Reading Notes: Devee's Uttara and Sati
The stories I read this week both dealt with the grief from losing a spouse.
Uttara becomes a widow when her husband Abhimanyu is killed during the great war in the Mahabharata. She is consistently referenced as child-like and innocent, which is honestly somewhat creepy throughout the story. The child-bride is widowed still carrying a child, and she ages considerably throughout the events of the story. This was a horribly depressing story. Her life ends only after her mother convinces her to stay alive and not immolate herself quite yet, as she needs to raise her son first.
Siva-Mahadeva, known also as the Shiva, ultimately loses his wife Sati through an elaborate culmination of in-law drama. I liked this story much better, and there were several elements I found very interesting.
Sati was very devout for a child; her piety and worship of Siva caught his attention early in her life, and she grew up knowing that they were meant to be together. Over her father's protests, they were married and lived happily in the Garden of Kailash.
Her death was bizarre. Her father, feeling scorned by her husband, chose not to invite the couple to an exclusive party he hosted. Sati attends anyway, and her father loses his temper and rebukes her marriage and her husband. She cannot agree, and after calling his speech unworthy of a human brain, wastes away in a refusal to live in a world where her father would dare insult her husband. While not stated in this story, there are strong associations here with the obscure practice "Sati."
Siva explodes in anger, takes her body, and runs amok throughout the world destroying all he comes across. His rage only cools after Vishnu chops up Sati's dead body and scatters the fifty-two pieces throughout the earth.
Supposedly, each piece of Sati's body consecrated the earth it fell upon, and temples to Shiva have been erected at several of these sites. I would love to read more about this story (from other sources too), and could see several fun ways to expand on some of the ideas here. What if some enterprising soul tried to reunite the pieces of Sati? A crazed wanna-be archaeologist travels the world adding mummified bits from each shrine to his collection of Sati? Or a doomsday cult who believes that putting Sati back together would unleash the wrath of Shiva all over again?
On a less morbid note, Sati did manage to turn her father's head into that of a goat by speech alone (see image, bottom left). How did his loyal subjects react to this transformation? Did he continue ruling, or did he find himself forced to abdicate? Could a population be effectively governed by a goat-headed monarch?
Bibleography
Nine Ideal Indian Women, Sunity Devee
Uttara becomes a widow when her husband Abhimanyu is killed during the great war in the Mahabharata. She is consistently referenced as child-like and innocent, which is honestly somewhat creepy throughout the story. The child-bride is widowed still carrying a child, and she ages considerably throughout the events of the story. This was a horribly depressing story. Her life ends only after her mother convinces her to stay alive and not immolate herself quite yet, as she needs to raise her son first.
Siva-Mahadeva, known also as the Shiva, ultimately loses his wife Sati through an elaborate culmination of in-law drama. I liked this story much better, and there were several elements I found very interesting.
Sati was very devout for a child; her piety and worship of Siva caught his attention early in her life, and she grew up knowing that they were meant to be together. Over her father's protests, they were married and lived happily in the Garden of Kailash.
Her death was bizarre. Her father, feeling scorned by her husband, chose not to invite the couple to an exclusive party he hosted. Sati attends anyway, and her father loses his temper and rebukes her marriage and her husband. She cannot agree, and after calling his speech unworthy of a human brain, wastes away in a refusal to live in a world where her father would dare insult her husband. While not stated in this story, there are strong associations here with the obscure practice "Sati."
Siva explodes in anger, takes her body, and runs amok throughout the world destroying all he comes across. His rage only cools after Vishnu chops up Sati's dead body and scatters the fifty-two pieces throughout the earth.
Lord Shiva and Sati, Uddhav Deshpande
Image Source: Pinterest
Supposedly, each piece of Sati's body consecrated the earth it fell upon, and temples to Shiva have been erected at several of these sites. I would love to read more about this story (from other sources too), and could see several fun ways to expand on some of the ideas here. What if some enterprising soul tried to reunite the pieces of Sati? A crazed wanna-be archaeologist travels the world adding mummified bits from each shrine to his collection of Sati? Or a doomsday cult who believes that putting Sati back together would unleash the wrath of Shiva all over again?
On a less morbid note, Sati did manage to turn her father's head into that of a goat by speech alone (see image, bottom left). How did his loyal subjects react to this transformation? Did he continue ruling, or did he find himself forced to abdicate? Could a population be effectively governed by a goat-headed monarch?
Bibleography
Nine Ideal Indian Women, Sunity Devee
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