Week 5 Story | The Test of Fire
This story can also be found in my portfolio: The Test
"How could he not trust me?" thought Sita.
After spending her time in exile captured by Ravana, Sita was baffled at the thought that Rama would not trust her. Ravana had tricked Rama into leaving his lovely lady alone in their hut by turning his uncle, Maricha, into a golden deer to entice Rama. His plan succeeded, and Ravana was able to steal Sita away across the deep seas into his territory.
But that's more of the back story. Luckily, the story is at a slight, keyword slight happy ending. Rama rescued Sita from Ravana, which was incredibly difficult, but after rescuing her, he did not trust that she had stayed true and pure for him.
"I never entered Ravana's bed! For if I were to lay a hand on him or him on me, I would not be obeying my duty as your love. I only have eyes for you, and I have honored you with my purity. Do you not believe me?" cried Sita.
"I refuse to bring a woman into my kingdom who has lived among another man. How could I imagine trusting you. A woman is known to lie and deceive to get what she wants, and I have no doubt that this could be the case here" argued Rama.
After much debate, Sita convinced Rama to let her prove her purity to him. In doing so, Sita chose to use the test of fire. Sita bravely constructed a large fire, and then, with bold faith in the truth, she jumped into the fire. The surrounding people of the kingdom gasped at the sight. How foolish could one be to burn alive to simply prove purity?!
However, as we know, Sita was telling the truth. She had never entered the home of Ravana, for she had unwavering commitment to her love for Rama. Therefore, Sita "aced" the test of fire. Agni, the god of fire, came down from the heavens and rescued Sita from the fire. Rama stood back, still questioning the purity of his potential bride.
After being rescued, Sita exhaulted "Oh Rama, please believe me! I have a steadfast love for you that made me stay pure to you. Please bring me into your kingdom as your bride!"
If only Sita would have known then, it would take far more than a test of fire to gain back Rama's trust.
Author's Note: This story is based off of the episode in the Ramayana entitled "Sita Tested". After watching Sita Sings the Blues, I was very intrigued by the story of Sita. I chose to write about the courageous love that Sita maintains for Rama, and I think the test of fire is the best metaphor for the way their love withstood difficulty. After the test of fire, Rama still does not trust Sita and eventually sends her into exile to selfishly gain respect from the kingdom. I chose to end my story on a cliffhanger instead of extend into this detail.
Bibliography: Narayan's Ramayana
"How could he not trust me?" thought Sita.
After spending her time in exile captured by Ravana, Sita was baffled at the thought that Rama would not trust her. Ravana had tricked Rama into leaving his lovely lady alone in their hut by turning his uncle, Maricha, into a golden deer to entice Rama. His plan succeeded, and Ravana was able to steal Sita away across the deep seas into his territory.
But that's more of the back story. Luckily, the story is at a slight, keyword slight happy ending. Rama rescued Sita from Ravana, which was incredibly difficult, but after rescuing her, he did not trust that she had stayed true and pure for him.
"I never entered Ravana's bed! For if I were to lay a hand on him or him on me, I would not be obeying my duty as your love. I only have eyes for you, and I have honored you with my purity. Do you not believe me?" cried Sita.
"I refuse to bring a woman into my kingdom who has lived among another man. How could I imagine trusting you. A woman is known to lie and deceive to get what she wants, and I have no doubt that this could be the case here" argued Rama.
After much debate, Sita convinced Rama to let her prove her purity to him. In doing so, Sita chose to use the test of fire. Sita bravely constructed a large fire, and then, with bold faith in the truth, she jumped into the fire. The surrounding people of the kingdom gasped at the sight. How foolish could one be to burn alive to simply prove purity?!
(Sita endures the test of fire. Web Source: Wikipedia)
However, as we know, Sita was telling the truth. She had never entered the home of Ravana, for she had unwavering commitment to her love for Rama. Therefore, Sita "aced" the test of fire. Agni, the god of fire, came down from the heavens and rescued Sita from the fire. Rama stood back, still questioning the purity of his potential bride.
After being rescued, Sita exhaulted "Oh Rama, please believe me! I have a steadfast love for you that made me stay pure to you. Please bring me into your kingdom as your bride!"
If only Sita would have known then, it would take far more than a test of fire to gain back Rama's trust.
Author's Note: This story is based off of the episode in the Ramayana entitled "Sita Tested". After watching Sita Sings the Blues, I was very intrigued by the story of Sita. I chose to write about the courageous love that Sita maintains for Rama, and I think the test of fire is the best metaphor for the way their love withstood difficulty. After the test of fire, Rama still does not trust Sita and eventually sends her into exile to selfishly gain respect from the kingdom. I chose to end my story on a cliffhanger instead of extend into this detail.
Bibliography: Narayan's Ramayana
Camryn, I loved your story! I liked how it was from the perspective of Sita. The test of fire I think is a little bit extreme to prove purity, but she did it. I also watched Sita Sings the Blues and liked how I got more of Sita's thoughts from the movie, rather than just from the Ramayana. I liked how you ended the story on a cliffhanger, because while we know what is going to happen, a reader than hasn't read the Ramayana might not.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your story! I'm doing my storybook from Sita's perspective because I was also intrigued by Sita's burning (no pun intended) love for Rama. I think it's so sad how she proves her loyalty time and time again, yet he still chooses to exile her to simply gain more respect and power. The Ramayana skims over Sita's thoughts and feelings, so I really enjoyed your story bringing those more into perspective!
ReplyDeleteI felt so bad for Sita when I read this! I also wrote a story about Sita and Rama, but I gave her a more rebellious stance. In your story it feels like Rama has a more evil vibe rather than an skeptical lover, which is great! You could definitely keep this theme going and even create Rama to be the evil one rather than Ravana. Adding the cliffhanger at the end really made me want to continue reading!
ReplyDeletePoor Sita. I could not imagine going through this. This story however, goes to prove how much she loves Rama and what she is willing to do to be with him. Her love for Rama is so powerful. I really liked your version of the story. Hearing Sita's thoughts bring her more sympathy. It is also more powerful to the readers. In the original story, I feel like we did not get to hear her side of the story. Great job.
ReplyDeleteHey Camryn, you did a great job re-telling the test of fire. I’ve never really liked how Rama behaves here, and it seems rather ridiculous. If he had truly loved and trusted Sita, he would believe. Especially after one of the gods came down and told him that she was not lying. Honestly, it kind of undermines everything Rama was supposed to stand for when he behaved in such a manner.
ReplyDelete