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Essay / The role of Sita and the Ramayana in establishing Hindu beliefs
Sita Devi established gender norms and had an impact on Hindu women and feminists alike. Her epic, the Ramayana, was primarily about her husband, Rama. She played the role of a perfect wife, loving and serving only her husband. She significantly set the bar for Hindu women. However, contemporary Hinduism disapproves of this original representation of Sita, expressing a modernization of the religion and representing more contemporary values. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Sita's origin and appearance greatly influenced her story. “Sîtâ was born from the earth when it was plowed.” Although her mother was Bhu Devi, the earth itself, she was raised by the childless king Janaka of Mithila as his adopted daughter. "Janaka gives birth to it when it springs from the furrow he plows as part of a spring fertility ritual...". Sita appears as an incarnation of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, good fortune, prosperity and beauty. For this reason, she is often depicted in Indian art as being attractive in a very conventional way, with beautiful facial features and a voluptuous figure. "She is fair-skinned with long black hair, although her head is sometimes covered by an elaborate headdress in order to communicate her queenly status." She frequently wears a Sari, true to her chaste and virtuous nature. She is also "anthropomorphic" most of the time, having only human characteristics. However, she is sometimes depicted with extra arms in images intended to depict her as the reincarnation of Lakshmi. Sita was the devoted wife of Rama, who married him after winning a marriage competition by lifting and shooting an arrow from Siva's celestial bow. Primarily, Sita is a character from one of the greatest epics of Hindu India: the Ramayana. The Ramayana is the story of Rama, the seventh avatar of Vishnu, and Sita. Rama and his three brothers grew up in the court of their father, King Dasharatha. After a series of successful missions, King Dasharatha decided to name Rama as heir to the throne. However, Rama's mother-in-law wanted her son to be the heir, so she convinced her husband to banish Rama to live in the forest with his brother, Lakshman. A faithful wife, Sita insists on accompanying Rama into the forest. In the forest, a princess named Surpanakha tries to tempt Rama. “But when Râma avoided him, saying that he only loved Sita, Śurpanakhâ tried to kill Sita.” Lakshman, Rama's brother, defended Sita and cut off Surpanakha's nose and ears. “She [Surpanakha] swore revenge and returned to her brother in Lanka, King Ravana. He in turn swore to kidnap Sita to punish Rama. Ravana, a larger demon, used his uncle Marici to distract Sita by changing her form into a golden deer and pulling her away from Rama, thus successfully kidnapping her. Rama goes in search of him and receives help from the monkey god Hanuman and his army of monkeys. Troops of monkeys build a bridge to Lanka and Rama kills Ravana in a terrible battle to save Sita. Following this battle, Rama and Sita become leaders again. Some versions of the epic have Sita returning to her role as queen and living a life of luxury. Others, however, describe his banishment by Rama. Her kingdom did not trust her chastity, believing that she may have had an affair with Ravana for so long under his watch. Sita eventually gave birth to two sons, and upon meeting them, Rama allowed his wife and children to return to the palace. His people nevertheless continued to..