A few days back, someone told me that they had received credible information (via WhatsApp), that Sita had not actually travelled to Lanka. The story goes that she created an avatar of herself, and Ravana then took her along instead.
Hmmm…
Anyways, my response was – what does it matter if she went to Lanka, or not?
Some people say they need proof that Rama existed, or that Krishna walked this earth, or that the Mahabharata happened. But then, what would you consider as proof?
The Katha Parampara has been the source of all information for thousands of years. The written word only came about a few centuries ago. If today I write something, and it is found a thousand years hence, would it be considered the truth? Or could it be disputed?
In any case, what does it matter?
What is important is not whether person A existed or not, of if a war was fought or not, or if someone went somewhere or not – thousands of years hence, none of this matters, not even academically. What does matter is what you learnt from it. Did it make you think, did it teach you a little something…if it did, appreciate it. If not, forget about it.
Trying to prove it wrong or incorrect will not help, since many came and went, yet the parampara survived and thrived for thousands of years, isn’t it?
See you tomorrow!