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Sita Speaks: The Feminist Voice and Reimagined Power in Devdutt Pattanaik’s Retelling of the Ramayana

  • Unique Paper ID: 180686
  • Volume: 12
  • Issue: 1
  • PageNo: 1921-1926
  • Abstract:
  • Devdutt Pattanaik’s Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana stands as a ground-breaking narrative that interrogates the patriarchal foundations of the traditional Ramayana. This paper synthesizes scholarly perspectives to demonstrate how Pattanaik’s retelling deconstructs entrenched gender norms, foregrounds Sita as an autonomous subject, and reclaims marginalized voices that have long remained on the periphery of epic mythology. This endeavour explores how Sita is repositioned not as a passive consort or divine accessory to Rama, but as the philosophical, emotional, and political fulcrum of the narrative. She is no longer merely a reflection of Rama’s righteousness but a distinct entity with her own moral compass and sense of justice. Through this feminist lens, the text reconfigures mythological space to elevate feminine agency and critique the cultural glorification of male-centric dharma, which often demands silent suffering from women in the name of duty. Sita emerges as a conscious actor who navigates the intersection of personal duty, spiritual identity, and societal expectations with grace and conviction. Her choices, whether to accompany Rama into exile, confront Ravana, or reject societal judgment, are portrayed as deliberate acts of agency rather than obligatory submission. By placing her voice at the heart of the epic, Pattanaik challenges the long-standing hierarchies of power, morality, and gender, and in doing so, restores narrative balance by acknowledging the feminine as a site of strength, wisdom, and ethical clarity.
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Cite This Article

  • ISSN: 2349-6002
  • Volume: 12
  • Issue: 1
  • PageNo: 1921-1926

Sita Speaks: The Feminist Voice and Reimagined Power in Devdutt Pattanaik’s Retelling of the Ramayana

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