In this game of lust and deceit, Indra, who committed the unforgivable crime of the rape of a married woman, got away lightly. What are the antecedents of Indra, who is known as a lusty debauch? His Apsaras were courtesans of heaven. Risen out of the churning of 'Palazhi' the milky sea, they were rejected by both Asuras and Devas. Hence they were to be universal wives, condemned to a life of whoring. Those who achieve martyrdom in wars are supposed to be rewarded by the Apsaras in heaven. Confronted by their stunning beauty, the men at both the ends of the rope 'Vasuki' used for churning the Palazhi with the hillock 'Mandara' as a churn-drill, decided that they would have nothing to do with these deadly beauties. They are also believed to be a cause for madness. Rightly so. Incidentally, the Devas and Asuras were churning the Palazi to extract "Amrut" ie. Ambrosia for eternal youth.
No wonder that Indra was mad; he was insane with lust. Despite having a wife -Indrani- he had a roving eye for pretty women. He is also believed to be the father of Arjun born to Kunti who had an impotent husband, Pandu. Still he got away with a light punishment of having a thousand eyes maybe for ogling the objects of is desire.
Cursed is the life of a woman, who bleeds in menstruation from puberty to menopause, bears the fruits of passion of men for nine long months and suffers pain at child birth! Women depend on men at all the stages of their life. Father in childhood, husband in wedded life and sons at old age. And God created women for this ordeal!
And women are surrogates for the sin of others. Wronged and persecuted women who could emerge spotless at the end are supposed to free people from their sins when worshipped. Sita, Ahalya, Draupadi, Mandodari and Tara are these sacred characters who at some time or other were objects of character assassination.
Coming back to my story, I was given the arbitrary punishment of imprisonment in a stone till Lord Ram stumbled on me!
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Another sage, Vishwamitra, the spiritual guru of Ram brought Ram and Laxman to the Ashram of Gautaman on their way to Mithila to take part in Sita-swayamvaram.
And lo presto! I sprang to life at the very foot contact of the prince of Ayodhya who later came to be known as Marayada Purushotam. I thanked him, praised him profusely and fell at his foot. I had no choice but to go back to my husband who once cursed me and called me a whore. Those responsible for the re-union thought that it is the only way for my salvation!
With the wisdom of hindsight, I can state that it would have been preferable to continue in the state of stone, bereft of emotions, rather than freed by a person of dubious credentials.
What was the record of Ram vis-à-vis women? He killed Tadaka and Soorpanaka and made Tara and Mandodari widows. To top it all, he abandoned his pregnant wife and queen Sita, who hoped to live with him in the palace after the 14-year ordeal at the wilderness. Who else would have lent an ear to a washer man whose profession it is to wash dirty linen?
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When there is no evidence of infidelity or suspicion of loss of chastity, it is a slur on the character of a woman even to subject her to a test by fire 'Agni pareeksha' as was done in case of Sita. In this context, Ravan's character was far superior to that of the Devas, as he had not once tried to outrage Sita's modesty while she was in his custody. Oh God! Why you created women to undergo all these indignities? Your ingenuity could have produced hermaphrodites! Or maybe he tried and gave up. Men could still have remained happy and gay!
Puranas and even modern history are full of 'great' men who had committed crimes of pedophile (Parasaran with Satyavati when she was still a minor) adultery, homosexuality and other sexual misdemeanors. Ahalyas are born in every age to be cursed and condemned to imprisonment by men who have no confidence about their virility. Better halves do not get even less than half of justice! If society cannot mete out a decent treatment for women, better kill them in their embryos. I am Ahalya who has no death. I have a right to speak for all women since I am the first creation of Brahma. Looking at the state of affairs of the world, I can see that though much has changed, the status of women has not altered meaningfully since eons! Catastrophe awaits the world as woman is the mother of everything.
RS Pillai
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Sunday, August 01, 2010
