It was Sunday afternoon and Sita knew Rama’s flight would be
landing soon. She ran through the house throwing toys into their proper bins
and vacuuming the carpet. She had gone to great lengths to ensure that Rama
would return to a clean home after his month-long business trip in Germany.
Sita could not wait to be back in her husband’s arms and Rama was just as
excited.
After the final minutes passed that felt like hours to Sita,
it was finally time to meet Rama at the airport. She loaded up into the car and
sped to get him. When their eyes met it was like the first time they had laid
eyes on each other. Rama’s face lit up with a smile and Sita’s heart fluttered.
They ran to each other and in a deep embrace they hoped the moment would never
pass.
Once they got home, Sita began to help Rama unpack his
suitcase so she could start the laundry. As she was grabbing the dirty clothes
from his suitcase and piling them up in the basket, a tube of lipstick rolled
onto the ground.
Not wanting to jump to conclusions immediately she took the
lipstick to Rama and calmly asked, “Rama, how did this lipstick get into your
suitcase?” She was hoping for a valid
excuse but knew that was unlikely. Rama began to stutter. “Uh, Uh… I don’t know
where that could have come from,” he said uneasily, guilt pouring from him eyes.
Sita was a reasonable woman and decided that rather than accuse her husband of lying, she would simply demand that he prove his loyalty
to her.
“Rama,” she stated, “since you have been gone for a month's time, I ask
that you prove that you remained loyal to me in your time away.” Rama looked
down nervously but felt confident his strength and abilities could overcome
any challenge Sita could throw at him, so he agreed.
“You must pray upon the God of Water as your purity will
only be proven if you are able to swim up the river to the nearest bait shop
from the entrance by our home,” Sita declared. “If you are able to swim this
distance upstream, I will know you have been loyal.” Rama nodded his head in
agreement, certain his strength would be able to overcome the strength of the
rushing river.
Word of the trial spread and a crowd lined the river from
the entrance to the shop. All were eager to witness Rama attempt the trial but
most doubted his loyalty to Sita. Rama waded out toward the center of the river
where he would begin.
He prayed to the God of Water and dove in. He was a
strong swimmer with impeccable form. He moved his arms with as much force and
as quickly as he could with his feet kicking behind him.
After what felt like a lifetime, Rama lifted his head for a
brief moment to monitor his progress as he felt himself becoming fatigued. He
caught a quick glimpse of Sita watching from the side and looked back upstream
only to catch sight of a wave forming right in front of his eyes.
“A wave? How
could this be?” Rama thought shocked. His eyes widened and the wave crashed
into him throwing his body downstream far past where he had originally started.
The crowd booed and Sita crumpled to the ground in tears.
She had been doubtful of Rama’s purity but a part of her on the inside hoped he
was telling the truth. However, the Gods had spoken and made it painfully
clear to her what she needed to do and she did not see or speak to Rama ever
again.
 |
Wave crashing down on Rama
Source |
Author's Note: For this story I took the concept from the PDE Ramayana in
which Rama tested Sita with fire after Ravana had held her captive. I took the general concept of a couple being
forced apart for an extended period of time and placed it in a slightly more
modern setting. I also reversed the roles between Sita and Rama and had Rama be
the one whose loyalty had to be tested.
For the test, I really wanted to use a similar concept in
which there was a god responsible for the element used. In the Ramayana, Sita called upon the fire god, Agni for protection and he protected her. I chose to use water
because I have read about Varuna the Hindu god of water and the goddess Ganga.
I liked the idea of a specific god being in charge of determining Rama’s fate
and the outcome of the test. In the story a wave comes crashing down on Rama
and I wanted that to be a direct sign and action of a god.
In my portfolio, I have included stories of romance. While
this story isn’t a happy ending, it still involves the conflict and
relationship between two people. I think this addition to my portfolio will
give a unique storyline compared to typical happy ending stories.
Bibliography: PDE Ramayana, Authors: M. Dutt, R. Dutt, Gould, Griffith, Hodgson, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Oman, Richardson, and Ryder.
