Raven really a demon? Did he ever touch Sita against her wishes despite abducting her in outrage? His outrage was a result of his sister’s mutilation done by Laxman, still Ravan dug the piece of land where Sita was standing to abduct her and didn’t touch even her toe finger. Was it fair for Sita to be thrown out of her house by her husband just to satiate social norms?
In today’s world, where a woman’s sanctity is not safe even inside the closed doors of her home proclaiming protection, this question arises whether Ravan was a demon or not. Aren’t we living in a chauvinist society which is still smiling over women’s plight after burning those so-called demons and effigies.
Finally, the diurnal event of burning the demon is over! A ritual which steeped into hoary mythology, a symbol of the triumph of virtue over vice, has now ended up with quite a grandeur! Celebrated with traditional gaiety and fervor, this custom made me wonder as to whether Ravan can be considered a demon in today’s time?
Eyeing over another’s wife, abducting her deceitfully and forcibly, in a fit of rage, while blinded with anger was considered his sin, despite being admired and respected as an erudite and a master of arts and crafts. Absconding with Sita was indeed a sin for a person who was otherwise an accomplished, multifaceted personality, revered for being a devout. His devotion to his deity, Lord Shiva was phenomenal and he continued to evoke emotions swaying with awe to startle on the sweep of his intellectual attainment to admiration.
Despite having brought Sita, he never betrayed his qualities and never tried to undermine her chastity, rather redeemed himself on death. Losing his equanimity by getting swayed away by emotions, caused and created by external forces scripted his decimation and brought ignominy in heap.
Who is the demon? Ravan or us, who do not have any compunction, not to speak of remorse and regret, in betraying ourselves from being human to inhuman while doing the most horrific and disgusting acts with impunity. External symbolic display of denying vicarious pleasures and alteration of one’s ego will be of no use unless an internal cleansing, catharsis, to rid oneself of vices like hatred, lust, greed and intolerance is not undertaken. Let’s do purification from inside that is a salvation of our souls! Let us take a vow to kill the demons within before we celebrate!
— Sangeeta Mishra
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Thank you so much Mr. Amit for expressing your views and sharing your knowledge. TSS is privileged to have such well read readers like you. Thanks for dropping by.
Indeed it’s not enough to simply burn the Raavan’s idol. We need to burn the Raavan inside us.
Thank you so much Mr. Kishor. Glad that you agreed to my views. 🙂
Wonderful read, there are a lot of ways to look at it and this is apt, we first need to improve ourselves by killing the demon within us before pointing fingers to others.
Thank you so much for expressing your views Mr. Atul. Glad that you liked my views. Welcome to TSS. 🙂
Yes, that is the real connotation..and read a lot of essays on the different dimensions of Ravan which seemed to suggest Ravan to be a better individual than Ram, some perspectives really struck me hard and made me to think that there is logic and reasoning there!
Yes Sunita! I, too, have read such articles many a times, but I wonder who was better than whom in which perspective. Ravan abducted Sita to satiate his lust and Ram abandoned her to satisfy his ego. I fond both of them equal in this respect. Both treated a women as a commodity. If Ravan was the personification of immorality, I even don’t find Ram that godly, as he was portrayed.
Thank you so much for your views!
Well said. The festival actually signifies that…killing the inner demon…
Well said Maniparna! Glad that you read it. 🙂
Totally agree with you Ma’am. Beautifully written 🙂
Thank you so much Purba! Glad that you liked it. 🙂
सच कहा आपने और वास्तव में राम और रावण तो दो व्यक्ति नहीं दो चरित्र हैं दो व्ययहार दो व्यक्तित्व हैं , फिर रावण का पांडित्य और धैर्य युगांतकारी विख्यात है | बहुत ही सुन्दर और विचारोत्तेजक पोस्ट | बहुत शुक्रिया और आभार आपका
अपनी प्रतिक्रिया देने के लिए अनेक धन्यवाद् ! TSS पर आपका स्वागत है !
True that.. 🙂
Thanks! 🙂
Strong and superb one,
Thanks Jyotirmoy.
…..
Amen!
Thanks!