Judging Surpanakha and Ravana

Published on 11th September, 2014, in Mid-Day. In the Ramayana, a rakshasa woman called Surpanakha desires Ram and wants to be his lover. He rejects her advances. She approaches his brother, Lakshman, who also rejects her advances. She feels, with Sita gone maybe the two men will reconsider. So she attacks Sita, and Lakshman cuts her nose. In the traditional retelling, she is the vamp, the oversexed ogress, who had to be stopped, by force, if necessary. In modern retellings, she is the victim, Ram and Lakshman are misogynist villains. Surpanakha then complains to her brother, Ravana, the king of rakshasas, and takes trouble to ..