Reading Notes: Ramayana A

Public Domain Edition: Ramayana
Author sources: M. Dutt, R. Dutt, Gould, Griffith, Hodgson, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Oman, Richardson, and Ryder
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Ayodhya, Wikimedia

From the beginning, the author bluntly introduces the two kingdoms, Koshala ruled by Dasharatha and Mithila ruled by Janaka. When describing parts of Koshala's capital, the author uses great imagery and descriptive words to enhance the seemingly beauty of the city. However, this is contrasted with Maharajah, located in Koshala, as a place of stern intimidation and dominant tradition. 

Dasharatha is not feeling well, as he still did not have a child. Afterall, a child secured his namesake rule for generations to come. In efforts to accelerate this process, Dasharatha holds a ritual in which a horse is sacrificed. The gods then promise the king that he will have four sons. This is a lot when Dasharatha only asked for one! Is this because of the scale of the noble gesture? Are the gods rewarding him? From the religious stories I am familiar with, the movement from the world to heaven is usually unidirectional, from earth to heaven, usually occurring after death. However, this part of the story describes the god Vishnu coming to earth as Rama. As Rama grows, his family is approached by Vishvamitra which requests Rama and Lakshmana on a quest to defeat demons. Dasharatha hesitates which, to me, once again emphasizes his focus on the next in line for the throne. The reader then sees the group go into more dark and scary setting where they are approached by Thataka. Is she a demon? From this section, I found it interesting that the men feared to hurt a woman enemy.

The story then shifts into Vishwamitra's narration of a story that seems familiar to the reader. It is a parallel to the life of Rama-- a god send to from heaven into the flesh. The next episode surrounds another story, told by Vishvamitra, about Gautama and Ahalya. From my perspective, this storytelling type of shift represents night time when no real life action is occurring. Perhaps even storytelling is part of a night time tradition.