Against their Will: Sexual Assault and the Uttarakā？？a

A close reading of the Uttarakā？？a of Vālmīki’s Rāmāya？a demonstrates that its author has composed a carefully and logically structured work, one that is haunted by themes of sexual transgression. Not only is the first half of the kā？？a occupied with the history and genealogy of Rāva？a, who is no less than the sexual predator par excellence, but its latter half tells of Rāma’s seemingly heart-wrenching decision to banish Sītā based on rumours of her own supposed infidelity. Similar themes are reflected in a number of the kā？？a’s sub-stories—both those that are understood to be part of the main narrative and those that belong to the so-called ‘purā？ic’ narratives—and highlight sexual aggression against women. This article examines a specific and unusual subset of such narratives that permeate the kā？？a, those that deal with explicit rape, with an eye towards further understanding why, uniquely in this kā？？a, such stories appear, and what lies behind their popularity and longevity