Week 2 Reading Diary A: Starting the Ramayana

One of the things that struck me most about this portion of the reading was how much everyone loves Rama. Even his brothers. From what I have seen and read in other media, brothers from royal families traditionally endure deep-seated rivalry, sometimes overt and sometimes undetectable at the start. A good modern example I can think of is Thor and Loki in the Marvel comics and movies. But Rama’s brothers really support him and want him to be king. Lakshmana claims he’ll fight the whole world to make Rama king. Kaikeyi is even afraid to tell Bharata about her changes to the coronation plans until after Rama has been exiled because of how devoted he is to Rama. It makes sense that everyone would love Rama because he is a heroic figure, so what meant most to me in regard to his popularity was his relationship with his brothers.

(Rama and Lakshmana. Web Source: Wikimedia Commons)

There were a lot of episodes that would make for good storytelling, particularly the stories Vishvamitra told during their journey. When I have to retell one later this week, I think I’ll focus on the one about Mahabali and the Dwarf (36). That would be manageable for me, and I think I can do something interesting with the advisor who turned into a bee to stop the water oath. Perhaps I will retell it with him as the main character, because his ability to shrink down to the size of a bee was only briefly mentioned, but it could be neat to explore further.