I’ve always had a complicated relationship with Hinduism. Although many of the lessons the religion preaches are essential in the quest of becoming a better human being, I have always struggled with the way in which women are illustrated as vehicles for male divinity and righteousness in many Hindu tales.

The Ramayana is an important tale in Hinduism, forming the basis for the most celebrated Hindu festival, Diwali. The original epic was written by Sage ​​Valmiki, but there are over 300 versions of the Ramayana today. 

The premise of each is the same - Ram, a reincarnation of Vishnu, is born as the prince of Ayodhya but is banished by his evil stepmother Kaikeyi to the forest for 14 years. During this time, his wife Sita is kidnapped by a rakshasa, or demon god, named Ravan. Ram unites with a tribe of monkeys, including Hanuman, ultimately defeating Ravan and bringing Sita back to Ayodhya with him. 

The details of each re-telling vary, especially depending on the region. However, many of these re-tellings continue to gloss over the perspectives of female characters such as Kaikeyi, or Sita. Until today. 

I’ve already written an article on Kaikeyi, a feminist re-telling of the Ramayana written from the perspective of Ram’s stepmother. Yes, the one who banishes him. Humanizing Kaikeyi and putting context, though partially fictionalized, behind her decision helps to think about the story from an entirely different lens. This is a lens that has always been ignored, despite its importance to the overall sequence of events. 

I loved reading Kaikeyi. So when I heard about The Forest of Enchantments, a book written by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, that tells the Ramayana from Sita’s perspective, I was immediately intrigued.

This is yet another woman who went through a lot over the course of the Ramayana. She goes to the forest with Ram when he is banished, leaving behind all the luxuries of being a princess without even a second thought to make sure she can take care of her husband. She is abducted by a demon king who is infatuated with her and will go to any length to sleep with her. And the part we don’t discuss enough - once she is saved, once she is brought back to Ayodhya with her husband, she is repeatedly forced to prove her chastity. 

Reading the Ramayana from Sita’s perspective was eye-opening, but what makes Chitra Banerjee’s book stand out amongst other re-tellings is that she makes the lessons of the Ramayana easy to understand for the modern reader. 

That being said, here are the five lessons I learned from Chitra’s novel, The Forest of Enchantments. 

(There are some spoilers below, but if you are familiar with the overall story of the Ramayana, these will not ruin the book for you): 

1. You cannot escape your destiny. A contested point in various versions of the Ramayana is that Sita is actually Ravan’s long-lost daughter. In The Forest of Enchantments, it’s described that once Ravan’s daughter is born, a priest warns that “the child would be the cause of her father’s death and the ruin of his kingdom.” He demands that his daughter be killed, but his wife, Mandodari, bribes the rakshasa in charge of killing the baby to keep the baby safe and leave her in a different kingdom. Against all odds, and from the grace of the universe, the baby, who Mandodari suspects is in fact Sita, survived. Despite all of Ravan’s efforts to kill this baby, Sita eventually came back to him and was in fact his downfall, even though she didn’t know. Ravan was able to delay his destiny, sure. But he could not escape it. 

   
   

2. You have to maintain faith that everything will work out. Sita goes through immense challenges throughout her lifespan. She is abandoned as a baby, her husband is banished and she is forced to live in the forest with him for 14 years, she is kidnapped by an evil rakshasa, and once rescued, she is asked to participate in trials by fire to prove her purity. Her unwavering belief that the universe is protecting her is admirable. Whether the universe protecting her, or anyone, is true or not, the fact that she could withdraw to her heart center and know that everything would be ok got her through the toughest of times. The belief that she would be protected and taken care of is what kept her going through the darkest moments. That hope is important to ensure you are resilient. 

   
   

3. Ego is the downfall of man. Ravan was given a boon early in his life, and he asked for the gift of invincibility. He wanted protection from all sorts of creatures to ensure he was indestructible. However, he did not ask for protection against men and monkeys - he thought this was beneath him given that he was a strong demon-king. His downfall was when men, led by Ram, and monkeys, recruited by Ram and including Hanuman, united against him and defeated him. Ravan’s ego was what led to this oversight, and eventually to his demise. On a similar note, Ram kept choosing his duty to his kingdom and his need to be righteous over his love for Sita. This is evidenced in the fact that he eventually banished a pregnant Sita because his subjects kept questioning her chastity during the time she was kidnapped. He chose his own ego to have the perfect kingdom and to not be the topic of gossip. Once Sita eventually returns with her sons decades later, Ram asks her to participate in one last agni pariksha, or trial by fire, to prove her innocence publicly once and for all. Instead of accepting Ram’s offer, she asks the divine realm to bring her back to the heavens to prove her innocence, because she refuses to let men question a woman’s word so openly in the future. This destroys Ram, as he is crushed completely by Sita leaving earth. Had he set aside his ego and taken her word, he could have had a happy family for all of eternity. 

   
   

4. Anger clings onto your energy. Anger might just be one of the most toxic feelings we have. If you don’t let it go, it will cling onto you in every action and energy you vibrate. When Sita’s sons accidentally hurt Ram, the father they had never met, in a battle, Sita attempts to heal Ram with her powers. She is unable to properly heal him due to the underlying resentment she holds towards him for banishing her. Only when she lets the anger go and lets love in instead is she able to heal him. Holding onto anger doesn’t help you access your fullest potential, even if the other person really, really deserves it. It’s a feeling that really only hurts you. 

   
   

5. Every little action can contribute to the larger good- or the larger evil. No one person is to blame for any wrongdoing - it’s typically the culmination of each person’s small action, or inaction. For example, in The Forest of Enchantments, Sita’s abduction was the result of small wrongdoings by Ram, Lakshman, Sita, Ravan, and Ravan’s sister. Every little wrongdoing by each of these characters led to Sita being kidnapped. I think there are two main takeaways here - every little action you do contributes to the larger good, or the larger evil at play. Even if something you are doing that is wrong may feel like a small action, it can turn into a horrible mistake when combined with other peoples’ wrongdoings. On the other hand, if you do mess up, it’s important to recognize your wrongs and apologize for them, but it is not fair to yourself to dwell on them. Let them go. You likely weren’t the only reason why something bad happened. 

   
   

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni has taken the epic of the Ramayana and not only written it from the perspective of a strong female lead, but she has also made the lessons of the Ramayana accessible to a new generation of readers. Her style of writing is enthralling, turning this ancient epic into an easy to read book that I could not put down.

Sita’s voice reminds us that even the stories we think we know can hold new truths when we listen differently. I recommend being somewhat familiar with the basic story of the Ramayana before you read The Forest of Enchantments, but think that this is an important book to read in your early adult life. The lessons it preaches are important, not only in the quest to become a good person, but also in the quest to figure out why it’s important to make change and how to go about making it.