Doubts and Discussions from the Ramayan II - Page 43

Originally posted by: Chandraketu

How exactly does 'Chen & Chandra' rhyme - I don't get it?

I too am watching this, but now as a quasi-comedy routine - I have disabused myself of the notion that I'm watching Ramayan. But kya karon - can't help but compare it to the actual story, particularly when they show things that also appear in the original, but wrong. When they were on the swarna-kamal saga, I could enjoy it uninterruptedly w/o sparing a moment's thought re: what the original says, but it's worse when they get it even partly right, b'cos then we are forced to compare.

For this reason, I have an all-or-nothing mentality re: our epics - I'd prefer something that's either 100% right, or 100% wrong. When something is in between, I'm forced to analytically compare the 2, see how it is different, and more importantly, whether the depiction misrepresents the original message. But if it is 100% right, one can watch it very dedicatedly, and if it's 100% wrong, one can simply enjoy it as a spoof. For this reason, I think KHMK was a better deal than BRC.

Hey, like Chen2 promised you, I now have a complete house of horrors in my siggie - featuring Sunanda 'Dear-guest-you-must-become-my-slave', Durdant, and with Gretelasura, Karkati and Shurps on the sidelines. I know Durdant looks out of place, until one remembers that this was Taraka.

I'm guessing most people who haven't seen these episodes will be wondering what a seemingly normal wife like Sunanda is doing in such company😆

Originally posted by: Chandraketu

Hey, like Chen2 promised you, I now have a complete house of horrors in my siggie - featuring Sunanda 'Dear-guest-you-must-become-my-slave', Durdant, and with Gretelasura, Karkati and Shurps on the sidelines. I know Durdant looks out of place, until one remembers that this was Taraka.

I'm guessing most people who haven't seen these episodes will be wondering what a seemingly normal wife like Sunanda is doing in such company😆

Ashwamedha yagna announcement to start tomorrow

In the precap to tomorrow's episode, they showed the Nani-ji tell Sita that Rama has decided to conduct the Ashwamedha yagna. She also tells her that as per the custom of having the wife with him, Rama may choose to marry again, and people in Ayodhya were discussing who that might be😡

Looks like Sagars are now racing to finish this disaster of theirs by June 26. Well, whatever...

Originally posted by: Chandraketu

Ashwamedha yagna announcement to start tomorrow

In the precap to tomorrow's episode, they showed the Nani-ji tell Sita that Rama has decided to conduct the Ashwamedha yagna. She also tells her that as per the custom of having the wife with him, Rama may choose to marry again, and people in Ayodhya were discussing who that might be😡

Looks like Sagars are now racing to finish this disaster of theirs by June 26. Well, whatever...

Okay, now for the new line of serious discussion for the episode starting tomorrow...

I have a few questions, which are worth putting chronologically:

• Where is it stated that Rama promised Sita on their suhaag-raat that he'd never take a wife other than Sita? I've checked Bal-kand and Ayodhya-kand, and have found nothing to that effect. Don't get me wrong - I'm all praise for not just Rama, but also Lakshman, Bharat & Shatrughan for never marrying anyone other than Janak's daughters/neices. But if Rama is not shown to have made such a promise, why would it be an issue? Also, if raj-dharm could forcibly trump his pati-dharm of protecting and sheltering Sita, then why wouldn't it trump his vow to Sita, if he in fact did make one?
• Where is it stated that Rama was asked to marry again? Again, there is nothing in Uttarkand from Sarg 90 onwards that suggests it. So truth is that he never made any vow not to marry anyone else, and nor was he under any pressure from his subjects to re-marry
• If Sita couldn't be present at the yagna due to her non-acceptance by the people of Ayodhya, then how was her statue, or any representation of her any more acceptable? In Sarg 99, it states that every year after Sita's passing after the Ashwamedha yagna was complete, Rama would do an yagna with Sita's statue by his side. This was because Sita was no longer there to participate, but how was that applicable to this particular yagna?

Originally posted by: Chandraketu

Okay, now for the new line of serious discussion for the episode starting tomorrow...

I have a few questions, which are worth putting chronologically:

• Where is it stated that Rama promised Sita on their suhaag-raat that he'd never take a wife other than Sita? I've checked Bal-kand and Ayodhya-kand, and have found nothing to that effect. Don't get me wrong - I'm all praise for not just Rama, but also Lakshman, Bharat & Shatrughan for never marrying anyone other than Janak's daughters/neices. But if Rama is not shown to have made such a promise, why would it be an issue? Also, if raj-dharm could forcibly trump his pati-dharm of protecting and sheltering Sita, then why wouldn't it trump his vow to Sita, if he in fact did make one?
• Where is it stated that Rama was asked to marry again? Again, there is nothing in Uttarkand from Sarg 90 onwards that suggests it. So truth is that he never made any vow not to marry anyone else, and nor was he under any pressure from his subjects to re-marry
• If Sita couldn't be present at the yagna due to her non-acceptance by the people of Ayodhya, then how was her statue, or any representation of her any more acceptable? In Sarg 99, it states that every year after Sita's passing after the Ashwamedha yagna was complete, Rama would do an yagna with Sita's statue by his side. This was because Sita was no longer there to participate, but how was that applicable to this particular yagna?

Originally posted by: Chandraketu

Ashwamedha yagna announcement to start tomorrow

In the precap to tomorrow's episode, they showed the Nani-ji tell Sita that Rama has decided to conduct the Ashwamedha yagna. She also tells her that as per the custom of having the wife with him, Rama may choose to marry again, and people in Ayodhya were discussing who that might be😡

In the previous serial, it showed the Ayodhyavasis thinking that Ram might marry the Princess of Kasi. What do the Ayodhyavasis think in this serial? I didn't get to watch the precap.

Looks like Sagars are now racing to finish this disaster of theirs by June 26. Well, whatever...

Originally posted by: Khalrika

It is not overtly stated in Valmiki that he took the eka patni vrat but it is implied all the time. This is from my reading and what I got out of it.
I think not re-marrying was also part of his raj dharma and not just pati dharma. This is strictly IMHO, but I got the impression that he was trying to make a point to all Maharajas; that the Maharajas of the time should not marry more than one wife. Also, the people of Awadh did not want Sita as their queen sitting on the throne. I don't think they asked for her banishment. It was Rama who took that decision. I am sure if Ramji had removed her from the throne and made her just his queen then the people of Awadh would not have minded.

One more thing, the people of Awadh are the quentessential example of mob mentality. They get swayed by emotions. At one point Sita is bad and at another point Ramji is great for using her statue.

To answer your question about the relevance of the statue to this yagna, according to Hindu dharma a married man cannot do any ritual big or small without his wife at his side. She has to sit beside him. If the wife is not at his side then the kusa grass (darba) is placed at his side to signify the wife (we did shradh for my father-in-law and got all this information from the priest). Ramji being a Maharaja can afford a golden statue, that is all.