Book Review: The Forest Of Enchantemnts by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

The Forest of Enchantments by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni has a knack for illustrating the inner stories of the women from the epics. The Forest of Enchantments is one such example. The book is written from the point of view of Goddess Sita.

When Valmiki presented the Ramayana to her — the story glorifying Lord Rama — she was surprised that it held no truth about her, about the life she had lived in Ayodhya and during exile with Rama. The divine lady then composed Sitayan — the story of Sita, her struggles, her love, and the abandonment by the love of her life.

The story has a heartwarming beginning with Sita in her maternal home. Her mother was highly intuitive and had known that her elder daughter would have a future different from that of other princesses. The story then follows a mother’s teachings, the swayamvara, and the breaking of the dhanush. It is heartwarming to see how considerate Ram was towards his newly wedded life.

Sita did not receive a bed of roses in Ayodhya. When she met the three principal queens of King Dashratha, she could sense the differences between them. Kaushalya, Ram’s mother, was the complete opposite of Kaikeyi. Yet, with the simplicity and wisdom her mother had instilled in her, Sita managed to bring her parents-in-law — Kaushalya and Dashratha — closer. Then came the auspicious occasion of the coronation.

Everyone loved Rama — Sita learned that soon enough. But then Kaikeyi asked for her boons: Rama’s exile and Bharat’s coronation. The incident deeply hurt Sita, and she decided to follow her husband into exile. However, amidst all the hardships, their love never faded.

Sita’s abduction was another powerful part of the story. She never once looked at Ravana, while Mandodari regarded her with maternal affection. Mandodari even confessed that she suspected Sita to be her own daughter, whom she had abandoned long ago.

Sita, however, did not believe her. She continued to trust that Ram would come to rescue her. After the war in Lanka, she faced abandonment and was forced to walk through fire.

From then on, she became the daughter of Fire.

But her hardships did not end there. When she was pregnant, Ram sent her away to Valmiki’s ashram, where Luv and Kush were born. Having endured humiliation time and again, she no longer wished to prove herself. In the mighty palace of Ram, she finally

immersed herself into the Earth.

The Forest of Enchantments is a saga of love, trust, pain, separation, and self-respect. After being abandoned twice, Sita found it easier to embrace death than reunite with her husband.

Kudos to the author for crafting such a masterpiece with remarkable attention to detail.