Who was Vasavadutta?
I have always loved the tangential tracks Gul has pushed me into...quite unknowingly. And this is what I admire about her work, no matter how dramatic and theatrical and illogical the story looks. I love the fresh thoughts it inspires in me...
Yesterday was one of those seemingly filler episodes, that actually refreshed some memories of my childhood. The highlight of teh episode was Zoya looking down on the silliness of the old women who had to find entertainment in her unfortunate plight, followed by Humeira- a girl from her generation, offering her a different view of her situation.
If up till now, Ayan and Zoya have concluded this as a joke cruel fate played on them, Humeira reminds her of the eternity of the changed relations. Rightly, Humeira thinks like the majority of the audience ..THINGS WILL NEVER BE THE SAME...Of course, it will never be the same. It was not just Humeira's fairytale that was shattered, Zoya had to sacrifice her honour and her dreams and her ideals for the sake of her love...this was followed by the precap which should cement the awkwardness of her fate in Zoya's mind...and to be soon followed by Raziya's determined ploys to EXPOSE and TRAP Zoya and makes sure she never looks back in the direction of SM again...this accidental/ sham/ temporary / holy/ unholy nikah is not going to end nicely.
I got the impression that Zoya will be insulted in a scale so big, that my mind led me to ask a question: What is the punishment for a woman committing adultery...and the first answer that came to my mind was stoning... in Bible, the woman who sinned was stoned by the people, until Jesus came to her rescue. That was a woman who deserved her punishment, yet she was forgiven.
"The parable, and its messages of not being quick to condemn when one is not blameless and tempering justice with mercy, have endured in Christian thought. Both "let him who is without sin, cast the first stone"[6] and "go, and sin no more"[7] have found their way into common usage. The English idiomatic phrase to "cast the first stone" is derived from this passage."
I wondered what would be Zoya's fate... given, she did not even sin in the first place. She only FOLLOWED HER HEART.
Another story on the same stoning issue kept nagging me, until finally it came to me. I was so happy when I recollected the tale...purely because it is always a pleasure to relive memories of your childhood...sometimes, it is a book, a movie, a friend...
This is the story of Vasavadutta and the Buddhist monk. Mind you, it has no resemblance to Zoya, except for being the victim of public outcry...and Vasavadutta was a courtesan girl, in search of love, who murdered someone in her greed- a very dark character.
www.sacred-texts.com/bud/btg/btg81.htm
THERE was a courtesan in Mathura named Vasavadatta. She happened to see Upagutta, one of Buddha's disciples, a tall and beautiful youth, and fell desperately in love with him. sent an invitation to the young man, but he replied: "The time has not yet arrived when Upagutta will visit Vasavadatta." The courtesan was astonished at the reply, and she sent again for him, saying: "Vasavadatta desires love, not gold, from Upagutta." But Upagutta made the same enigmatic reply and did not come.
A few months later Vasavadatta was having a love intrigue with the chief of the artisans. But at that time a wealthy merchant came to Mathura, and fell in love with Vasavadatta. Seeing his wealth, and fearing the jealousy of her other lover, she contrived the death of the chief of the artisans, and concealed his body under a dung-hill. When the chief of the artisans had disappeared, his relatives and friends searched for him and found his body. Vasavadatta was tried by a judge, and condemned to have her ears and nose, her hands and feet cut off, and flung into a graveyard. Vasavadatta had been a passionate girl, but kind to her servants, and one of her maids followed her, and out of love for her former mistress ministered to her in her agonies, and chased away the crows.
Now the time had arrived when Upagutta decided to visit Vasavadatta. When he came, the poor woman ordered her maid to collect and hide under a cloth her severed limbs; and he greeted her kindly, but she said with petulance: "Once this body was fragrant like the lotus, and I offered thee my love. In those days I was covered with pearls and fine muslin. Now I am mangled by the executioner and covered with filth and blood."
"Sister," said the young man, "it is not for my pleasure that I approach thee. It is to restore to thee a nobler beauty than the charms which thou hast lost. I have seen with mine eyes the Tathagata walking upon earth and teaching men his wonderful doctrine. But thou wouldst not have listened to the words of righteousness while surrounded with temptations while under the spell of passion and yearning for worldly pleasures. Thou wouldst not have listened to the teachings of the Tathagata, for thy heart was wayward, and thou didst set thy trust on the sham of thy transient charms. The charms of a lovely form are treacherous, and quickly lead into temptations, which have proved too strong for thee. But there is a beauty which will not fade, and if thou wilt but listen to the doctrine of our Lord, the Buddha, thou wilt find that peace which thou wouldst have found in the restless world of sinful pleasures."
Vasavadatta became calm and a spiritual happiness soothed the tortures of her bodily pain; for where there is much suffering there is also great bliss. Having taken refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha, she died in pious submission to the punishment of her crime.
In relation to QH: I just wondered if Zoya would be led through a spiritual journey, when everything she believed in, is shattered by the cruel world around her... May be, not...any way, I am intrigued by the track...đł
And of course, Zoya is not going to become a nun or a monk, đbut I am sure this experience will strengthen her character...because only a woman like her can take something like this....đ
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