Reading Notes: Ramayana A

This week, we began reading the Ramayana, and we started off with parts A and B. I decided to read the public domain edition (PDE.) The first thing that stuck out to me was how quickly the poem churns through different characters within each story, while Rama remains constant. The reason it seems to churn through the characters is because of how monotonically the stories are told. The story where Rama defeats the woman that can turn invisible while still throwing boulders at them stands out as one example, because even though they are in great danger, it is told in the same inflection as when Rama lifts the bow.

The other thing that stood out during these stories was the parallels to other tales and stories that I am already accustomed to. Dasharatha’s inability to have a son parallels nicely with Abraham’s inability to have a son, the bow challenge is reminiscent of the story of King Arthur, and the tests Rama faces parallel with the tests Jesus faced during his forty days in the dessert.

Another interesting thing is how the story sometimes glosses over large events, such as the first two stories of the Ramayana, where a child is wanting to be born, and an entire sacrifice occurs in order to make this happen (and Gods are consulting with eachother), and in other times, such as the wedding, there is great detail put into seemingly minute things. The other interesting thing I noticed was the emphasis on lineage. In Manthara and Kaiyeki, instead of simply referring to Rama and Bharata, it is Rama, son of the queen Kaushalya and Prince Bharata, son of the queen Kaikeyi.

The most interesting thing within the first part of the Ramayana is the question of inner integrity. There are many characters that appear to be honest and loyal to a good cause, that are often tempted very easily to do the incorrect thing; however, every time that Rama is tempted, or even given the chance to do something immoral, he does the correct thing. This emphasizes that fact that Rama is not just a human that makes mistakes, but rather, the Avatar of Vishnu.

It is also of interest the story Dasharatha tells about how he accidentally kills a man’s son, and how this is used to forshadow his own death.

The Battle at Lanka from the Ramayana, Source: Wikipedia

Bibliography:

Ramayana Online: Public Domain Edition compiled from M. Dutt, R. Dutt, Gould, Griffith, Hodgson, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Oman, Richardson, and Ryder.

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