Style Notes
As this reading covers the contents of the Ramayana that were covered in the previous readings, there is not much to take notes about content wise. So instead, in this section I intend to write about the stylistic differences I saw between the two different versions. As well as any differences in the stories that grabbed my attention.
One notable part of the Marriage of Rama was the sheer amount of gifts that were sent home with Dasharatha's sons. King Janaka gave a hefty "100,000 horses, 25,000 chariots, 10,000 elephants; wagons of gold and jewels; buffaloes and cows without number", all for the princes to marry the princesses!
Another bit of additional information I saw was this helpful map! It is taken as a page from the Divine Archer
1.
Foreshadowing
Reading this prose, I noticed a large amount of foreshadowing for the journeys that were to befall upon Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana. This one is a bit of a spoiler if you catch it as it happens, but as the exiles first set out upon their journey they cross the river Ganges and she says to Sita, "Lady, you will all return in safety and again cross my waves". While given the story of the Ramayana is an epic in can be assumed that the main characters will make it out safely it is a bold step to state it as a fact at the start of the story.
Irony
There was one major aspect of irony that only presented itself after knowing the full story of Jatayu and his brother Sampati. As Jatayu died in the hands of Rama, Rama spoke to him "Noble bird, you die; but in dying you fly higher than ever you soared over the Vindhya hills, for you shall go up to the land of the shining gods". This is ironic to me because it was Jatayu's fault for flying to high in the sky, the Sampati was forced to block out the Sun with his wings, searing them and becoming unable to fly.
Bibliography
The Divine Archer, F. J. Gould 1911.
Web Source
Comments
Post a Comment