Week 4 Reading Diary Tuesday: Part A

This week I decided to choose the Divine Archer for my readings. I felt that the title really emphasized Rama and his ability to wield a bow and arrow, therefore it caught my attention. Below is my analysis on Part A:

·       The story starts off in many of the same ways as the Public Edition of the Ramayana that we read last week. For example, the King Dasaratha has four sons from his three wives. Rama, of course, is the best and most skilled son. I do find it interesting that Rama possesses the skill of being able to read Vedas. I feel this was overlooked in the original Ramayana. His ability to have great knowledge could have further developed his character.

·       The sixth avatar of the god Vishnu, Parashurama, enters after Rama breaks Shiva’s bow to win over Sita. I felt this was interesting to allow two avatars of the same god to interact. I enjoyed the diction when Rama first received the bow and how it tightened just to his liking.

Source: Boldsky

·       The idea of karma is once again mentioned in the death of Dasaratha. He was cursed a long time ago for killing a boy instead of an elephant.

·       Shurpanakha is beaten/tortured by Lakshmana because she attempted to seduce him and Rama. This is vital in the plot of the Ramayana because she is the sister of Ravana, the leader of the demons.

·       Ravana, in revenge, then kidnaps Sita in the same manner as the Public edition of the Ramayana (the golden deer/hermit). I still find this to be my favorite part of the Ramayana because of the unique way to capture Sita. I do not remember though Ravana asking Sita to be his queen before he kidnapped her. I thought this was an interesting take on the Ramayana.

·       Rama teams up with the monkey Sugriva to get back Sita. This is similar to the original Ramayana.

Overall, I found that is wasn’t that different than the one we read last week. However, it was good to read again to get a further grasp on the storyline.