‘This is Sita’s story, where Ram is just a character’

From depicting the varied faces of Lord Shiva and tracing his relationship with Sati to portraying Rama’s battles and his equation with his step-mother Kaikeyi, author Amish Tripathi has changed the way we look at Indian mythology. And, now, we’ll get to see Sita — not as the damsel in distress as she’s usually portrayed, but as a fierce warrior — in his upcoming book, Sita: Warrior of Mithila.

The author says, “We’ve heard and read the Ramayana from Rama’s point of view, where Sita was just a character. My book is not written from Sita’s point of view; it is Sita’s story, where Rama is just a character. From her birth to her adoption, marriage and abduction, everything features in the narrative.”

Tripathi adds that in the original versions of the Ramayana, even though Sita is not shown as a warrior; she is depicted as a much stronger woman. “There are ancient versions of the epic, like the Adhbuta Ramayana, where she is a warrior and kills Ravana by taking the form of Maa Kali. I want to celebrate that version,” he says.

Amish hopes such a book will help address women’s issues. “The way we treat women is shameful. But it wasn’t always like this. It’s an insult to our ancestors. In ancient times, women were equal to rishis (sages), who enjoyed positions even higher than those of kings. The Rig Veda has hymns written by female rishis. Most of the stories you see today are reinterpretations that emerged from the medieval era. When a society witnesses violence, it becomes patriarchal. When things are peaceful, the balance is restored,” he says.

The way we treat women is shameful. But it wasn’t always like this. It’s frankly an insult to our ancestors. AMISH TRIPATHI, AUTHOR

Covers of some of Amish Tripathi’s bestselling books from The Shiva Trilogy and the Ram Chandra Series