Why did Rama do such a thing? Was he excessively reputation-conscious? Did he abandon Sita just because he didn’t want his good name sullied by having a wife suspected to be impure? But if he had been so obsessed with his reputation, then why did he not remarry after sending Sita away? A king overly concerned about appearances would want a trophy queen by his side being a queen-less king was hardly a reputation-enhancer.Īs a wealthy, powerful emperor, Rama could have married anyone of his choice. A man’s abandoning his pregnant wife because of an unproven accusation seems troublingly wrong.
Rama’s forsaking Sita is the Ramayana’s most challenged and most challenging incident.
