DEMYSTIFYING URMILA:

A FEMINIST READING OF SITA’S SISTER

Josephine Sneha T.* &

E. Arokya Shylaja**

Abstract
The mythical tales are often male-centric and there is a constant
glorification of male characters. Only a handful of female characters
are glorified to suit the needs of the male-dominated world. Rewriting
Indian mythology is a tool handled by modern female writers to throw
light upon the lesser-known female characters and their perspectives.
Sita’s Sister speaks about Urmila who is misunderstood and suppressed
in the Ramayana. Urmila not only voices for herself but also for other
women around her thereby proving her scholarship. The present
paper carries out a meticulous exploration of the voyage of Urmila
from a sheltered princess to a scholar.
Keywords: Female perspective, Indian mythology, rewriting
mythology, Kavita Kane, Urmila

The Ramayana is one of the greatest epics penned by Valmiki and it

is an integral part of the Indian culture for ages. It has been stated
in a book that “Ramayana holds different meanings for different
audiences” (Bose 2004:3). The story of the Ramayana propagates the
conquest of good over evil. The ideologies mentioned are revered
even in modern times. For a long time both the Indian epics were
used as a tool to educate the own community. Because the epics
offer different insights about the social norms and moral order to be
followed. Moreover, almost all the epics have interlinked narratives
within thereby offering a great canvas of the story to be woven.

*Ph.D. Scholar in English, Bishop Appasamy College of Arts and Science,

Coimbatore, India.
** Assistant Professor of English, Bishop Appasamy College of Arts and Science,
Coimbatore, India.
70  shss XXIX, NUMBER 1, SUMMER 2022

Speaking of the epics, certain characters are presented in high

esteem like – Ram, Lakshman, Krishna, Arjun, etc.
The Indian epics are praised for their grand narratives which
include war techniques and episodes of battles leaving no space
for the female figures. Apart from the male heroes, only Sita and
Draupadi are glorified in the ballads and verses for many centuries.
Even their episodes are confined to the duties that are supposed to
be performed by an ideal wife. Moreover, it is rightly pointed out
that the female characters are given passive roles such as “dutiful
daughters, obedient wives, who should always be completely devoted
to husbands and stand by them in every situation” (Mohanty & Das
2016:1621). Both Draupadi and Sita are praised but at times are
considered as casus belli for which they are even criticised brutally.
The female characters in the epics were suppressed, blamed,
abducted, raped or discriminated in one way or the other. The
female voices are repressed and there is ultimately no space to voice
their opinions. Majority of the female characters are forgotten as
time passes by. Writers like Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Anuja
Chandramouli and Kavita Kane render a re-writing of the epics that
appears to be a modern technique. Their novels put forth the views
of women characters that were trampled under the feet of patriarchy.
The above-mentioned writers present the contemporary issues like
gender discrimination, violence against women, and feminism
through the stories written in the past century.
Kavita Kane is a novelist who is best known for her feministic
writings. She began her career as a columnist, screenplay writer and
orator. She extended her writing career by penning novels based on
lesser-known characters from the legendary tales. Her novels revolve
around feministic ideals and modern concepts. Kavita Kane sculpts
the characters whose troubles and turmoil were barely recorded due
to the space occupied by the male characters in the original epics.
Rewriting mythical tales through different perspectives gave rise to
healthy discussion and she made sure that the limelight falls on the
neglected characters too. “The story of mythical characters is no
more that of Gods and Goddesses, Kane portrays them as flesh and
blood human beings” (Mondal & Lavanya 2019: 295).
Kavita Kane renders her fictions based on the marginalised
characters in the epic. The grand narrative is spun through the
marginalised characters who register their personal opinion and
experience. Kavita Kane has condensed the epics through the lens of
Urmila, Menaka, Surpanaka, Ahalya, Satyavati and Uruvi so far. The
harsh reality of the society is presented through her protagonists
 Demystifying Urmila 71

without any filters. Two researchers mention the protagonists of

Kavita Kane as those, “who encountered all the odds and came out
as a self-willed and boisterous woman giving an execrable time to her
antagonists” (Bisht & Saxena 2020: 5172).
Kavita Kane in her second novel, Sita’s Sister (2014) gives voice
to Urmila who is either ignored or misunderstood. Urmila is often
chided as a wife who decided to stay in a luxurious palace and as
a wife who failed to accompany her husband during exile. Kavita
Kane revisits the Ramayana from the perspective of Urmila thereby
clearing an aura of misunderstanding revolving around her. Kavita’s
work emits the views of women who exist in a patriarchal society and
those who pay the price of it as well. In a fiction titled, Urmila there
is a special mention about the protagonist as “An Urmila everyone
knew but no one remembered” (Saket 2016: 43). Though everyone
identifies Urmila as Sita’s sister no one remembers her journey which
is why Kavita dedicates an entire book to voice out her agonies.
The classical version of the Ramayana presents Urmila as someone
who was married to Lakshman just because her parents arranged
it for political reasons. Moreover, when she wanted to accompany
her husband during the exile, she was denied by her husband.
Lakshman gives her the task to take care of his family during his
absence which is obeyed by Urmila just as a dutiful wife. When the
trio was in exile, the God of sleep approached Lakshman as he needs
to keep an eye on Ram and Sita without rest. Goddess of sleep being
impressed by his devotion stated that someone has to sleep instead
of him so as to balance the law of nature. The original epic states that
Urmila agrees to sleep for fourteen years so that her husband can
stay awake and guard Ram and Sita. After which Urmila goes into a
deep slumber for fourteen years and there is no description about
her until Lakshman returns to the palace to wake her up when Ram
is crowned as the King.
The modern female writers, especially Kavita Kane feels that
Urmila has a major role to play in the epic but then she was pushed
aside so that others are glorified. If Urmila was taken to the forest or
if Lakshman stayed in the palace then the entire storyline would have
turned out differently. Instead of treating the characters like Urmila
and Kaikeyi as pawns, the modern writers wanted to give them the
space to express themselves. Urmila suppressed her pain and stays
in the palace without accompanying her husband. Urmila stayed in
the palace living a life of a celibate. A researcher suggests about the
plight of female community as that “the woman has a passive role
in choosing her life decisions” (Devi 2020: 263). Unfortunately, her
72  shss XXIX, NUMBER 1, SUMMER 2022

glory is spoken of rarely and her sacrifice is not even mentioned.

Therefore, Kavita sculpts Urmila in such a manner that she
voices her rights in the male-dominated Ayodhya. Urmila grabs the
opportunity to voice up her opinions and performs a pivotal role
equal to Ram in the epic. Urmila is presented as a powerful character
who is daring enough to question the entire system laid by the male
community which benefits only a particular gender. Urmila was born
in Mithila and lives with Sita, Mandavi and Kirti. Even though the
four sisters grew up together, they have different perspectives about
themselves and life. Urmila in her childhood is already well versed in
politics, music and arts. Urmila also appears to be an overprotective
sister. Her love and devotion towards Sita remain strong though
her parents treat Sita as a godly figure in their household. Urmila
though begins her life as a cloistered princess, she does not seek
acknowledgement for her acts. This makes her unique from her
other three sisters.
There is a transformation within her when she sees Lakshman
for the first time with Ram. Ram has visited the swayamvar in order
to win Sita as per the instructions from a reverend sage. Lakshman
has escorted him and he often meets Urmila who accompanies Sita.
Though Urmila loves Lakshman her affection towards Sita remains
strong. There is one incident where a monster in the guise of Sita
enters the palace but luckily Lakshman kills it. Urmila who witnessed
the scene thought Lakshman has murdered her dearest sister and was
ready to kill him that instant. Urmila loves her sisters and considers
them as her pillars of strength. Urmila remains loyal to all her sisters
even after marriage and she indeed holds them together which their
husbands couldn’t achieve. Mandavi credits Urmila in the novel as a
“binding spirit” (Kane 2014: 238).
Though everyone stayed in the palace of Ayodhya for years, it was
only Urmila who finds the crooked attitude and behaviour of the
maid Manthara who has been poisoning the mind of Queen Kaikeyi
for a long time. Urmila’s observant nature deserves appreciation
and she dodges the bullet when Manthara tries to poison her mind.
Urmila expresses her concern about the maid, “In such a short
time, she was able to poison the mind of both Sita and Mandavi,
so I cannot imagine the damage she must have done in all these
years” (Kane 2014: 118). The entire palace and people in Ayodhya
pointed their finger at Kaikeyi for manipulating King Dasrath but
fails to identify the root cause. Urmila finds that Kaikeyi’s distrust of
men was widely utilised by Manthara who predominantly used her as
a pawn to separate the four brothers- Ram, Lakshman, Bharat and
Shatrunghna.
 Demystifying Urmila 73

Kaikeyi creates chaos every time she meets Sita and throws a
tantrum that Ram was supposed to marry someone else. Sita on
hearing this appears to be calm and remains submissive to accept the
decision of her husband. Urmila loses her patience and motivates
Sita to stand up for herself. Urmila rightly points out that Ram would
never remarry due to his love for Sita but his other roles might
demand him to comply. Eventually, the observation of Urmila comes
true when Ram chooses his kingly role and does not stand in favour
of Sita when a chastity trial was conducted for her. It is one of the
most heart-breaking moments in the epic but the society finds its
own ways and means to glorify it. Urmila sees what others fail to
notice.
When Urmila realises that Lakshman has made up his mind to go
on an exile with Ram, she feels rejected by her husband. Her sister
Sita was arguing with Ram so that he agrees to take her with him
but she failed to think about the plight of Urmila. Even Lakshman
was thinking about the preparations to be done for their fourteen
years of exile and never asked for any opinion or suggestions from
his wife. Urmila does not want to present herself as a nagging wife
and so she hardens her heart to face reality. Urmila bids farewell
to her husband just like a warrior princess. Not even a single soul
in the palace tries to convince Lakshman to either stay or to take
Urmila along. Urmila has suffered the most by the decision of Sita
and Lakshman yet she decides not to interfere in their discussion:

Urmila’s first instinctive reaction had been a flood of hurt for being
rejected by both her husband and sister, followed by a deep and bitter
anger. They had not considered her at all, each intent on getting what
they wanted. She felt betrayed, left out and let down. Her grievance was
more against Lakshman than Sita. For Sita, there was reserved envy-
another unfamiliar feeling- that she could accompany her husband to the
forest; Urmila could not. Her husband had rejected the option outright.
There was the guilt for harbouring such disagreeable scepticism towards
the people she treasured the most. (Kane 2014: 142)

Bharat on his return realises the treacherous game played by

his mother to crown him as the next King of Ayodhya. Bharat fails
to convince Ram to return to the palace and so he himself takes
a crucial decision which might affect Mandavi’s life as well. Being
a loyal brother, he decides to serve Nandigram as a hermit for
fourteen years in order to attain penance. Urmila is shocked that her
sister Mandavi is about to meet a similar fate as hers. Urmila lets out
her anger by questioning the dharma of a husband to her wife. In a
research article it is noted, “Ramayana regards dharma, one’s duty as
74  shss XXIX, NUMBER 1, SUMMER 2022

more important than one’s emotions”(Mahulikar 2003: 3). Everyone

in Ayodhya was glorifying Ram for fulfilling the dharma to his father
and Sita for fulfilling her dharma to her husband but nobody speaks
about the dharma of a husband to his wife.
The royal mother and the priest did their level best to silence her
but Urmila lashes out at them all. She argues that nobody dared
to stop Kaikeyi, when she received those manipulative boons from
Dasrath or when Sita decided to go on an exile because the royal
house concentrates only on the public image. Urmila confronts the
patriarchal society that sees women as submissive and thinks it is
normal for the female community to undergo the pains inflicted by
their spouse. The audience around her began to suppress her and
threw glares upon her. It is pointed out that Ayodhya treats women
badly which is why Urmila in the novel states, “Mithila does not treat
women shabbily” (Kane 2014: 223).The plight of women is that they,
“were not only deprived of education and financial independence,
they also had to struggle against a male ideology condemning them
to virtual silence and obedience” (Habib 2015: 667).
Kaushalya appears to be the unhappiest person in the palace who
did not miss the chance to complain about her plight of losing her
dearest Ram. Though nobody pays attention to her cries or hues, it
is Urmila who tries to comfort her. Kaushalya has suicidal thoughts
but Urmila makes her understand that it is not solely Kaikeyi’s fault
but it is the fault of everyone who dare not intervene when Manthara
ruined the peace or when there was initial strife between the three
queens in the palace. They have failed to heal the small wounds which
have become a visible scar thereby disrupting everyone’s life. Urmila
makes the people in the palace understand that instead of blaming
others it is better to think and act rationally. A study mentions that
unlike Urmila’s other sisters, she never threw hatred upon anybody;
instead, she “expressed great patience and understanding and
accepted things as they were” (Yadav 2018: 30).
The contrasting nature of Urmila and Mandavi becomes evident
once their respective spouses went into exile. Mandavi who was jovial
and light-hearted eventually turned into someone who was consumed
by hatred. Mandavi finds it complicated to divert her mind and fails
to do something productive with her life. Instead,she hated Bharat
for bestowing such a tormenting life upon her. The conversation
between Urmila and Mandavi reveals that Mandavi regrets her
decision to marry Bharat and blames her ambition to become the
queen. Mandavi’s innermost tormented thoughts baffled Urmila.
Urmila is empathetic towards Mandavi but at the same time she
acknowledges the unjust treatment of fate. Eventually, Urmila frees
 Demystifying Urmila 75

her from the “maddening pain” (Kane2014: 237) by asking Mandavi

to invest her time in something else.
It was Kirti out of the four sisters who was with her husband but
even she could not be entirely happy because of Shatrunghna’s
responsibilities. But Mandavi alerts Urmila saying that even Kirti has
her share of grief, pain and humiliation. Even Kirti’s husband has
to stay in the court for longer hours to look at the state affairs for it
was his duty to prevent anarchy. Rarely hevisited the chambers of his
wife and they maintained distance so that the other princess will not
remember the absence of their husbands. Urmila invested her time
in reading the Vedas, Upanishads, music, arts and literature. Urmila
fills the void of marital bliss with that of arts and tries to instil the
same thoughts to others in the palace so that they can patiently wait
for Ram’s return.
Urmila wanted to pursue knowledge even before she met
Lakshman. It was the age-old tradition that prevented her from
travelling to different places to pursue knowledge. Her father made
it mandatory to take her to seminars and conferences so that she
could gain something she wished for. Her belief in intellectual thirst
helped her to preserve her sanity during the absence of her loved
ones. Urmila does her best to be the peacemaker in her house and
she succeeds as well. Her bold stand helps to reunite the broken
family. It was her tremendous efforts and decisions that help the
family to hold together. Urmila knew the importance of family
which is why despite the hardships; she works for the welfare of her
devastated family.
Urmila proves herself as a dutiful daughter-in-law and also a good
administrator in Ayodhya. Her active participation in the state affairs
during tough times is noteworthy. Shatrunghna himself wishes for
her direct assistance when it comes to managing the financial affairs
of Ayodhya. As the Gurus were a bit indifferent to her when she
opposed Bharat’s decision to live like a hermit, they eventually
acknowledged her intellectual capability. Though Ayodhya was not
cordial to her in the beginning, they began to welcome her as she
was the only solace for the commoners too. Urmila’s adaptability to
take up the role of a modern administrator where she manages both
political and state affair gains her a wide range of respect amongst
the public. She manages to simplify certain tasks for Shatrunghna so
that he can spend some quality time with Kirti.
Finally, all her tears and troubles are paid back when she receives
an invitation from her father to attend a conference. The best part
is that Urmila was not invited as an audience but as an “acclaimed
scholar” (Kane 2014: 264) so that she can meet and interact with the
76  shss XXIX, NUMBER 1, SUMMER 2022

renowned scholars from various part of the country. It was definitely

her multitasking ability which made her focus on learning despite
the hardships in her personal life. This enriched learning experience
has made her a scholar who got the opportunity to indulge in healthy
debates and discussions with the learned men all around the world.
The growth of Kavita’s protagonist:
Urmila had grown from being a curious student to an exemplary one
to be finally acknowledged as a pandit, a learned scholar, who by long,
perseverant study had gained mastery over the Vedas and Upanishads
and could proficiently debate on religion and philosophy with the most
learned sages. (Kane 2014:265)

It is evident that women being a part of a political or learned

discussion were something that developed after the waves of
feminism. But Kavita Kane has lifted Urmila above all the traditional
versions which caged her as a cloistered princess. Kavita’s rendition
has brought forth the suppressed voice of minor characters like
Kaikeyi, Mandavi and Koushalya who are given the platform to speak
their heartfelt sorrows as well. Throughout the novel, the male
characters dismiss almost all the women in their lives without an
iota of remorse. It is Urmila who interacts with everyone and tries
to balm their tormented soul with her rationality and affection. The
hidden voice and life of Urmila are brought to the stage by adding
contemporary circumstances to make her emerge as a stronger
woman. Additionally, Urmila addresses contemporary issues and
paves a path for the emancipation of women in the longer run.
Urmila on hearing about Sita’s abduction felt distressed for her
and tried to send search party for rescue. When Ram successfully
manages to bring her back, she was devastated to hear that Sita
humiliated Lakshman when he stopped her from leaving the ashram.
Urmila readily forgives Sita knowing that she herself was suffering
from guilt and embarrassment. Urmila appears to be a true soul
bereft of selfishness. Though certain characters appear to express
their jealousy, grudges and their evil self, it is Urmila who remains
the same and makes the most out of any situation and assists other to
reach their destination. A unique perspective is provided about the
forgotten princess:
Urmila’s loss and sacrifice were never acknowledged. A woman neither
celibate nor a widow but forced to live like both while being a married
woman. Destined to spend fourteen years of her youth, a large part of
her grihastha life, childless and without a grihastha. When streamlined
into a solitary perspective, it sounded like the biggest tragedy of the
Ramayana. (Dewan 2021: 408)
 Demystifying Urmila 77

Urmila’s feminism echoes louder when she opposes Ram for

conducting agnipariksha. Urmila is also angered when Sita blindly
follows the impositions of Ram. Though Mandavi and Kirti try to
pacify her by reminding her of Ram’s duties to the citizens, Urmila
condemns Ram’s actions as heights of hypocrisy. Urmila goes to the
extent of proving that Ram did not obey his citizens when they wanted
him to cancel the exile but when the same citizens demanded chastity
test for her sister, he has obliged without considering the plight of
Sita. This is one of the major reasons Urmila openly condemns all
the four brothers, “If you could not keep the vows you made to
your wives, why did you brothers marry? You may be the best of the
princes, the perfect sons, the ideal brothers, probably the ideal king
too, but never the good husband!” (Kane 2014: 140).
The modern writers acknowledge the strife and sufferings of the
forgotten female characters. Instead of portraying these characters
as a victim or villain, they choose to present them as a leader. Kavita
Kane could easily write a tragic tale that could showcase Urmila as
a lamenting figure. Instead, the modern female writers prefer to
pen the politics of each character and the decision taken by them
in times of turmoil (Dewan 2021: 411). As a result, Urmila towers
as a personality who stood for sisterhood rather than romantic love.
There is much emphasis on women writing, “when as women we start
owning these stories of other women, it is then they start becoming
our own” (Dewan 2021:411).
Though the original epic does not highlight Urmila as a great
personality the modern Indian writers claim that her sacrifice needs
recognition. The invaluable deeds of the characters have to be voiced
so that they receive due respect which was denied in the original
epics. Though the old story is retained the change in perspective
and narration proves to be an ultimate game changer in the case of
Urmila and Sita. Few of them have recorded their opinion about the
marvellous transformation of the old story:
It is like looking at the same mountain from a different angle of vision-
the whole appearance, the stature and the elegance, the pinnacles
touching the sky, the foam- like clouds floating around and even the
play of light and shade on the peaks, alter and change. It is the same
mountains in the very same setting but an amazing transformation of
view occurs. (Nair 2015: 70- 71)

Moreover, it was Urmila’s selfless nature that assisted the frontline

characters to achieve their dharma positively. The sacrifice of Urmila
is incomparable and unattainable. Urmila proves herself to be a silent
warrior in the epic who supported the central characters like Ram,
78  shss XXIX, NUMBER 1, SUMMER 2022

Sita and Lakshman to win their battles. Her dedication and love are
noteworthy but Kavita Kane gives her a larger platform to fly high
and paint her portrait which was denied in the past. The concept
of rewriting is approved by researchers as, “Using mythology as a
background, foregrounding the condition of women in a patriarchal
social order, the novelist Kavita Kane highlights the quest of women
for their identity as a dominant theme of this novel” (Mondal &
Lavanya 2019: 295). Thus, using the canvas of mythology, Kavita has
painted Urmila as a strong-willed warrior.
Therefore, the paper successfully explores the pivotal role played
by the protagonist Urmila in shaping the plot and the subsequent
turn of events and incidents in the novel. Various incidents in the
fiction portray Urmila as the unsung hero of the epic, which is
contrary to what the traditional epic has painted her. She is not a
passive princess; instead, she is a scholar who is learned and skilful
to have conversations even with the learned sages. The sacrifices
of Urmila and the support she lend in Ayodhya are forgotten and
unacknowledged. Kavita Kane has done a herculean task of giving
voice to the marginalised characters and also uses them as her
mouthpiece to raise questions against the patriarchal norms. Almost
all the female characters like Urmila, Sita, Kaikeyi, Kaushalya,
Mandavi and Kirti receive what is given to them and not what is
sown. This shows how the female characters were kept within the
margins and the sufferings endured by them. The current study
clears the aura of misunderstanding around Urmila which presents
her as a single and strong-willed woman even after being forsaken by
her two beloved souls. Thus, the revisionist mythmaking technique
has presented Urmila in a better light so that it suits the modern
requirements.

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