This week, we read a different type of the Ramayana to see a different telling of the same story. I read the Ramayana by Sister Nivedita. Previously, I had focused more on the overall style and choices that the author made, but in this post, I will delve further into specific examples to support the previous claim.
The first story that comes to mind is when Hanuman is burning down Lanka, and he decides that the most important objective is that of rescuing Sita. It was not exactly as clear as to what his reason was for burning the city, or going back for Sita, despite saving himself. In this version, it is crystal clear, though, I do believe that it loses some kind of imagery that I had in my head when I read the story in the Public Domain Edition (PDE), though.
A second story that is clearer in this version is the story of Indrajit vs. Hanuman. While the PDE edition does a good job of clarifying how Hanuman is captured and punished, this version does a great job of ensuring that the details of how Indrajit manages to harm Hanuman's army is clear. In addition, it is very clear how Hanuman finds the herbs to heal his men, and I actually did not understand where these herbs came from in the previous story, I thought Hanuman had just procured them.
Finally, the story of how Sita is taken back to the Earth makes a little more sense, but I believe that is mainly just because of a re-read. At first, I thought being swallowed up in the earth meant something figurative, but it appears to be what actually occurs within the myth.
This read of the Ramayana was different, and in some ways, I think it loses the strength of the more poetic PDE version, but in other ways, for the purposes of this class, I think that it does a good job of making sure the reader can clearly understand what is going on.
Bibliography: Ramayana by Sister Nivedita
The first story that comes to mind is when Hanuman is burning down Lanka, and he decides that the most important objective is that of rescuing Sita. It was not exactly as clear as to what his reason was for burning the city, or going back for Sita, despite saving himself. In this version, it is crystal clear, though, I do believe that it loses some kind of imagery that I had in my head when I read the story in the Public Domain Edition (PDE), though.
A second story that is clearer in this version is the story of Indrajit vs. Hanuman. While the PDE edition does a good job of clarifying how Hanuman is captured and punished, this version does a great job of ensuring that the details of how Indrajit manages to harm Hanuman's army is clear. In addition, it is very clear how Hanuman finds the herbs to heal his men, and I actually did not understand where these herbs came from in the previous story, I thought Hanuman had just procured them.
Finally, the story of how Sita is taken back to the Earth makes a little more sense, but I believe that is mainly just because of a re-read. At first, I thought being swallowed up in the earth meant something figurative, but it appears to be what actually occurs within the myth.
This read of the Ramayana was different, and in some ways, I think it loses the strength of the more poetic PDE version, but in other ways, for the purposes of this class, I think that it does a good job of making sure the reader can clearly understand what is going on.
Marriage within the Ramayana. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Bibliography: Ramayana by Sister Nivedita
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