Was Ravana virtuous because he didn’t violate Sita forcibly?

Answer Podcast

Transcript

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Thank you.
Any other questions? Question. Was Ravana virtuous because he did not violate Sita, although she was with him for nearly one year? Answer. No, his not violating Sita was not out of virtue.
It was out of necessity. Ravana had very little if any virtues. He had, after he got benedictions from Brahma and Shiva, he went on a rampage all over the universe, destroying kings, destroying kings, killing, murdering them in cold blood, usurping the universal order and thereafter creating confusion everywhere.
And he tormented the gods and wherever he saw beautiful women, he either abducted them so that they would become a part of his harem or he violated them. So at one time when he was coursing through the heavens, he saw the celestial nymph Rambha and she was extremely beautiful and his lust was awakened. And he immediately descended and he approached her.
Then Rambha saw the lusty gleam in his eyes. She folded her hand in front of him. He told him that I am the wife of Nala Kuvera and he is the son of Kuvera.
So I am like your nephew. I am your nephew’s wife. So Ravana had no interest in any such relationships.
If he were to violate her, it would be something close to incest. But when Rambha saw that he had no intention to resist, she tried to flee. But Ravana caught her and forcibly violated her.
So when after his lust had been sated, he let her go and she went crying to her husband. When her husband came to know about it, now he did not have enough power to counter attack and kill Ravana. But he told, he cursed that using whatever power he had that if ever again you violate a woman, if ever again you forcibly violate a woman, you will fall dead at that very moment.
Now when Ravana heard this, initially he was dismissive. But then when he thought about it, although he considered himself extremely powerful, practically the most powerful in the whole universe, he knew that there were some things which were far more powerful than him and he had got his power by appeasing higher powers. So he realized that this curse could be very very real and he would die if he tried to violate a woman.
At that time he arrogantly thought that no woman would be as foolish as Rambha and any woman she would, because he was so powerful, he thought I am so handsome that any woman if flattered and cursed adequately, she will herself give herself to me. So after that also he went on abducting many women and increasing his harem. But eventually when the women saw that they had no alternative, they gave themselves to him.
But when he abducted Sita, what did he do? His whole plan was centered on getting Sita to consent. Not because he wanted to have a loving relationship with her, but simply because he knew that if he tried to violate her, he would die. So what did he do? He avoided a direct fight with Ram, firstly because he was afraid of the might of Ram.
Knowing that Ram had a Sangal and killed 14,000 soldiers. But he also did not want to have that confrontational sort of attitude while approaching Sita. He wanted to allure her and that’s why when he first came to her in the garb of a sage and then after that when he saw her beauty and was completely captivated, he started bragging about his strength and his beauty and how he had a golden city.
And he tried to allure Sita by saying that he would offer her a hole. He would offer to make her his chief queen. Sita was sickened by this and revolted by this.
At that time he decided to abduct Sita. Even when he abducted her, his intention was to get her to submit. So then as soon as they landed, he took her on a grand tour of his palace and showed all the opulences that were there, again hoping that she would become attracted to him.
And then when she absolutely refused to stay in the palace and he decided to keep her in a forest. So when she was in the forest, if it was his virtue that had stopped him from violating her, that virtue could have very well, when he saw that she was unwilling, he could have returned her back to Ram. If it had been virtue, then why did he have his Rakshasis who were often hideously shaped and they would threaten her.
And Ramana threatened her that I will give you one year within which if you don’t submit to me, I will have you for my breakfast. Just look at how brutal attitude is it. Virtue to threaten a woman that I will consume her.
After all he was a Rakshasa. So he was not just a carnivore, he was a cannibal. So he could very well have carried out that threat.
So he waited for one year without touching Sita because he could not violate her physically without being alive. And he wanted to threaten her, frighten her and thereby get her to submit. So that one year period which he gave was not because of any concern for Sita but because he felt that if I just kill Sita, I would not get an opportunity to satisfy my lust.
So if for one year I keep threatening her and if others keep threatening her and then I keep alluring her, then that way gradually she will weaken in her resolve to stay faithful to Ram and she will submit to me. So the whole sinister conspiracy to abduct her behind Ram’s back and then to allure her and then to threaten her, Ravana adopted what is called in police they call a good cop, bad cop. Two cops come to a prisoner and the bad cop comes and confesses that you did this.
Bang! He beats him and then he is bleeding and the good cop comes along and says that Oh, I will, I will. Oh, he did beat you so much. Why did he beat you? Oh, so bad, so bad.
No, he is a very, very, he is a terrible person. I want to help you but you should at least, you should tell something, give some information. Then I will be able to calm him down and I will be able to pacify him and then he will not beat you like this.
So this, both the good cop, bad cop routine, the purpose primarily is to get the prisoner to confess and to give some information. So like that, the rakshasis around Sita were like the bad cops and Ravana himself often would appear like the good cop. He said, Oh, why are you giving up everything? I will give you everything.
Just come to me. So basically the whole thing that Ravana did was not out of virtue, it was out of lust. And because he could not satisfy his lust, so he tried to do all these things by which he could hope to get Sita somehow or the other.
Thank you.