Reading Diary: Week 7

Hooray! The end of the Ramayana forever! I never thought I would make it this far, and especially not twice.

This is an absolutely beautiful scene, the flowers marking Lanka where the battle was once held. I think that's also extremely sad. That's essentially the burial ground of all of Ravana's effort, however vain it may have been.

The whole fly-over scene with Pushpaka can be so sobering. Rama resents his actions against Vali, for which Sita does nothing but console Rama for his actions. He gets a 'get out of jail" pass on that one.

That silly Hanuman needs a story told about his collection of all of the waters of the world's rivers. He would probably figure out a way to have tons of fun along the way. He is also told to bring anything beautiful he finds along the way.  That could be his chance to pick up some ladies for the coronation ball?

This part can be so boring. There's not conflict left. I now know the ending. It's not a problem I have with the Ramayana, really just with books in general. The only book I remember ever being excited to read the post-resoution was the first of the Harry Potter books, for what it's worth.

I don't feel as bad for Rama having to wait those 14 years to take the throne now. Fourteen years is merely NOTHING relative to his 11,000 year reign in power. That might as well have been an afternoon daydream -- and/or nightmare.

Also towards the end, great, Sita is now the victim of the "Sins of the Father" with a karmic banning. Rama needed to suffer in order to save the kingdom but also because of his father's past debt to Kaikeyl, and now Sita will likely suffer as well

I will say that the ending is much more beautiful this time.

Reading Diary A: Week 7

We are so close to being finished with the Ramayana. I just needed to let that out, for my own sake.

Malyavan

• Chief advisor to the Emperor Ravana of Lanka.
• Some relational view to Vibishana: also opposed the war being fought against Rama.
• All I could think of his flashback was an old dude in slippers freaking out at the family reunion about past duties. PTSD is a messed up thing.
• Does Shiva physically take him? It almost sounds like Malyavan dies on the hill top -- taken by Shiva. I feel like this should be more obvious, but it definitely is not.

• The scene of him being taken from Lanka could be a somber but beautiful one

Jambavan

• He's the master of disaster. So much blood and gore in this scene caused by the annhilation of Rakshasas.
• I might have missed it in a past reading, but why is a bear king in with this party? I found out on wikipedia that Jambavan is sometimes also described as a monkey king, which makes his presence more sensible, but bear kings are really cool, obviously.
• The two magicians / wizards on the hill would be a nice addition to the brothers' storybook I read the other day. I don't think they reappear, but just making stories about these demon magicians could be really awesome

Ravana preparation

• I'm not very good at this type of storytelling, and I can't see myself attempting a foray anytime soon, but SOMEONE needs to write a story about the epic wind dance party that Ravana throws the night before an epic battle. Ravana is clearly a partier, and while he earned himself a charioteer in his dance, he also could show off some sick moves to Sita in his final attempt to win her over.
• Time comes to nag Ravana, which sounds like an annoying little sibling at his dance party, too

There's not much to write about from the epic battle. My initial storybook project was going to be centralized around weapons, and the astras in the final battle are the most varied and intriguing of the entire story.

I'm also so relieved that Sita did not have to prove herself to Rama after she is saved but instead is reunited through Agni, the fire god. Agni is super interesting, and is shocked whenever Rama either refuses or does not recognize his true deity name. It's probably just Rama being humble again.

Week 6: Reading Diary

Nala

• Monkey whose special skill is to make rocks buoyant. This is particularly useful as Rama's troops need to cross the ocean into Lanka. Not really sure why Nata wasn't helping out whenever they were asking who could jump across the gap to Lanka earlier in the book.
• Credited as builder of the Rama Setu, or the bridge that allowed Rama's forces to enter modern-day Sri Lanka
• Varuna tells Rama that Nala is a divine architect of the gods, and Nala even fights in the great battle between Rama and Ravana
• Nala (and sometimes Nila) managed to get this rock buoyancy power due to mischeif in their youth. Once upon a time, the ornery Nala would often throw divine talismans or images into the water for fun. Because of this bad habit, the sages put a curse on them that disallowed anything thrown into water by the monkey from drowning. This led to the great career as a water architect
• Wounded in the battle by the arrows of the Great Indrajit
• In some versions, Nala constructs the living quarters for Rama's army while marching on Lanka

Vibhishana

• Clearly the wisest Rakshasa in all of Lanka, as he persitently asks to return Sita to Rama.
• This marks a place where the tide could have taken a major turn. I could imagine trying to weave a tale where Ravana listens to his loyal (brother?) Vibhishana and chooses to give back Sita to Rama. It's like trying to turn the story back into a happily ever after ending.
• A completely different story would be the inner conversation going on between members o the camp other than Rama whenever Vibhishana attempts to come aboard their camp.

Angada

• Son of Vali and Tara, nephew of Sugriva. Tara was also once the wife of Sugriva before Vali banished Sugriva and later killed by Rama. I think this should maker things awkward as his own nephew was birthed by his own ex-wife? That sounds like some melancholy sitcom right there.
• Catches a spy bird but is not allowed to kill Suka
• One of the "peaceful" messengers of Rama's. Says basically everything that Ravana's party has tried to convince Ravana of already, but it is all to no avail.
• I think it's interesting to note that most of Rama's threats that were delivered through Angada all were very direct. Most of them boiled down to, "you will die if I don't get my Sita back". This is significantly different than some of Ravana's threats where he says "One of these days..." and trails off. It's this that makes me think that the Rakshasas are not only built to destroy and kill. That being said, I think the Rakshasas are also more interested in pain and torture than the average human. Such a conundrum.

Week 6: Reading Diary A

Sampati, the vulture

• Huge vulture, sibling of the great Jatayu that once defended Rama and Sita. Clearly, these birds are of great nobility. I see them as being reincarnates of some amazing king from a past life, although going from King to super vulture wouldn't really be much of an ascension
• Sampati is an unsung hero in all of this, as his coming clearly marks a momentum shift in the search for Ravana. If he does not show up with information on Ravana's presence across the water, there's a fairly good chance that the search party ends there. The morale was definitely low.
• I'd like to tell a story of Sampati and Jatayu where Sampati doesn't lose his ability by flying too closely to the sun. I would keep the part where he essentially burns himself to protect Jatayu, but an epic battle would be way better of a story for the loss of Sampati's flying ability. It might also be interesting to talk about Sampati's recovery to fly, or how some engineer in a town nearby helped create a prosthetic to use as a wing. Maybe once his wing was repaired, Rama could fly on the great vulture during the epic battle against Ravana, instead of the chariot.
• I can't put my finger on it, but this part of the book is clearly my favorite. I think everything up until this point can have its interesting moments, but once they actually get the search party down to the tip of India and start to proceed to Lanka, the book really thrives for me. Reading is no longer a task after this point.

Hanuman

• Clearly, Hanuman has known this ability to cross the ocean so easily by growing to be a giant, but he was either hesitant to do so, or was not paying attention during the discussion of crossing the 100 leagues. I think it would be interesting to write a story about how Hanuman came to be able to grow into a giant. Could this be his family trait? Is there a limit to how large he can actually get? Is there a limit to how long he can stay in this form?
• The story of Hanuman growing to be large enough to jump across the ocean is awesome, but imagine it from the perspective of a bystander -- that would be incredibly frightening. All the poor animals of the hillside and river are being throttled about while Hanuman is gaining all of his size.
• The stories of the mountain king-god that rested underneath the passage to Lanka was incredibly interesting. Apparently, the large mountains of the world used to be able to have wings and fly whenever the wanted, and it was only when Indra punished them for their carelessness while landing that they finally lost their wings. They make out Indra to be some sort of bad guy, but I think it's obviously clear that the mountains flying and landing wherever could cause massive devastation. Indra clearly knew what he was preventing.

Brothers - Storytelling Wk. 3

"Your brother never meant to spite you. He's just never had anyone challenge him until you came along. I know I should have raised him better, but boys will be boys".

I always thought Vali was the absolute coolest guy. He was excellent at stickball, track, and any other test of athleticism and strength. Mom always said that Vali had muscles that were weaved by God. It was odd that someone so blessed could be such a short-tempered and short-sighted brother. Despite his physical advantages, he always tried to prove himself to me -- usually by demonstrating how much farther he could toss a boulder or how easily he could break a tree limb. It bothered him to no end that I couldn't care less about his supernatural strength. This usually caused him to be further incensed, storming off only to later come back and ridicule me for my piano playing or my science projects. I never wanted to argue, but he made it happen. It only got worse.

Source: Wikimedia commons

He often decided it was his obligation to protect the town's animals from ravenous wolves or to jump into burning buildings to check for life inside instead of waiting for our fire department. His favorite "responsibility" was probably whenever storms would scatter the livestock into Cave Creek nearby. Vali would never acknowledge that his servitude was about doing the nice thing for people. He really just enjoyed people knowing that they were indebted to him. On a particularly violent and stormy night, Vali had been digging out some pigs but was taking forever to come home. Against my mother's best wishes, I set out for the creek side to make sure he was okay. It must have been a solid eight hours of searching before I gave up. We reported to the police that he had gone missing, but they said that there had been tons of people stranded in the storm, most of whom were presumed dead. I knew that my brother could not so easily be taken away by a fickle storm, so I was not nearly as devastated as my mother.

On my way home from school each day, I looked out upon our fields, fully expecting to see him running like a madman through the tallgrass. It had been nearly three weeks since the storm, and I had to have been the only one who still thought he was coming back. We heard a sudden thump on the back door. It was Vali! I could not keep myself from grinning while he embraced my mother. I should have noticed the bottle of gin in his knapsack and I should have noticed that he had fresh clothes. But who was I to be upset when the pride of our town was back?

Vali was different now. At first, I thought he was joking around with me when he talked of the night he went missing. He'd say, "I expected you to come fish me out of the creek, you scrawny punk." or "Someone as smart as you should have known I would be staying with Betsy down the road."  Vali was arrogant and short-tempered, but I never thought he had it in him to stay the weekend with Betsy -- the girl he once promised to me I would marry someday. When I found out that he and Betsy were much more than just "roommates" during his time away from home, I was crushed.

I felt like I was slowly being towed away from everything that I loved. Vali spent all of his time with my former love. And when he did manage to stumble home, he was completely wasted. My mother was still in shock from losing him, so her only instinct was to coddle him further. She was always pleading with me to make sure Vali had everything he needed. "He needs you to help him on his school work!" This really just meant he was too busy upchucking all night to do his math problems.

When it became apparent that this was going to be my life for my eternity, I packed up my world and applied for individual independence from my mother and Vali. I knew living in my own condominium outside of Brooksdale Community College a few months before school starts would not be nearly as stressful as living with my family.  I had grown weary from all of the verbal and physical abuse from the relationship with my brother, and I had grown weary of my mother's unwillingness to do anything about him.

To this very day, I am barred from evening dinners with my mother and brother -- far from welcome in what was once my own home. My mother and brother couldn't understand how much their burden on me was keeping me from succeeding. I am not married to the girl to which I was meant to be married, but I know that without my choice to leave, I'd still be doing homework for my brother.

Author's note:

This was an adaptation of part of Sugreeva's story about his history with his brother, Vali. In the Ramayana the great warrior Vali goes into a cave (deemed Cave Creek in my interpretation) to fight a beast and takes a very long time to come out. The challenge of the beast is instead more of a challenge of stamina in my story; he must save the livestock that has been stranded in the creek. The only person to still believe he is alive is his brother. However, because Vali felt abandoned after being left stranded for so long, he basically shuns his brother from their city and ends up taking his wife, too. I did not incorporate any of Rama's intervention in this matter, as my re-telling only covers everything up to Sugreeva's banishment out of the city.

I remember reading about Vali's great strength and how it would make sense if one of the brothers was the brute jock, while the other was the perceptive and intelligent son. I wish I had made more time to flesh out the reemergence of Sugreeva into Vali's life, so that I could change Vali's imminent death at the hands of Rama into something more optimistic.

The picture I chose was made to set up some imagery of the livestock stranded in Cave Creek.

Source:

• Narayan, R. K. (1972) The Ramayana

Week 5: Portfolio Styles

Storytelling from an Animal's perspective
What attracted me to this style is its versatility, Telling a story from the perspective of an animal -- like a crane, which I did in one of my stories about the Ganges -- can be useful for pretty much any setting. I also like to use animals as more of an innocent character for reader sympathy. I think it is most reminiscent in kids' stories, books, and movies. Most kids can be intrigued enough by a talking squirrel enough while still being fully entertained by its cute appearance. Some of the challenges provided come from forcibly infusing this animal bystander into a story. It's also easier to use an animal whenever it's not plausible for the human to be in that situation. One of the weaknesses is that some might not take an animal as seriously while the story is starting, before the setting is completely established.

Breaking News
What interested me in this storytelling style would be the ability to choose an unfavorable perspective potentially. For instance, a news station in Lanka could be hard at work trying to convince viewers that Rama is in the wrong, and that these battles are really all about perspective. I remember reading a book that was a newspaper report on the "Three Little Pigs" but from the perspective of the wolf being the good guy. Other than that, I don't recall too many stories where they are told from this view. The weaknesses of this style would be a lack of introspection to the characters. Most character development would be with newscasters and not the reported characters.

News channel

Social Media / OU hybrid
I saw the social media idea and the OU-campus idea and would like to give a shot at mashing them up. I'm trying to imagine a series of tweets or Facebook posts between some of the ladies of Lanka and how much they dislike having Sita around -- maybe on OU's campus or in a class? Obviously this one would need some major tinkering, but I think it has potential. One of the weaknesses would be the readability -- seeing as each tweet could only be 140 characters by rule. I'd like to figure out a way to actually format them as tweets, too.

Social media

Plot twist
I like the idea of plot twists; however, I feel pretty inadequate in my ability to concoct them. The reason I like plot twists so much is because they can completely change how you feel about a story. Plot twists are especially prevalent in thrillers (Inception, anyone?) and while they're not always carried out properly, the reader sometimes can feel proud because he predicted the twist. The weakness of this style is that it requires entirely new material and that this material needs to mesh well with the rest of the story. The strength, as I mentioned above, is that they can completely re-vamp a story that has been repeatedly told.

Court Trial
This was my idea for my original storybook. What appealed to me about this style is that it makes everything feel more real to me.  Saying someone was "sent to court" isn't nearly as threatening as actually going through the trial and all its gritty details. One of the weaknesses, and what ended up bogging me down on my storybook, was trying to go through the in-depth trial speak used. I like it in movies because it makes the setting more realistic and credible, yet it was excruciating for me to write. I would still like to figure out a way to incorporate it into my portfolio, just not as the only style.

Week 5: The time of a new king

The kingdom did not hesitate for anyone or anything. The birds chirped as early as they could. The sun gazed down as soon as its warm face as erupted over the horizon. Dasaratha had obviously had a pretty horrendous past few days, so it wasn't completely inconceivable for him to be sleeping in. It was only when some of his servants came in to dress him that they realized what had happened. In shock of Rama's exile, the great king Dasaratha had perished.

The couriers of the kingdom were immediately sent out to ride to Kekaya to find their new king. Preparations were made for Dasaratha's funeral ceremony, but all of it felt too soon for anyone to actually accomplish much of anything. The seamstress could not find her dexterity while sewing his silken gown and the carpenter could not manage to avoid cracking the wood on his casket that was being carved away. It seemed as if the people of Ayodhya had lost a father-- their king Dasaratha.

When the couriers arrived in Kekaya, iDasarat was revealed to them that they were in search of the king's son Bharata. All of the messengers were confused. One said, "By Brahma, this is not Bharata's throne to take!". Another retorted, "I'd soon assume we give the kingdom up to the Rakshasas if Dasaratha or Rama is not the one caring for us". Nevertheless, the couriers retrived Bharata from his residence. He appeared very disturbed; his beard had become long and grisly, and his eyes yelped out for sleep. Bharata had not slept for at least two days, and even if he managed to sleep, the only dream he managed to have was the same horrible terror. It was a simple nightmare. He would be walking through the forest, obviously on a hunt. But no matter which direction he traveled, he always managed to get back to the same clearance. Then he would hear screaming (which he managed could be of his mother) in the distance and chains shattering. He tried to run to help whomever was being tortured, but still could not manage to escape the clutches of the forest. The screaming got so loud that the trees began to bleed from their ears. He could only wake up if he managed to run himself hard enough into one of the bases of the trees.

Bharata pleaded, "Have you come to help me with my quest for proper slumber?" The couriers shook their heads, and felt awful about the inevitable news they would have to explain to this clearly drained son of a lost king. Bharata sat them down and requested that his roommate (and uncle) play some soft music so as to calm his nerves. He felt that he knew what was happening. "It's my mother, isn't it? I've only had the most horrible dreams about her screams in the wilderness near Ayodhya". The messenger stopped him before Bharata could go on, "No, your mother is in good health". Bharata had no more patience to guess who in the family had fallen and began to weep. "It was Rama, wasn't it?" The couriers again shook their heads.

One of the messengers who had yet to speak gently grabbed Bharata's hand and solemnly explained, "Bharata, son of the great Dasaratha, you must know that your father has died from shock and grief due to your brother's exile into the wilderness of Ayodhya. We understand how hard of a a time this must be for you, but we also request your presence in Ayodhya as the new king. We have made arrangements for you to take your throne in the morning". And as the last bit of his speech trailed off all of the messengers and the son of a great king began to sob synchronously They planned to return that night, but soon realized that this was a time to mourn with their newly established king.

Author's note:
I tried to make this story more about how sad and distraught everyone was after the king's death. I didn't like how the messengers would not tell Bharata that it was his father who had died until Bharata made it back to Ayodhya to see for himself. I also wanted to make more of a connection between the messengers and Bharata as they mourned over the loss of a father and king.

Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way. 

From Wikmedia Commons

Reading Diary B: Week 5

• Rama's magic is apparently so powerful that even when Ravana is about to mention Rama's name, Marchria stops him and tells him that Rama is who made him into a hermit. Marichia actually does a ton of foreshadowing in his warnings to Ravana, stating that Ravana will be reduced to nothing unless he gives up on his quest for Sita's hand in marriage. Marichia is quoted saying that Rama can bring down the stars with his arrows... create earth all anew. This is illustrating much more than just the astras and archery mastery Rama possesses, 
• In the scene where Rama hunts down Marichia as the golden deer, his bow is described and diamond and rainbow - with golden arrows. Most of these materials are not pliable or viable for weapons, but that may just be part of Rama's greatness.

 Vali

•  Vali and his evil buffalo Dundhuvi are described as the only ones that are as ill-mannered as each other. Dundhuvi was set to do something to anyone that looked at him the wrong way. This dumb ox even managed to challenge giant waves of the ocean and peaks of the himilayas to battles. He was nice enough to only fight Vali once he was sober. It is not described in much detail, but Vali defeats the ox fairly quickly, the battle being described as a fire on earth. Vali shows how strong he is as he tosses the bloody corpse after swinging it around. Vali is no weakling.
• Vali, cursed by the cave where he first killed the buffalo, managed a year-long battle with Asuras, and despite its overwhelming length, defeated all the asuras, sending their blood throughout the cave. Vali was no slouch, easily he could defeat a troop of asuras.
• After this depiction of Vali as a very formidable opponent for Rama, Vali is easily defeated through the use of Rama's one arrow into his back. I think this speaks more to Rama's ability to hit a vital area than his magic ability, but it's also not elaborated on very much how Rama's arrows are often fatal critical hits, even through the tougher monkey carcass of Vali

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Jeremy

Week 4 Storytelling: The genie

Kaikeyl was lounging about, eating her oranges and mangoes in the den. Life could not be more pleasant. Here she was, scantily clad in only her beads and pearls, reveling in the fact she had raised her son, Bharata to be the perfect young man. The only problem was that Rama was the heir to what she thought was to be her son's throne. She loved Rama, but she felt that Bharata reflected everything that was right in the world of Ayodha. Bharata had the true human package, being able to properly empathize and work alongside people. She thought Rama really just kept to himself and his wife-- truly a nice young man, but nothing compared to Bharata.

She realized she still had to sort through some old belongings she had forgotten about. These items were once very valuable, but as she was a queen, they didn't matter. The first thing she noticed when rummaging was an old gas lamp with multitudes of languages inscribed upon it. She had been advised against opening it by her own mother for the past 20 years. "I am a queen of Ayodha. Who is to say what I can't open?" She proceeded to pry its top from the base and a gigantic plume of dust filled the room. It was black as soot and smelled of putrid food.

Manthara, a wicked genie, was all that remained of the lamp and dust once it all settled. She was not the most stunning of characters, having a plump belly and unfortunate frame. Her voice also sounded like a gull being strangled. Manthara chortled, "Hello Kaikeyl! How great it is to finally be in your presence. You must forgive me for my appearance, as I am obviously very cramped in that awful vesicle". Kaikeyl had yet to respond, verbally or with gesticulation. Manthara continued, "You may have your two wishes granted now, no questions asked! Just remember that actions and words -- or lack thereof -- have consequences!"

Kaikeyl was known by her people as loyal, trustworthy, and logical, which is why it was so peculiar for her to ask for her wishes abruptly. She wished for Bharata to become king over Rama, and she asked for Kausalya, Rama's mother, to forgive her for her wish.

~ Years later ~

It was late in the afternoon and Kausalya was still unhappy with Kaikeyl. She came up to her at dinner one evening and sarcastically told her, "I forgive you for stealing the throne for your Bharata, because it has taught my son how to NOT be a proper king".

Bharata, having been given the throne despite not being the proper heir according to his father, had become a spoiled tyrant. Rama was patient with him for a great time, even being part of his consul for part of his reing. This, however, became too much for Rama whenever the people of Ayodha began to complain of the awful taxes, welfare, and future prospect of the kingdom. Rama eventually lead a coup in order to take down the tyrant. Bharata fell to his death while trying to escape the palace during its siege.

Kaikeyl, a bit older and wiser now, realized her mistake. She made haste in giving her son the throne without considering the consequences. Manthara's words echoed in her mind.

Oil lamp, from Wikipedia

Author's Note:

This was a different take on Manthara's visit to Kaikeyl where she asks Kaikeyl to use her two wishes to save her son Bharata. I made the maid servant into a genie to give it a fable/storytale feel. I started to rn out of ideas on how Bharata was to become a spoiled king, so I made it into a summary of his fall instead of a conversation. It's basically a story over: "Be careful what you wish for".

Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way.

Week 4: Reading Diary B

• Despite knowing the true ending of Ramayana, I wish Kaikeyl was not so quick to trust her servant Manthara when he/she convinces her to stop Rama from becoming king. I think Kaikeyl has to know that Rama will eventually become king regardless of her actions, so this likely factors in to her decision.
• All of these sorts of decisions are made without Bharata being present, which is obviously going to be a spot of disagreement later on.
• The citizens act of raising the river to block Rama has got to be the most impressive thing a town has ever done to keep their monarch in town.
• I don't remember Guha having a role in Narayan's version. I'd like to make a storytelling post where Guha is a stand-up comedian. I feel like he could have some crazy stories, too.
• I think Lakshmana should be the official unsung hero of the entire book. He battles relentlessly and competently without any supernatural ability, he can build houses on a whim in the forest, and he's a master tactician for Rama. I like that Buck gives a little more insight on him.
• I hate the part of both books where Dasartha dies of grief. The parents who told Dasharatha he should be on the flames with their son were clearly talking out of anger and shock. Parents should never wish for anyone to lose his son. Dasarathra takes this too literally, and does not take into account what his death could possibly do to hurt his sons, and even his country who do not have a king in the meantime. I could see an alternate storyline where he dies of grief and Ravana comes in to rule Ayodha as their new ruler.
• I understand that Darasathra intends to give each wife her own say and kept promises, but I felt like the only wife who talked rationally was Kausalya. This is possibly just because she is the birth mother of Rama, and she likely is trying to protect her son first and foremost.

Reading Diary A: Week 4

1. I'm not sure I am going to enjoy Buck's version as much as I thought I was going to. For one, the part of the first edition that always had me scrambling when reading was the constant slur of new characters being presented. Looks like I had it easy in the first one, because Buck's version feels like a constant bombardment of names. The legend they give before the chapter is too much to comprehend as well, but it certainly helps.
2. I enjoy how much detail he goes into when describing Ravana and the tales of the other rahshasas upbringing. It's nice to know that Lanka has not always been the demon stronghold that it was when Rama attacked.
3.  It's also interesting that the whole beginning talks about the events as if they already happened while also promising to tell them anyway.
4. The quarrel between Indra and Brahma is fascinating. It's hard to tell who is really the most powerful, but it's clear that Brahma is not nearly as eager to demonstrate that as Indra.
5. I don't remember Shatrugna being mentioned in the first version. This could be an interesting story re-telling perspective
6. Kumbhakma: What is there to say? He had a choice to be whatever he wanted to be, and he chose to be an eternal slumberer. I wish I could call him a glutton, but that sleep sounds pretty nice right now for a college student
7. I think Ravana's conquests are all great foreshadowing to his eventual fate. He shows off all of his self-centered, egotistical self. He makes sure to have many invulnerabilities, but does not have one for humans. Good luck this time, Ravana.
8. I'd like to know more about Janaka and his relationship with his daughter

Reading Diary B - Week 3

Hanuman

·         Takes his giant form and crosses the ocean into Lanka, first notices the neglected women of Ravana.

·         Finds Mandodari and mistakes her for Sita, not Ravana’s wife.

·         Sita is near suicide, but Hanuman convinces her that Rama will come.

·         Before he leaves Lanka, he destroys and damages much of the retreat and the city.

Ravana’s council

·         Ravana is prophesied to die through the hands of a monkey and is not protected from human attack

·         Ravana ignores all warnings of his councilmen, citing no fear of anyone, especially humans

Vibishana

·         Ravana’s brother, exiles himself unto the camp of Rama. He is vouched for by Hanuman when everyone is considering rejecting him from Rama’s group

·         Advises Rama of the armies of Lanka.

·         Rama finally crosses the ocean once a bridge is built

Ravana

·         Attempts to convince Sita that Rama has been killed with a fake head, receives word that he can still be saved if he gives Sita up now.

·         Indrajit tells him of poison darts that will soon take out Rama, but Rama and Lakshmana do not die because of the help of another great eagle.

·         Ravana nearly suffers immediate defeat at the hands of Rama’s army, but Rama allows him to recharge his army overnight – Ravana must dutifully accept

·         He relies on his sleepy Kumbarkna brother to save the battle. Kumbarkna does tons of damage to the army but is no match for Rama

·         Ravana is devastated, but Indrajit insists he is still invincible.

·         Indrajit is killed by Lakshmana

Ravana vs Rama

·         Seeing the destruction of Lanka, Ravana decides to once again take on the battle himself, and admits either Sita or his own wife will be widowed in the end.

·         Mahodara-- the giant – decides to attack Rama directly against Ravana’s wishes. Rama ended his life immediately. Despite Rama’s efforts to convince Ravana not to fight, Ravana only became more incensed

·         Ravana realizes that the gods have put their support behind the mortal

·         The battle goes from arrow shoot-off to asthra showdown between them.

·         Ravana is defeated once Rama attacks him directly in the heart, where his is more vulnerable. His death shows Rama the purity of soul underneath all of the evil

Resolutions

·         Sita is not trusted until she goes through a trial of fire. She passes.

·         Dasharatha comes back to earth to grant Rama a wish. Rama wishes for him to understand Kaikeyl and Bharata. Rama is made happy once everyone is forgiven

·         Rama returns after his 14 years to become king of Ayodya.

Reading Diary A - Week 3

Ravana

·         Enslaver of other gods into his court

·         Hopeless lover of Sita, much like Suurphanka and Rama. Went so far as to change the seasons out of hopelessness thinking of Sita.

·         Taking the form of a homeless man, the idiot Sita allows him into the hut while she is unguarded.

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Mareecha

·         Uncle of Ravana, has made two unsuccessful attempts at taking out Rama

·         Lost his mother and brother at the hands of Rama

·         Assumes the form of the gold deer in order to capture Sita for Ravana.

Lakshmana

·         Despite being the precautious and clever protector, no one trusts him until things go poorly.

Jatayu

·         Great eagle, protector of Dasartha’s family after his death.

·         Fought valiantly with Ravana, but was no match in the end.

·         Only lived to tell Lakshmana and Rama that they would succeed in the end

Hanuman

·         Man of the monkey people, takes form of scholar, guide for their journey in the monkey’s land

Sugreeva

·         Had a brother, Vali, who churned immortality nectar for the gods. The gods gave him immeasurable strength in return.

·         Lost his wife and role in the Kingdom to Vali whenever Vali thought he had been betrayed by his brother.

·         Needs Vali to be destroyed by Rama in order to reclaim his army to help search for Sita.

Vali

·         Disregards the well-informed warnings of his wife Tara and proceeds to confront his brother with a lust for battle.

·         In battle with Sugreeva, was shot by Rama’s piercing arrow. Sugreeva looked much alike his brother and thus wore a wreath to mark himself.

·         Marks a dark record on Rama’s conscience, as Rama was not affiliated with Sugreeva until he lost his wife

·         Goes into a long ethical battle with Rama before death, citing Rama’s misconceptions about the monkey people

·         Realized his wrong with his death, but was happy for his own salvation

Sugreeva

·         Despite the agreement, Sugreeva does not show with his army search party after the rain season. Lakshmana is sent after him.

·         Sugreeva had become a fat cat, indulging in king rewards without doing the responsibilities.

·         His delay of action was apparently caused by messenger delay between army groups

Sampathi

·         Brother of the late Jayatu, found at the southern coast.

·         Lost his wings while shielding Jayatu from the energy of a sun god

·         His wings regenerated upon the mention of Rama, and informed the search party that Sita was still farther to the south in Lanka.

·         Upon his departure, Hanuman was encouraged to use his inner power to traverse the gap in the ocean by becoming gigantic.