Standing up to power

Almost every myth celebrates the heroic individual who stands up to tyranny, autocracy and injustice

Speaking up to the powerful has never been easy nor has it been without consequence but that has not stopped heroes across civilisations from doing so. And if we are to glean life lessons from the annals of world myth (apart from knowledge about the sexual practices of peacocks or the holiness of cows) it is far more rewarding to jump into these stories and shake them down for some hard talk.
 
Take a look at Sumerian hero Gilgamesh; one of the oldest mythical characters, he does not hesitate to tell off a vengeful goddess or even take on the bull of heaven. He was the king of Uruk (in present-day Iraq), a cruel and powerful ruler. He and his soul mate/alter-ego Enkidu go through many adventures, which included a particularly demanding and exhausting battle with the monster guardian of the cedar forest, Humbaba. Gilgamesh slayed the invincible demon to bring back cedar logs to his kingdom where, enticed by his victorious form, the goddess Ishtar propositioned him.
 
Ishtar was a ruthless goddess with many lovers. Every king in and around Uruk had gone out of their way to be subservient to her. But Gilgamesh spurned her, saying he had no wish to suffer the same fate as her previous lovers (all dead and buried). His insubordination prompted sky god Anu (Ishtar’s father) to despatch the bull of heaven. But Gilgamesh and Enkidu defeated and then butchered the bull; they taunted Ishtar and flung parts of the carcass at her. Those who told Gilgamesh’s story some 4,000 years ago did not endorse his behaviour but never questioned his right to stand up to the goddess.
 
Almost every myth in every culture celebrates the heroic individual who stands up to tyranny, autocracy and injustice. This act of heroism is even more dramatic when it is performed by the underdog. In the Mahabharata, Amba, a woman stands up to the all-powerful figure of Bhishma, darling of the gods and humans. Bhishma’s vow of lifelong celibacy was heralded as an act of ultimate selflessness and the gods had bestowed upon him the right to choose the time and place of his death. Even so, Amba and those who told her story were not bullied into submission by the gods or by the heroes of the epic. Amba was abducted by Bhishma from a swayamvara organised by her father. She challenged Bhishma, refusing to comply with his wish that she wed his step-brother Vichitravirya because she had loved another man. However, when her lover refused to take her back because she was now another man’s woman, she sat in penance to seek death for Bhishma who had led to her abandonment. Her wish was granted and she was rebornas Shikhandi, Draupadi’s brother, and was responsible for Bhishma’s death in the battle
of Mahabharata.
 

Sita with Hanuman in Ashokvan. In an Odiya version, Sita ticks off Rama for bragging

Speaking truth to power is the right of even docile and good wives. In an Odiya version of the Ramayana that draws upon the Adbhuta Ramayana (written in Sanskrit and hence told by the learned class as opposed to the folk version), Sita ticks off Rama for bragging too much. While he regaled a rapt audience about his victory over Ravana, she reminded him that she had killed the 1,000-headed Ravana who even Rama was unable to vanquish.
 
Many scholars have said that myths are a study in the audacity of human imagination. They are a demonstration of the way people looked at life and then used the stories as a means to explore and push the boundaries of the world. It gave people power. This story from the Bhopa tribe (Rajasthan) is a telling comment on what people thought of kings who were tyrants: There was a mighty ruler named Ravana, powerful but extremely cruel. Rama was born because the tribal subjects of Ravana prayed for a saviour. A Bhopa (priest singers/bards) did magic and Dasarath had four children from three wives. The Bhopa priest had asked for the eldest sons of the king as reward. But kings are dishonest and never keep their word so Dasarath tried to pass off his younger sons as older and gave them to the Bhopa. But the trick was called out and to teach the king a lesson, the Bhopa took Ram and Lakshmana into the forest.
 
How many people today are willing to call out the trick of their rulers?