Reading Diary B: Public Domain Ramayana

First of all I'd like to talk about this portion of the readings as a whole.  I was really excited to be reading of the end of Ravana because honestly that's what we've been waiting for since the beginning of this epic.  However, I was very unhappy with the treatment of Sita after she was rescued.  She was accused several times of having stained Rama's reputation and that of their families, it seems very little thought was had of what Sita actually went through.

65. Hanuman and the Mountain.  I actually really liked this scene.  Hanuman, since he can jump the farthest, is sent in search of some mystical herbs that will help the wounded and revitalize the troops after Indrajit's attack. Jambavan, leader of the bears, sends Hanuman to Himalaya, king of mountains.  Hanuman searches all over the mountain and when he cannot find the herbs he lifts up the mountain and brings it back with him! Not only did he take it, he also took the mountain back! I really liked the ingenuity that Hanuman has in taking the entire mountain instead of giving up!

67. Ravana's Lament.  I thought that this scene was a good look into Ravana's character, a look at how he may be the villain but he is still a father to his son and has certain rules he follows.  After his son is killed he weeps in lament, he had never expected that his son should precede him in meeting death.  After his initial sorrow he becomes angry and at first intends to kill Sita in order to make Rama feel his pain, but in the end some rakshasa women persuaded him to not cross the line of killing women for the sake of his reputation.

74. Sita Tested.  In this Sita says that due to Rama's awful words she would throw herself on a pyre and that the fire god would not let the fire harm her if she were pure, if Ravana had not stained her purity.  The gods became angry with Rama and begged him to trust her and still he hesitated, then the fire god welcomed Sita into his arms and did not harm her.  Rama delighted in the fact that she was pure, apologized for his harsh words and told her he did it to show the people her purity.  This to me is insult to injury, she was just released from a most likely long incarceration under Ravana only to be treated this way by her own husband!

78. Valmiki's Hermitage.  Again in this scene Rama spirits the innocent Sita away from him and puts her in the care of Valmiki the poet.  There she would stay for sixteen years without seeing any of the royal family and she would have twin sons in the likeness of Rama, but he wouldn't know that because he stashed her away like a purchased item he no longer wanted to play with.

Rama and Sita