Reading Notes: Ramayana Public Domain Edition Part B

Bharata Returns

• messengers sent to Bharata, and it took him seven days to get home for something urgent
• He finds that his father passed from Kaikeyi (without tears)
• Bharata is tearful, and asks about Rama
• He cried for his brother after hearing from his mother what she had done for him                              “I have lost my father and my elder brother. Of what good is a kingdom unto me now? O evil-hearted woman, thou hast bereft this house of all joy; thou hast slain my sire and banished Rama. But I will bring my brother back from the jungle; he shall be seated on the throne.”
• Shatrughna wanted to slay Mantra but Bharata stopped him from doing so since she was a woman just like his mother
• Kushayla told him the kingdom was his but Bharatha fell at her feet he would never sit at the throne and would get Rama back

Dasharatha's Funeral

• Vashishta told Bharata to not grieve and fulfill his father's funeral rites
• As he performed the funeral rights he kept speaking of his hurt on what had happened and why everything happened in such a hurry as he was away when the hermit asks him to continue performing the rituals
• Him and the servants carried the body on a car dejected, people scattered gold, silver, and different cloths on the way
• They put fragmented and scented twigs and items on the funeral pile
• Spent the next ten days mourning sleeping on the ground

Rama and Bharata

• Both brothers meet in the jungle of Chitrakuta
• Bharatha says he gives the rule back and Rama said he had given his father his word
• Jabali, Counselor of Dasharatha tells Rama he had already fulfilled his father's wish by stepping aside and there was no use in continuing it to a dead body
• I really liked his choice of words, wise man indeed:                                                                          “O Rama, why dim thine understanding with empty maxims? Thou hast already obeyed thy sire. It is foolish to think that thou shouldst continue this allegiance to one who is dead. A man enters the world alone and departs alone; he owns not friendship to kindred. His parents are to him like a wayside inn which he leaves in the morning; his allegiance to them is temporary. He meets them like a traveller who tarries on his journey and then goes on his way as before. In this world we have only one life to live. If thou wilt refuse this raj, thou wilt destroy thy one life. I am sorry for those who scorn the blessings of this world so long as they are alive in the hope that they will reach a Paradise which does not exist. When this life is spent we are extinguished for ever. Alas that men should make to their ancestors useless offerings! Can a dead man eat thereof? These offerings are a waste of food. If the soul endures and passes into a new body how can it benefit from food eaten by another? These practices were invented by cunning priests with selfish motives. There is no Hereafter. Therefore, snatch the joys of life while thou canst, O Rama: take the raj which is offered to thee and return to Ayodhya.”
• Rama is angry and responds that the counselor is cunning but what he is saying is wrong. Just because his father is dead doesn't mean Rama should change his words
• I like the next conversation between the two brothers because it shows/reflects their raw emotions
• Bharata said, “If my sire's wish must be fulfilled, let me remain in the jungle for fourteen years so that Rama may return to Ayodhya.”
• Said Rama, “Neither Bharata nor I can recall or change the commands of Dasharatha.”
  

The Sandals

• Bharatha gave Rama a new set of sandals paired with gold and asked him step into them which he does
• Rama says: “I will live as a devotee for fourteen years with matted hair and in a robe of bark. These sandals, O Rama, will be placed upon the throne which I will guard for thee. If thou dost not return when the time of thy penance is ended, I will perish upon the pyre.”
• I love the love the two brothers have for each other
• Bharatha returned and told his counselor he would dwell outside the city in Nandigram until Rama returned
• Bharatha continued government work in the jungle with The Royal Umbrella over Rama's shoes- a symbol of royal authority
• He also presented all gifts to the shoes first because he believed his older brother deserved this place

Anasuya

• Anusaya was the wife of Arti, votaress of Gods above
• Sita was welcomed and given gifts
• Sita talks about her birth, how her father tilted the plough and she was born
• How Rama came into her life and broke the bow
• How Kaikeyi exiled her husband and sent him in the jungle dark and alone
• Her smiled turned into a frown and she wept
• She held Sita next to her and listened to her story
• She praises Sita for her wifely devotion
• Rama spent the night in Rishi's ashram and he feels proud as he sees his wife get blessings

Viradha

• Rama saw a rakhshasa and described him in great detail
• emitting tremendous roars with hollow eyes, a huge face, frightful, having a deformed belly, disgusting, dreadful, misshapen, a horrible sight, clad in a tiger-skin, besmeared with fat, covered with blood, who stood piercing with his iron spear three lions, four tigers, two leopards, four gazelles, and the huge tusked head of an elephant.
• He took Sita and said his name is Viradha. I liked his into in his own words because it showed arrogance and power
• "This forest is my fastness. Accoutered in arms, I range here, feeding on the flesh of ascetics. This transcendentally beauteous one shall be my wife. And in battle I shall drink your blood, wretches that you are. Having gratified Brahma by my asceticism, I received this boon that none in the world would be able to slay me by mangling my body with weapons"
• Sita trembled in fear hearing of his powers and threats
• Rama enraged ensured Viradha of his death
• Rama pierced him with a bow several times so Viradha lunged towards Lakhshman and Rama
• The devil laughed and yawned as the bows thwarted off of him and fell to the ground
• The devil carried the two away on his shoulders
• Both of the brothers each grabbed an arm of Viradha the devil and broke it, following by the devil growing weak and trampling down on the floor
• After pouncing, punching, arrowing, and trying to kill the devil in whatever way possible the two brothers realized they could not
• Rama kept his throat on the devils throat and asked Lakshman to dig a pit
• The next conversation was interesting and quite the plot twist coming form the devil
• "Slain am I, O chief of men, by you possessed of strength equal to that of Indra. Through ignorance, O foremost of men, I could not before know you. Now I know you you are that Rama, the worthy son of Kaushalya. By virtue of a curse, I entered this dreadful rakshasa form, I, Tumburu, a gandharva, having been cursed by Kubera. Being propitiated by me, Kubera said, 'When Rama, the son of Dasharatha, shall slay you in an encounter, you, attaining thy natural condition, shall repair to the celestial regions.' Through your grace have I been freed from this fearful curse; I shall now repair to heaven. Casting me into this pit in the wood, do you, O Rama, peacefully go thy way."
• The devil attained heaven finally and broke free of his curse

Agastya

• Agasta is a sage who welcomes the prince's with fruit herb and water
• He gives Rama a bow- Vishnu's bow, a shining dart of Brahma, and Indra's ample quiver, a saber golden Hilton
• praises Sita for her devotion once again
• I liked this quote
• "Great Agastya," answered Rama, "blessed is my banished life,
  For thy kindness to an exile and his friendless homeless wife
• Rama decides to explore the forest further

Shurpanakha and Rama

• Rakhashi Shurpanakha:  the demon King of Lanka, Ceylon.
• "She was misshapen and ugly, and her voice was harsh and unpleasant."
• She fell in love with Rama and decided to shapeshifter to seduce him away from Sita
• They meet and introduce each other. The devil speaks for herself
• “I am a rakshasa woman, the sister of Ravana, and have come hither because I love thee. I have chosen thee for my husband, and thou shalt rule over my great empire. Thy Sita is pale and deformed and unworthy of thee, but I am of surpassing beauty and have power to assume any form at will. I must devour Sita and thy brother, so that we may range the jungle together and visit the lofty hills."
• Rama offered her Lakhshaman
• She threatened her brothers to attack Rama or get revenge for her
• I liked Rama's reply with his smile:
• "List, O passion-smitten maiden! Sita is my honored wife;
  With a rival loved and cherished, cruel were thy wedded life!
  But no consort follows Lakshman: peerless is his comely face,
  Dauntless is his warlike valour, matchless is his courtly grace,
  And he leads no wife or consort to this darksome woodland grove,
  With no rival to thy passion seek his ample-hearted love!"
  

 Lakshmana and Shurpanakha

• Shurpankha is mad at being laughed at and rejected 
• Two versions
• Aprose account which tells about the confrontation between Surpanakha and Lakshmana and also the revenge of the rakshasas; Second:  Dutt's verse version of just the first scene, when Surpanakha goes after Sita and Lakshmana attacks her.
• After Lakhshman jokes at the devil, she attacks Sita
• Rama strikes at her chopping of her ears and nose
• The devil goes and tells her brother Khara, She asks for Sita to drink her blood
• 14 rakhshasas were sent but Rama killed them all and Shurpankha cried
• Khara called Dushana, his brother and said
• "Bring fourteen thousand rakshasas and bring my weapons and my chariot with white horses for, verily, this day I must kill the hateful Rama.”
• The devil reached to Sita again and this time Laskhman strikes at her

Ravana and Maricha

• Ravana consulted with March to kidnap Sita
• Miricha told raven not to mess with Rama
• He threatened to kill Maricha and he gave in out of fear of Ravana
• March became a golden deer
• "its horns were like twin jewels, its face was piebald, its ears like two blue lotus-flowers, its sleek sides soft as the petals of a flower, its hoofs as black as jet, its haunches slender, its lifted tail of every color of the rainbow"

The Golden Deer

• Sita wanted the deer but Lakshman was weary of it being a rakhshasas told Sita to be weary of it
• She still asked her husband for the deer

The Chase

• Rama slew the deer but Maricha imitate Rama's voice and asked Sita to come save him
• Lakhsman tried to tell her its an illusion but she gets mad and asks why he doesn't care
• Lakhshman gets defensive and angry. After seeing her cry he gives in and goes to find Rama
• Sita said if Rama dies she will die too

Jatayu and Ravana

• Ravana was ten faced and twenty-armed
• He changed shape and carried Sita into the sky, his eyes were red and yellow with rage
• The bird Jatayu heard Sita's prayers and fought for her
• Ravana fell on the floor with Sita in his lap
• He cut the birds wings and Sita held the motionless bird in her hands
• He took Sita in the sky again and all of nature wept for her
• Brahma was happy that Ravana would die and at the same time the Hermits were sad for Sita
• Sita dropped her jewelry to five great monkeys on a mountaintop

Sita in Lanka

• Sita is in the palace of the demon king guarded by rakhshasas
• Ravana had raped Rambha - a woman before and was cursed to not be able to again
• He tried to seduce Sita but she scorned at him
• He asked the devil women to treat her with the best foods and lifestyle, and to threaten her if she refused to be his bride which she did 

Rama and Jatayu

• Rama come home and sees Sita is not there
• he looks everywhere and finds her jewelry. He begins to cry and faints upon which Lakhshman revives him
• They find Jatayu who tells Rama everything and tells them Ravana went south
• The bird dies and goes to heaven

Kabandha

• "black demon of monstrous size his head was in the middle of his body; he had but one eye, and his teeth were numerous and long"
• He asked the two brothers to burn his body after battling with them and finding out who they are defeated. In return of burning his body he would give them information on Sita which he did
•  “Ravana dwells in the island of Lanka; he is the King of Rakshasas. If thou wouldst fain overcome him, thou must seek the aid of the ape chief, Sugriva, King of the Vanars, who dwells on Rishyamukha Mountain.”

Shabari

• Old woman waiting for Rama for a long time
• Stuck in a time warp
• She prayed for the two brothers
• She asks for her funeral rites now that she reached her destiny

Rama and Sita

Image Source: https://sites.google.com/site/fortheloveofkamadeva/rama-and-sita-the-epic-love-story

Bibliography:

Laura, Gibbs. Reading Part A: King Dasharatha. Ramayana Online: Public Domain Edition

http://ouocblog.blogspot.com/search/label/PDE%20Ramayana