The second reading of Sunity Devee's "Nine Ideal Indian Women" including the stories of Sati and Uttara from the Mahabharata.
Sati
This is a story of true love once again. Sati is among many daughter of a powerful
Maharaja who marries his many daughters to gods. Sati chooses Mahadeva as her husband, the creator
and destroyer, as her husband. However
her father does not approve because although he is the most powerful, Mahadeva
owns next to nothing but an ox to ride on.
He is the beggar god, the spiritual one with the third eye that can see
the future. Sati weds Mahadeva and
becomes supremely happy with him and enjoys their marriage, but her father
still hates him and thus intentionally does not invite Mahadeva to a
prayer-party he throws to show him a lesson.
Sati goes anyways and when her father rages at her she turns his head
into a goats head and then sheds her mortal body in shame of her father. Sati dies and Mahadeva is enraged and nearly
destroys the world. Eventually through meditation he comes to find Sati’s soul
and then they are together again.
Uttara
This story is about the child-wife of Abhimanyu, son of
Arjun, descendent of Pandu. She was found durng the last year of the Pandu
brother’s exile, a young and bright princess.
Arjun wished to wed her to his son to become his daughter and eventually
carry on his line through his son. They
wed and were happy, Uttara always playing with her toys and Abhimanyu her
playmate and love. They came to love
each other greatly and when Abhimanyu died in battle, only the life of their
child inside her kept her from joining him.
She stayed on earth in order to take care of her son who would sit on
the throne as the only living heir of the Pandu brothers. Then finally the day came when Uttara
rejoined her husband in heaven.
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