Ramayana Reading Notes A

Ramayana pg.1-53:

King Dasaratha's Dilemma:

The Ramayana begins with describing the setting which is in the country Kosala. Ayodha is the capital of Kosala and this is where King Dasaratha resides. King Dasaratha is known for being a compassionate, courageous, and is loved by his subjects. However, King Dasaratha is childless, so he asks the sage Vasishtha (his mentor) to help him attain an heir.

From his inner vision, Vasishtha learns that lord Vishnu had promised to be reincarnated as a Dasaratha's son in order to defeat Ravana and his brothers. Furthermore, lord Vishnu explains that his conch, wheel, and couch would be born as his brothers. After learning this information, Vasishtha asks King Dasaratha to conduct a yagna for a year. After one year, King Dasaratha's wives give birth to Rama, Bharatha, Lakshmana, and Shatrughna.

Rama's Initiation:

The sage Viswamithra wanted to perform a yagna at Sidhasrama in order to strengthen beneficial forces of the world and please the gods. Viswamithra asks Dasaratha to send Rama with him; however, Dasaratha was very hesitant to send Rama. Finally, Dasaratha agrees to send Rama only if Lakshmana would accompany him.

Thakata's Story:

Viswamithra narrates to Rama the story about Surekha who was a demigod of valor, might, and purity. Surekha married and gave birth to two sons who began to wreak havoc upon the world along with her husband. The sage Agasthya killed her husband for his deeds and Surekha vowed vengeance upon Agasthya. The sage cursed Surekha and her sons to become asuras (demon hood).

Rama then kills Surekha when Viswamithra explain that a woman with demonic tendencies loses consideration to be treated as a woman.

Mahabali's Story:

Viswamithra narrates the story of Mahabali who had seized the earth and heaven when lord Vishnu was meditating. Mahabali tries to perform a yagna and the gods pleaded with Vishnu to help regain their kingdoms. Vishnu decides to transform into a dwarfish human from a Brahmin family and meets with Mahabali. Assuming he is a very wise man, Mahabali invites the dwarf into his kingdom and asks him to make any request he wants. The dwarf asks Mahabali for a piece of land that is three times the size of his foot. Mahabali agrees and the dwarf transforms into a majestic statue the spanned the earth and sky. His first two steps covered heaven and earth and his placed his last step on Mahabali's head, pushing him into the netherworld.

Ganga's Story:

The king Sarkara planned on having a horse sacrifice. If the horse crossed through the kingdom freely, then that kingdom would accept the rule of the horse’s owner. If the horse was kidnapped, then it would cause a war and the original must come and set the horse free. Once the horse returned back to the original kingdom, then the king would celebrate by performing a horse sacrifice which would make him the supreme lord of the world.

However, Indra kidnaps the horse to the underworld and Sarkara's sons go to the underworld to fetch the horse. However, they mistaken an innocent saint as the kidnapper and the insulted saint turn the king's sons into ash. Sarkara's grandson learns about what happened to his ancestors so he prays for thirty-thousand years to the gods in order to seek salvation for his ancestors. Finally, Sarkara's grandson convinces the Ganges to descend onto earth.

Ahalya's Story:

                                                         Image Details: Ahalya and Rama, Source: Wikimedia 

Lord Brahma created a beautiful woman named Ahalya. However, Indra became attracted to her and wanted to claim her hand. Brahma asked the Sage Gautama to watch over Ahalya till she became of age. Later on, Brahma became impressed with Gautama for keeping Ahalya pure that he allowed Gautama to marry Ahalya. However, Indra never got over Ahalya and visited Gautama's ashram to see her. One day, Indra decided to take the form of Gautama and deceive Ahalya. Gautama finds out and insults Indra. Then, Ahalya turned into a piece of stone till Rama turned Ahalya back into a human.

The Wedding:

                                                     Image Details: Rama-Sita Swayamvaram, Source: flickr

Rama enters Mithila where King Janaka is planning on having a great yagna. When Rama enters the city he sees Sita (daughter of King Janaka) and falls immediately in love with her. Sita sees Rama as well and falls instantly in love with him as she is actually an incarnation of Vishnu's consort (Lakshmi). Rama and Lakshmana meet with King Janaka who explains to Rama that he made a condition that the person who could lift, bend, and string Shiva's bow could marry his daughter. Rama completes the task and marries Sita.

Two Promises Revived:

Dasaratha decides to retire and have Rama become his successor. However, Kaikeyi (Dasaratha's wife) becomes corrupted by her handmaid, Kooni, into thinking that Rama would betray her son Bharatha. So, Kaikeyi asks Dasaratha to banish Rama to the wilderness for 14 years and crown Bharatha as his successor. Dasaratha accepts, but becomes deeply disturbed by Kaikeyi's betrayal and Rama's exile, causing him to die. Lakshmana becomes furious and joins Rama and Sita in their exile. Bharatha finds out about his mother's betrayal and tries to convince Rama to come back to Ayodha. Rama tells Bharatha to go back and rule the kingdom in his absence.

Bibliography: R.K. Narayan, "The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic" 1972.