In this age of feminism........

Remembered something that I had heard when I was young. It was said by the great Poet-Saint Tulsidas, the creator of Ramcharitmanas, the story of Lord Rama, the incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

He says (and I quote) "Dhol, Gawaar, Shudra, Pashu aur Naari, Yeh sab taadan ke adhikaari."

Roughly translated, it means, "A drum, an illiterate, a person born in a lower caste and a lady are deserving of beating. They should be and could be thrashed (at will!).

Surprising that such words should come from a person of the stature of Tulsidas. From this it is quite obvious that Tulsidas was not a feminist. The Sita of Tulsidas' Ramayana is so unlike the one in Valmiki's original Sanskrit epic. Remember that Saint Valmiki personally knew Sita as she had lived in Saint Valmiki's Aashram when she was banished by Lord Rama. She was also pregnant at that time with the twins Luv and Kusha. Valmiki's Sita was a strong-willed lady. She was more earthly than ethereal. (Valmiki recounts that when Lord Rama did not approve of her coming with him in exile, she used expletives and pretty strong language with Lord Rama to convey that she was coming with him, no matter what!)

Tulsidas polished the entire epic into a flowery description of Lord Rama's story. Lord Rama became god and Sita, the goddess. 

Why Tulsidas had to say the above words is still a mystery.

I remember a joke on the same shloka by Tulsidas by the famous Hindi Hasya Kavi, Surendra Sharma. In his highly popular Chaar Laina (Four Lines), he says,

"Humne patni se kaha, ki Tulsidas ji ne kaha hai, 'Dhol, Gawaar, Shudra, Pashu aur Naari, Yeh sab taadan ke adhikaari;' iska arth samajhti ho yaan samjhaayen?" (I said to my wife that Saint Tulsidas has said that 'A drum, an illiterate, a person born in a lower caste and a lady are deserving of beating. They should be and could be thrashed (at will!).' Do you understand the meaning of this or should I explain it to you?")  


"Patni boli, iske arth to bilkul hi saaf hai, isme ek jagah main hoon, chaar jagah aap hai!!"
(My wife replied, 'The meaning of this is so clear. In this saying, out of the five things mentioned, I am one of them and you are the other four!')

Cheers to females! Cheers to feminism!!