Sunday, January 29, 2017

Reading Notes: The Ramayana Part D

Part D was honestly my favorite reading of the Ramayana. I think it was the most detailed and had several surprises which made it more interesting. For example, I was wondering where Mandodari, the wife of Ravana was when he was capturing Sita. Also in this part Sita was very depressed, desperate, and frustrated. She wanted to commit suicide because she did not want to be with Ravana. Another thing that really stood out to me was that Ravana tried to trick Sita into moving on, by showing her a fake decapitated head of Rama. However, Sita was smarter than that and did not buy into his lies. She believed that her love was still alive. I think the most shocking but at the same time not so shocking thing was when Rama tested Sita to make sure she was pure. Sita stepped in fire to prove to him that she was pure. However, I do like the happy ending of Rama returning with Sita after several years of exile, to Ayodhya.

This part was very dramatic which made me immediately think of Romeo and Juliet. The part where Sita wanted to commit suicide is when the idea first came to my head. Also, what was not so shocking about Rama testing Sita about her purity is the culture. What I mean by this, is that In Pakistani culture I know purity is very important. For a man to be with a wife who is completely pure means so much. Most men do not want women who are impure because they want to be each other’s first and only. However, the passion that Sita had for Rama is the same passion Juliet had for Rama.

I do want to incorporate parts of Narayan's Ramayana and Romeo and Juliet to make an epic story.


Sita's Test By Fire
(Source: Wikipedia)

Bibliography:

Narayan's Ramayana, link to Reading Guide D.

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