Reading Diary A: Narayan The Ramayana

The first thing that really spoke to me creatively in the Ramayana was the introduction to the setting. Kosala seems like a beautiful, magical place and the descriptions of the countryside are so colorful and vibrant. The descriptions really stand out to me in the R.K. Narayan version of The Ramayana.

1. Dasartha's Four Sons
Also from the beginning of the epic, I really enjoyed the story of Dasartha's four sons. Dasartha is an interesting and likable character who rules over Ayodhya, but he cannot have any children. At the same time, the gods are trying to defeat Ravana, who can only be killed by a mortal man. So in order to kill Ravana, Vishnu decides to be born as Dasartha's son. When Dasartha performs a sacrifice, he is given some rice which he feeds to his wives. After this, they collectively have four sons, one of whom is named Rama. Rama is Vishnu incarnate. This story was very interesting and I liked the plot device of one of the gods being incarnated as a mortal human. This seems like an interesting story that I may want to use for my project.

2. Thataka's Story 
Thataka was the daughter of a powerful demigod named Suketha and when she grew up she married a chieftain, Sunda, and had two children, Mareecha and Subahu. Her children were very destructive and her husband followed their example and destroyed anything he encountered. Agasthya, a saint, cursed Sunda and he died. When his family went to seek revenge, he cursed them as well, turning them into demons. Thataka now lives in the desert, destroying any life she comes across. When she tried to kill Rama, Viswamithra, and Lakshmana, Rama killed her.

3. Ganga's Story
Bhagiratha had ancestors who had been destroyed by a saint after wronging him and so he asked the gods for a way to cleanse their bones so that their souls were no longer trapped. Shiva agreed to help bring Ganga down so that she could clean their bones, but this would be dangerous. He prayed for a total of 30,000 years and finally Ganga descended, but right before she destroyed the earth with her power, Shiva absorbed the impact in his head and the water trickled out of his hair to form the sacred Ganges river. 

Creation of the Ganges by Khitindra Nath Mazumdar in
Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists 1914

4. Sita
Sita is the incarnation of Lakshmi, Vishnu's lover. When Rama and Sita see each other, they are instantly in love and long for each other. The only way that Rama can have her hand, though, is if he is able to lift and string Shiva's bow. This was a condition made by her father, King Janaka, because she had so many suitors after her hand. Rama is able to complete the task and they marry in a huge celebration. 

This epic is so interesting and I'm really excited to read more of it!