Hinduism And Women

"Then BaIi's soul with rage was fired, Queen Tara and the dames retired; And slowly, with a laugh of pride, The king of Vénars thus replied 'Me, fiend, thou deemest drunk with wine: Unless thy fear the fight decline, Come, meet me in the fray, and test The spirit of my valiant breast"

"Nala and Nila came behind With Hanuman of lofty mind, And valiant Tara, last in place, A leader of the Vénar race. They gazed on many a tree that showed The glory of its pendent load, And brook and limpid rill that made Sweet murmurs as they seaward strayed."

"They praise thy valour, patience, ruth, Thy firmness, self-restraint, and truth: Thy hand prepared for sin's control, All virtues of a princely soul. I thought of all these gifts of thine, And glories of an ancient line, I set my Tara's tears at naught, I met Sugriva and we fought."

"I thought of all these gifts of thine, And glories of an ancient line, I set my Tara's tears at naught, I met Sugriva and we fought. O Rama, till this fatal morn I held that thou wouldst surely scorn To strike me as I fought my foe And thought not of a stranger’s blow."

"In vain my Tara reasoned well, On dull deaf ears her counsel fell. I scorned her words though sooth and sweet, And hither rushed my fate to meet. Ah for the land thou rulest! she Finds no protection, lord, from thee, Neglected like some' noble dame By a vile husband dead to shame."

"Though stayed by Tara's fond recall, By thy dear hand I longed to fall. Against my brother rushed and fought, And gained the death I long have sought. Then Ruma thus the prince console'd From whose clear eyes the mists were rolled."

"Again the hapless Tara wept As to her husband's side she crept, And wild with sorrow and dismay Sat on the ground where Bali lay."

"And hapless Tara sank below The whelming waters of her woe, Looked upon Bali's face and fell Beside him whom she loved so well, Like a young creeper clinging round - A tall tree prostrate on the ground."

"Lover of wail beloved by me, Why hast thou fled away and left Thy Tara of all hope bereft? Unwise the father who allows His child to be a warrior's spouse, For, hero, see thy consort's fate, A widow now most desolate. For ever broken is my pride"

"Prepare with Tara and her son That Bali's rites be duly done. A store of funeral wood provide Which wind and sun and time have dried, And richest sandal fit to grace The pyre of one of royal race. With words of comfort soft and kind Console poor Angad’s troubled mind, Nor let thy heart be thus cast down, For thine is now Vanara’s town."

"When Tara' heard the words he said Within the town he quickly sped, And brought, on stalwart shoulders laid, The litter for the rites arrayed, Framed like a car for Gods, complete With painted sides and royal seat, With latticed windows deftly made."

"About thee stands in mournful mood; A sore-afflicted multitude, And Tara and thy lords of state Around their monarch weep and wait. Arise my lord, with gentle speech, As was thy wont, dismissing each, Then in the forest will, we play. And love shall make our spirits gay, The Vanar dames raised Tara, drowned In floods of sorrow, from the ground;"

"With royal Ruma by his side, Or Tara yet a dearer bride, He spent each joyous day and night In revelry and wild delight, Like Indra whom the nymphs entice To taste the joys of Paradise."

"The king, untroubled by alarms, Held Tara in his amorous arms, And in the distant bower with her Heard not each clamorous messenger. Then, summoned at the lords' behest, Forth from the city portals pressed, Each like some elephant or cloud, The vanaras in a trembling crowd: Fierce warriors all with massive jaws... With eyes of furry Lakshman viewed."

"Son of Queen Tara, Angad ran To parley with the godlike man. Still fiery-eyed with rage and hate Stands Lakshman at the city gate, And trembling Vénars scarce can fly Scathed by the lightning of his eye. Go with thy son, thy kith and kin, The favour of prince to win And bow they revered head that so His fiery wrath may cease to glow."

"A faithful friend untouched by blame. May look upon another's dame. He passed within, by Tara pressed, And by his own impatient breast. Refulgent there in sun like sheen Sugriva on his throne was seen."

"He ceased: and Tara starry-eyed Thus to the angry prince replied : Not to my lord shouldst thou address A speech so fraught with bitterness: Not thus reproached my lord should be, And least of all, O Prince, by thee. He is no thankless coward – no- With spirit dead to valours glow."

"She ceased: And Laksmana gave assent, Won by her gentle argument So Tara's pleading, just and mild, His softening heart had reconciled. His altered mood Sugriva saw, And cast aside the fear and awe, Like raiment heavy with the rain, Which on his troubled soul had lain. Then quickly to the ground he threw His flowery garland bright of hue."

"Sugriva’s heart swelled high with pride As to the prince he thus replied:’Come we speed forth without delay': ’Tis mine thy mandate to obey’ Sugriva bade the dames adieu, And Tara and the rest withdrew. Then at their chieftain's summons came The Vénars first in rank and fame, A trusty brave and reverent band, Meet e'en before a queen to stand."

"Far southward, as his lord decreed, Wise Hanumén, the Wind-God's seed, With Angad his swift way pursued, And Tara's warlike multitude. Strong Vinata with all his band Betook him to the eastern land, And brave Sushen in eager quest Sped swiftly to the gloomy west."

"But Hanumén, while Tara, best Of splendid chiefs, his thought expressed, Perceived that Bali's princely son A kingdom for himself had won. His keen eye marked in him combined The warrior's arm, the ruler’s mind And every noble gift should grace."

"Go, you bow at Sugreeva’s feet, And in my name the Monarch greet. Before the sons of Raghu bend, And give the greeting that I send Greet kindly Ruma too, for she A son's affection claims from me, And gently calm with friendly care My mother Tara's wild despair; Or when she hears her darling's fate The queen will die disconsolate.' Thus Angad bade the chiefs adieu."

"Then Ruma his devoted wife For her dead lord will leave her life, And Tara, widowed and forlorn, Will die in anguish, sorrow-worn. On Angad too the blow will fall Killing the hope and joy of all. The ruin of their prince and king The V6nars' souls with woe will ring."

"Rama himself makes no effort at conciliation and hears no testimony from Vali. He simply passes judgment and assassinates him for taking Sugriva's wife even though Sugrlva had taken his wife Tara after blocking the mouth of the cave and assuming the throne in Kiskindha."

"Sanskrit transliteration IAST: sugrivah prapya kiskindharh nanadaughanibhasvanah; nasya tanmamrse vaii tam tara pratyasedhayat. sugrivah prapya kiskindham nanada."

"Purport in English: When we reached Kishkinda, Sugriva roared with a sound like a flood. Valin did not tolerate it from him. Tara checked him."

"Sanskrit transliteration IAST: cintayitva muhurtarh tu tara taradhipaprabha; patimityabravltprajna srnu sarvam kapisvara."

"Purport in English: Look, you [Tara] knowing the speech of all beings, endowed with intelligence! With whom as support this pseudo-brother of mine arrived?"

"Sanskrit transliteration IAST: garhayitva sa kakutstharh papata bhuvi murchitah; tara dadarsa tam bhumau tarapatimiva cyutam."

"Purport in English: He [Vali] censured the descendant of Kukustha (Rama) and fell on the ground unconscious. Tara saw him fallen on the ground like the lord of the stars."

"When Valin had been slain, Sugriva returned to Kiskindha and to her whose lord had fallen, Tara, whose face was like the lord of the stars."

"Of the five kanyas, none quite measure up to the standard of monogamous chastity, commended so overwhelmingly in our culture. Each has had either an extra-marital relationship or more than one husband. Of this group three – Ahalya, Tara, and Mandodari – belong to the Ramayana, the epic composed by Valmiki, the first seer-poet."

"In the Mahabharata she is called sarvabhutarutajna, able to understand the language of all creatures. In the Kishkindha Kanda of the Ramayana, we see her warning Vali against Sugriva when he comes to challenge Vali for the second time."

"Appearances are deceptive, she [Tara] points out; normally no contestant returns to the field so soon after having been soundly thrashed. Moreover, she says, she has heard that Rama, prince of Ayodhya, has befriended him. She urges Vali to anoint Sugriva as the crown prince and live in peace with him. Vali, in the Mahabharata account, suspects that Tara might be favouring Sugriva and therefore rejects her advice."

"By brushing aside her wise warning, he walks into Rama’s arrow, as he himself admits while he lies dying. He pays a fine tribute to his wife, imploring Ram to ensure that tapasvinim Tara is not insulted by Sugriva and advising Sugriva to follow Tara’s advice unquestioningly. She is skilled, he says, in assessing a situation and deciding what action should be taken; she never judges the merit of anything wrongly."

"After Vali’s fall, Tara not only rallies the fleeing subjects, but also shows great political sagacity. When Hanuman asks her to stop grieving and place her son Angada on the throne, she refuses, since, with his uncle Sugriva alive, this would be inadvisable. Then she rushes to Rama and, in an extremely forceful speech, demands that he kill her too. The strength of her personality in facing up to the prince of Ayodhya is strikingly portrayed. In Krittibas’ Bengali Ramayana, Tara curses Rama to be slain by Vali in a future birth. This is confirmed in the Mahanataka and the Ananda Ramayana where the hunter who causes Krishna’s death is Vali reborn. In several vernacular versions of the epic, Tara also curses Rama that he will not be able to enjoy the company of Sita for long. Tara’s upbraiding elicits Rama’s assurance that Sugriva will protect both her and her son’s rights. To ensure that her son Angada is not deprived of his father’s throne, she becomes her brother-in-law Sugriva’s consort."

"When Lakshmana storms into the inner apartments of Kishkindha, to upbraid Sugriva who has reneged on his promise to track down Sita, it is Tara who is sent by the terrified Sugriva to tackle this rage-incarnate. Approaching Lakshmana with intoxicated, half-closed eyes and unsteady gait, lovely, slim, unashamed, Tara effectively disarms him. She gently reprimands him for being unaware of lust’s overwhelming power that overthrows the most ascetic of sages, whereas Sugriva is a mere vanara (a forest dweller). When he abuses Sugriva, Tara fearlessly intervenes, pointing out that the rebuke is unjustified and details all the efforts already made to gather an army. Once again, as when tendering advice to Vali, Tara displays her superb ability to marshal information and to intervene in a crisis. Thus, she acts as Sugriva’s shield while ensuring that her son Angada becomes the crown prince. In the Mahabharata there is an interesting statement in the Vana Parva that Vali and Sugriva fought over a woman. Surely that woman was the remarkable Tara for, the Ramayana tells us, when attendants report Lakshmana’s arrival, Sugriva is so engrossed in Tara (and not his original wife Ruma) that he remains oblivious to the news."

"In the Balinese dance Kebyar, Rama helps Sugriva get his lover, Dewi Tara, back from his brother, SuVali. In both the Nrisimha Purana and the Mahanataka, Tara is actually Sugriva’s wife whom Vali forcibly took away."

"The Telegu Ranganatha Ramayana has an even more interesting account of Tara’s origins that aligns her more closely with Ahalya, by also depicting her as not born of woman. In this account, Tara is said to have emerged along with the other apsaras during the churning of the ocean for amrita, the nectar of immortality. Tara was then gifted to Vali and Sugriva for the help they had given the gods. Subsequently, Sugriva married Sushena’s daughter Ruma."

"The earliest bearer of the name Tara is the wife of Brihaspati who runs away with his disciple Chandra, causing the Tarakamaya war between the devas and their stepbrothers, the asuras. The name Tara, therefore, carries an aura of internecine strife. Tara, like Helen with Paris, let herself be ruled by her preferences, ignoring social conventions in choosing to leave her ascetic husband for the young and irresistibly handsome Chandra. Even after the war, when the devas and the asuras fight again over possession of her son, it is she who has the last word. As this second war is inconclusive, Brahma himself requests Tara to declare who is the father of her son. Once again, Tara chooses to announce the truth instead of hiding behind the safety of conventions and declares that Chandra, not Brihaspati, is the father. That is how she becomes the ancestress of the Lunar dynasty, the Chandra Vamsa, whose fortunes are the stuff of Vyasa’s epic."

"Tara is the name of the second of the Ten Mahavidyas (the ten Transcendental Wisdoms). Erich Neumann, while discussing the highest form of the feminine archetype, the Goddess of Spiritual Transformation, views Tara as the highest evolution of this universal aspect of consciousness. Her name signifies both ‘star’ and ‘the pupil of the eye’, conveying the idea of a focal point, which suggests that Tara is in some manner a very concentrated essence. We can also interpret her name as coming from the causative form of the verb t.’r, meaning ‘to cross’, ‘to traverse’ or ‘to escape’. Like Draupadi, as we shall see later, Tara is ‘she who ferries across’, ‘she who saves’. Indeed, by her intrepidactions Tara, the wife of Vali, saves the kingdom and her son from ruin."

"Tara and Mandodari are parallels. Both offer sound advice to their husbands who recklessly reject it and suffer the ultimately responsible for the deaths of their husbands. Thereby, they are able to keep their kingdoms strong and prosperous as allies of Ayodhya, and they are able to continue to have a say in governance. Tara and Mandodari can never be described as shadows of such strong personalities as Vali and Ravana."

"Draupadi’s motherlessness seems to be carried forward into her own lack of maternal feelings. Her five sons are not even nurtured by her. She sends them to Panchala and follows her husbands into exile to ensure that the wounds of injustice and insult inflicted upon them and herself remain ever fresh."

"Draupadi had hoped to find her missing mother in her mother-in-law, she is tragically deceived, as Kunti thrusts her into a polyandrous marriage that exposes her to salacious gossip reaching a horrendous climax in Karna declaring her a whore whose being clothed or naked is immaterial."

"The aggressive behavior of Draupadi can be seen as a powerful defense mechanism, a means by which she can express feelings of rejection and depression that have developed out of her frustrations at the inability or unwillingness of her husbands to act in her defense."

"The dicing match, the lament to Vasudeva Krsna, the conversation with Satyabhama, the abduction by Jayadratha, and the episode in Virata’s court, all depict Draupadi as an aggressive and dynamic character. In these episodes she is effectively contrasted with her cautious and ineffectual husband Yudhisthira and his subservient, although less passive, younger brothers Bhimasena and Arjuna."

"He [Bhima] swears to defend her. He devises a plan: Draupadi is to arrange an assignation with the love-sick prince, but Bhima, disguised as a woman, will meet Kicaka in her place. The plan is carried out, and in an unusual and amusing, if somewhat grisly, confrontation, Bhima meets and finally kills Kicaka."

"How can you, Partha [Bhima], slayer of enemies think me happy, overcome by hundreds of troubles on account of Yudhisthira."

"On account of that gambler [Yudhishtira], I am a cleaning woman for Sudesna... wandering around the king’s palace in the guise of aSairandhri woman."

"No one but Bhima will carry out today that which is dear to my heart."