Friday, August 23, 2019

Reading Notes: Ramayana Part A

Reading Notes: Ramayana Part A

King Dasharatha
Bibliography: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie, Link

- Two kingdoms: Koshala and Mithlida
- Capital of Koshala was Ayodhya: It was very prosperous
- King of Koshala was Dasharatha
- Kingdom was great but King was sad because of lack of a son (he had three wives)


Dasharatha's Son
Bibliography: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie, Link

- Dasharatha decides to preform a horse sacrifice so he could have an heir
- Queens were very excited about this
- Details of horse sacrifice given
- More than just the horse sacrificed (birds, beasts, and reptiles offered too)
- Kaushalya, the chief Queen, gets to make the sacrifice
- The gods promised 4 sons


Rama: Avatar of Vishnu
Bibliography: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie, Link

- Brahma = creator god
- gods worshipping other gods
- Vishnu offers to divide himself and become the four sons for Dasharatha
- Rama, the son of the chief queen, most beautiful

Vishvamitra
Bibliography: Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita, Link

- Vishvamitra is a seer who has favor with the gods
- He says that Rama is needed to take down Ravana but King doesn't want to let him
- But King Dasharatha keeps his word and lets Rama and his brother Lakshmana go

Thataka
Bibliography: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie, Link

- Thataka is a misshapen women who ravages the country
- Princes didn't want to kill her because she was a girl, but they cut her arms off
- Rama ends up killing her at Vishwamitra's bidding
- Celestial weapons given to Rama
- They make an offering that Thataka's son tries to defile
- Rama stops him with the new weapons

Bhagiratha and Ganga
Bibliography: The Great Indian Epics by John Campbell Oman, Link

- A story within a story
- An old king and his wives go to the Himalayas to have sons
- Horse sacrificed offered again for fertility.
- One wife had 60,000 sons, the other just had one
- The god, Indra steals the horse from the horse sacrifice
- Sons go looking for it, but go missing. Grandson is sent to find them but they're all dead
- King reigned for 30,000 years
- Ganga allowed them all to go to heaven

Ahalya
Bibliography: Valmiki's Ramayana, translated by Ralph T.H. Griffith, Link

- In versus, so it's a poem
- Couplet is AABBCC
- Man comes by and tells him a story
- About Ahalya who falls in love with Indra in human form
- gods given human emotions like doubt and dread
-

Sita
Bibliography: The Divine Archer by F.J. Gould, Link

- The princes go explore the city
- Sita is the King's daughter
- They fell in love instantly
- Sita prays to Bhavani to marry Rama
- Flowers symbolize the prayer being answered

King Janaka
Bibliography: : Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie, Link

- "Majesty of elephants"
- Princes met the King and they show off their bows
- Whoever can use the bow can marry Sita

Rama Wins Sita
Bibliography: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie, Link and Ramayana, The Epic of Rama, Prince of India, Link

- Rama able to use bow
- There's a loud crash and everyone worships the princes
- There's two different versions of the story: the poem and the shorter version

Parahsurama
Bibliography: The Divine Archer by F.J. Gould, Link

- A hermit comes angry Rama snapped the bow
- The hermit gets a lot of description to describe what he looks like
- He sees Rama have the bow and he changes his mind

Rama and Sita's Wedding
Bibliography: Ramayana, The Epic of Rama, Prince of India, Link

- it's in poem form
- everything is described as being elegant and beautiful
- they get married and are very happy about it

Rama the Heir Apparent
Bibliography: Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita, Link

- Dasharatha wants his son to take the throne
- Rama is well liked by the kingdom because of his character

Manthara and Kaikeyi
Bibliography: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie, Link

- Manthara hated Rama (she's the old nurse of Prince Bharata)
- Evil women are constantly called ugly and misshapen
- She gets into a fight with the Queen Kaikeyi
- She successfully convinces her that her son should be King
- Kaikeyi promises two favors by the King

Kaikeyi and Dasharatha
Bibliography: Ramayana, The Epic of Rama, Prince of India, Link and Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie, Link

- two versions of the same story: one poem and one story
- She requests her son be King and Rama gets banished
- Dasharatha so upset he faints
- Dasharatha very upset with her
- To prevent her from killing herself, he agrees to her terms

Rama is Banished
Bibliography: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie, Link

- The city was decorated for Rama's arrival home
- Dasharatha extremely upset over what he has to do
- Men allowed to have "weak" traits
- Kaikeyi the one who tells Rama he is banned
- Rama is very calm about the situation.
- Rama "unmoved"

Rama Goes into Exile
Bibliography: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie, Link

- Rama and Sita say their goodbyes
- Rama tells Sita to be obedient and help his mother
- Sita refuses to leave his side and Rama allows her to come
- Rama takes his banishing very well
- Never once says it's unfair
- Sita doesn't want the clothing of bark and she's allowed not to wear it

Crossing the River
Bibliography:  Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita, Link

- Rama, Sita and his brother greeted by King Nishadha
- They dress as hermits
- "Swayed by a women's will" used
- Rama actually upset for once
-Lakshmana tells his brother how loyal he is

Dasharatha's Karma
Bibliography: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie, Link

- Story starts by saying the Maharajah was doomed.
- When hunting once, the Maharajah killed a hermit instead of an animal.
- He was forgiven but the Maharajah had to tell the hermit's parents he died
- The hermit's father curses Dasharatha

Dasharatha's Death
Bibliography: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie, Link and Ramayana, The Epic of Rama, Prince of India, Link

- Queen Kaushalya tells the King he broke his promise to her that her son would be his successor
- The King dies of grief

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