Week 2 Story: To Learn to Fish

Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess named Sita. She spent her days wandering around her father’s kingdom with a book in hand or picking flowers and admiring the land the gods had blessed her with. She had never left the kingdom but had an adventurous soul and often dreamt of the wonders of the outside world. That was until she locked eyes with Rama, the man she knew she was destined to be with.  They didn’t speak a word but she instantly fell in love with him and knew he would be the one to take her from this kingdom and share with her the rest of the world.

Sita knew the man must win her father's approval and to do so, he must bend the god Shiva's bow. Many men had tried to bend the bow and failed but she could feel in her heart that this would not be the case for Rama. The gods answered her prayers and Rama successfully bent the bow. 

She shrieked with joy when she heard the news as the day she never thought would come was finally here. The wedding occurred with no delay and Sita wed Rama on a day filled with sunshine and surrounded by the blooming flowers. Sita was overflowing with joy and ready to depart with her new husband to discover the world.

The wedding bliss came to a screeching halt when Kaikeyi, Bharata's mother, demanded Rama to be sent to the forest in exile for fourteen years. Kaikeyi knew Rama was to be the crown prince so she demanded his exile so that her own son would become the heir.

Sita was devastated and confused. She wanted to blame the gods but knew nothing good could come from that. Instead she choked back her tears and made a decision. She knew she could not go on without her beloved and refused to let Kaikeyi steal her happiness. She would go with Rama into exile in the forest.

After only a few days in the forest with Rama and Lakshmana, she began to grow bored. Because she was a lady, the men insisted on providing all food and shelter and essentially protecting her in every way. Without her books or the ability to go on walks alone she felt more and more useless and desired something more. 

"Rama," she said "I simply can't waste away out here. I need a purpose to this life in exile." 

"Your purpose is to be my wife," Rama said. "Are you unsatisfied with your accommodations?"

"No, Rama, I am very happy but I would like to be able to provide something, anything of value to our group."

"You are my queen," Rama said tenderly. "I am here to protect and provide for you. Your assistance is not needed."

"Rama, please," she begged. "Teach me to fish so I can provide a meal for us."

Sita knew she could never master the survival skills Rama and Lakshmana had but she simply wanted to learn whatever she could. She wanted to know she could be of use if circumstances required it and Rama agreed to teach her how to fish.

Early the next morning, Rama and Sita set off to the closest river for the promised fishing lesson. They found a nice clearing and sat down on a rock overlooking the river. The sun was just rising and the water was quietly flowing below their feet. Sita, too impatient to enjoy the scenery, looked to Rama and asked how to begin. 

On the walk to the river, Rama had kept an eye out for sticks of the proper size and length that could be sharpened into spears. He found the two they would use and began scraping the bark off with her knife. He quickly sharpened the spears and handed one over to Sita. She was giddy with excitement but kept her face serious as she was determined to succeed. 

The couple took their weapons and walked a little ways down the river until they found a good spot to wade out. Rama took Sita’s hand and cautiously guided her into the river where fish were swimming all around their toes. Rama quickly demonstrated to Sita the proper motion and technique and plunged his spear through the water and into a fish. 

Sita steadied herself and looked hard into the water closely following the fish’s every move. Mimicking Rama’s technique, she flung the spear into the water and deep into the dirt bottom causing the spear to stick straight up. She let out a sigh of disappointment though she did not let it ruin her determination. 

She retrieved her spear and tried again, and again and again with no fish. After what felt like hours of trying she was nearly ready to quit. Rama continued to offer her advice and would stay by her side until she was satisfied. She decided to give it one more try with her full concentration and all her strength. With all her force she launched the spear into the water. 

When she pulled the spear up she had expected nothing but her eyes widened and she let out a gasp. “Rama!” she cried. “I did it! I did it!” she exclaimed as she danced and splashed around the river waving her fish and spear around like a trophy. Rama wrapped her in a deep embrace and congratulated her on the victory. 

Rama and Sita hiked back to their campsite unable to wipe the smiles off their faces, built a fire and enjoyed the delicious fish Rama and Sita had caught as a team. Surviving fourteen more years in the forest wouldn’t be as bad as she had originally thought.

Spear fishing
Source: Clipart

Author's Note: This story is based off the characters Sita and Rama from the Public Domain Edition of the Ramayana. At the beginning of my story, I rewrote the events that occurred in the Ramayana from the meeting of Rama and Sita until they were exiled to the forest from Sita’s point of view. Once they were exiled, I created the following story in which Sita in interesting in learning to fish. Rama takes Sita to the river and she is able to catch the dinner they eat that night.  

The image I chose is of two boys spearfishing in a river. While the image is of two boys, I chose this drawing to represent Sita and Rama spear fishing in the river. I like this image because one of the boys is clearly older and I wanted that to represent Rama in terms of experience and Sita being the smaller of the two learning.

With this story, I hoped to give Sita an image larger than just simply a wife who does what she is told. I wanted to empower her and add a new aspect to her character development. We never really see throughout the Public Domain Ramayana many sides to Sita and with this story it shows her determination and adventurous side. 

Bibliography: PDE Ramayana, Authors: M. Dutt, R. Dutt, Gould, Griffith, Hodgson, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Oman, Richardson, and Ryder.

Reading Notes: Public Domain Ramayana, Part B

I found Bharata’s reaction to becoming the raj and Rama’s exile to be very noble. I can’t help but compare to present day, and I think if this situation had happened to just about any set of siblings, the desire for power and leadership would have caused the younger brother to be far less civil. Bharata immediately went to Rama to undo what his mother had done which I think shows good and honorable character. I think an interesting story angle would be to use this rare relationship between these brothers and place them in a modern day situation.

Throughout this reading there was strong development of Sita’s character. While she was quick to fall for the tricks of Ravana with her desire of the golden deer, she also showed great strength in her prayers to the forest and trees to tell Rama what has happened. I also thought it was very brave of her to drop her jewelry as tokens to help Rama find his way toward her.  I also liked that despite her fear of being in Lanka and captured by Ravana, she rejected his attempts to win her love and remained loyal to Rama.

The Golden Deer
Source: Nina Paley

Bibliography: PDE Ramayana, Authors: M. Dutt, R. Dutt, Gould, Griffith, Hodgson, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Oman, Richardson, and Ryder.