Somadeva : The Desires and Disguises

            Disguises can offer a whole host of interpretations yet all can agree that those who wish to disguise themselves are trying to either hide something they are or they are trying to be something they’re not. Within the works of Somadeva, particularly in The Red Lotus of Chastity, disguise is used to accomplish both. In particular women utilize the art of disguise as an extension of the cunning they already possess in order to obtain that which they desire. Through the masterful use of disguise wickedness is hidden behind the veil of the innocent and the holy, servants are raised to the status of masters, and women are given the free-ranging abilities of men. In each instance the woman is taking charge of a matter and, through disguise, becoming more powerful than their “normal” self appears to be.

            The first encounter with the art of disguise is seen in its use by Siddhikari in her heist of a wealthy merchant’s money. Disguised as a maid she was able to situate herself close enough to her employer until her evil intentions were played out. As the story states, “as soon as the merchant had come to trust her, she stole all the gold he had in his house and sneaked away at dawn” (Somadeva 1276). Afterward she dawned the robe of feigned suicidal thoughts and killed a potential rival for the money. Finally she uses an Eros disguise and bites the tongue off of a servant whom had come to retrieve her. Through each trial she disguises herself to be something she isn’t to gain the upper hand. Disguise is her hidden dagger that remains unseen until it is too late.

            The second use of disguise is by the wandering nun Yogakarandika. Her disguise is one she is always publicly wearing. Being a nun she should be trusted and held in high esteem, yet she is more than willing to do evil deeds simply for the fun of doing them. In The Red Lotus of Chastity she is offered money to help a few malevolent men to commit infidelity with Devasmita. It’s important to note that Yogakarandika refuses any monetary payment. She states, “I have no desire for money” (1275). Her object of desire is pride in her cunning and the use of wickedness to gain some sense of power within the world. So without payment of any kind she enters Devasmita’s home in an attempt to bring wickedness upon her. She then disguises each of the four men as one of her own pupils who all end up being deceived by the cleverest character within the work, Devasmita.

            Devasmita dresses up her own servants to play her role within the household. Each faux-suiter is drugged, branded, and left to sleep in the gutter. Devasmita in her wisdom recognizes the wicked nature of the nun and her pupil and punishes them for their actions. She punishes them by drugging them and “cut[ting] of their noses and ears [then] toss[ing] them outside in a sewage pit” (1278). Then, fearing for her husband’s safety she hatches a plot to protect her husband from the revenge of those who challenged her fidelity.

            As any great woman does in times of need she visits her mother who recites an old folk tale about a woman who disguises herself to save her husband’s life (1278). She decides to embark upon a similar path and disguises herself and her servants as men to cross the sea in safety. As the text states, Devasmita and her maids disguised themselves as merchants, boarded a ship on the pretext of business, then departed for Cathay where her husband was staying” (1279). Had she attempted to cross alone, with a band of servants, she would have most definitely been stopped before reaching her husband. Through the art of disguise she is able to temporarily hide her “womanness” and convey a convincing masculine aura of power despite her feminine features.

            Her disguise even befuddles her husband Gusahena upon arrival when viewing her from a distance he “drank deep of the make image of his beloved wife. He wondered what such a delicate person could have to do with the merchant’s profession” (1279). In the end she uses the power of her disguise to gain an audience with the king and set everything right. Her cunning and physical disguises allow her to obtain money, her husbands adoration, and a continued presence with her beloved.

            In each instance women wear physical or immaterial disguises to [attempt to] obtain that which they desire. Essentially this is a tale in which “good” desires ultimately trump the “evil” desires. The use of disguise reflects on both the real benefits of being something else and the necessity of having to be something else in front of men. Regardless the disguise doesn’t mask the cunning nature of the powerfully driven women in The Red Lotus of Chastity.

Works Cited

Somadeva. The Red Lotus of Chastity. The Norton Anthology of World Literature: Shorter Third Edition. Two-Volume Set. W.W. Norton. Ed. M Puchner. 2013. 1274-1279. Print.