by Anantinee Mishra

Hindu Mythology and its epic sagas like that of Ramayana and Mahabharata would perhaps remain incomplete without an extremely herculean hero, or even heroes for that matter, and their extensively depicted inclination towards upholding Dharma. Be it Rajaram from Ramayana or Pandu-Putra Yudhishthira from Mahabharata, the glory tales of their unwavering stand for justice, honesty and promises have garnered immense popularity through time, as the parables of their conquests have been passed down from generation to generation.

However, it is said in the popular debate that considering them flawless or without a single committed fallacy or faux passes would be a misjudgment or even a stretch of the imagination.

Be it Sita’s exile after the questions on her chastity by the people of Ayodhya, or the shamed silence of Yudhishthira when Draupadi, a woman, was being disrespected and maligned in a full-court; both remain a context for an intense parley.

It is indeed believed that Sita had herself urged Ram to give her an exile to protect the lineage of Raghukul, completely fulfilling all the ideologies of an archetypal wife. She had saved her husband from falling into a dilemma and protected his image as a deliverer of undisputed justice. As a King’s duty; Rama, with great reluctance though, agreed to Sita’s demands.

Despite Shakuni’s trickery and tactics, was it right for Yudhishthira to actually put a woman, his own wife on that, on the mortgage, despite that being the norm of the then society? And despite losing, was sitting in silence when Draupadi was being disrobed acceptable from a man of the stature as Yudhishthira’s?

In my opinion, maybe these exact questions are what guide us to what mythology is teaching us. Perhaps it can be considered a coded, cryptic message; but a cognizance regardless.

Flawless remains an impossible-to-attain when it comes to the character of human beings. A person born without any foibles is happening of a myth; something which our heritage tells us too. Every individual has its own merits and opposite; a balance between good and bad, light and darkness, black and white.

And that is the separating line between the existence of deities and the existence of us. The day every personage starts becoming perfect, then what would remain the bar of distinguishing between the mortal and immortal?

Perfection in imperfection.

I come to a conclusion by saying that the epitome of delusion remains the search of a person or relationship without any faults. When the human incarnations of deities in themselves can commit a folly, then who are we mere humans to not to?

Flawless was, is, and always be; a figment of fantasy.

About the Author:

Anantinee ‘JHUMPA’ Mishra is a prodigy author, poet and TED speaker. She is twelve years old studying in std.8th at Apeejay School, Saket, New Delhi.  She has published two books and many stories and articles in magazines and journals. At the age of ten, she published a 21,000 worded anthology of stories called ‘Treasure of Short Stories’. Last year her debut Novel ‘Manhattan to Munnar’ got released. Recently she has been conferred with a title ‘PRODIGY AUTHOR’ and an ‘HONORARY DIPLOMA’ by the Hon’ble Vice President of  India Sh. M Venkaiah Naidu.