Week 3: Narayan's Ramayana (pp. 89-171)Assignments - Reading Guide A - Reading Guide B - Ramayana Resources |
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Your Reading B for this week is Narayan's Ramayana, pp.
131-171. You might want to read over the previous
reading guide to remind yourself of what has happened so far.
p.
131 Hanuman finds Sita. Hanuman takes
on a giant size to cross the ocean to Lanka,
and then shrinks to a smaller size. At first, Hanuman thinks Mandodari,
the wife of Ravana,
is Sita, but he
realizes his mistake. He finds Sita in the Aśoka Vana pleasure garden, where
she is being guarded by demons. Sita is wearing a simple sari, covered with
dust. She feels so desperate that she is ready to commit suicide, but Hanuman
appears before her and gives her Rama's ring.
Sita has one piece of jewelry which she saved and gives it to Hanuman. Hanuman
makes himself large again and destroys the Aśoka Vana.
p. 133. Hanuman and Ravana. Hanuman lets Indrajit, Ravana's
son, capture him and bring him to Ravana. Hanuman tells Ravana about Rama and
advises him to surrender. Vibishana, Ravana's brother, tries to persuade Ravana
not to kill Hanuman. Ravana sets Hanuman's tail on fire and Hanuman then burns
Lanka to the ground. Maya, the architect of the gods, rebuilds the city.
p. 135. Ravana's council. Ravana is outraged that he was attacked by a monkey. Mahodara the giant offers to defeat the monkeys. Indrajit offers to bring back the heads of Rama and Lakshmana. Vibishana insists that the humans were a dangerous threat. Vibishana reminds Ravana that he had been cursed by Nandi, the bull of Śiva, to be destroyed by a monkey. He also invokes Vedavathi, who Ravana had tried to take by force and who had vowed to come back in a future life to get her revenge on him. Vibishana reminds Ravana that he is not protected against humans, and he advises him to release Sita. Ravana rejects Vibishana's good advice because he believes no curse can harm him. Ravana tells Vibishana that he must leave or be killed.
p.
141. Vibishana
goes to Rama. Vibishana crosses the ocean to seek asylum with Rama.
Sugriva and Jambavan are
suspicious, but Hanuman is inclined to trust him. Rama says that he cannot
refuse Vibishana's request for asylum. Rama mentions his ancestor, King Śibi,
who had been prepared to give up his life to give a pigeon asylum from a falcon.
Rama treats Vibishana as the ruler of Lanka in exile, and Vibishana gives Rama
advice about how to attack Lanka.
p. 144. The bridge to Lanka. Rama orders the sea god to help his armies cross the water to Lanka, threatening to evaporate all the water in the sea. The sea agrees to let Rama build a bridge, which he does with the help of men, monkeys and all kinds of animals, including a squirrel.
p.
145. The "decapitated head" of
Rama. Ravana sends out spies disguised as monkeys. He shows Sita
what looks like Rama's decapitated head. At first, Sita is alarmed, but in
the end she is not fooled by Ravana's trick.
p.
146. The "dead
bodies" on the field. Angada goes
to Ravana as an envoy. When the demons try to capture him, he destroys the
palace tower. Rama then orders the attack on Lanka. Indrajit uses poison darts
that make Rama and Lakshmana faint on the battlefield. Riding with Sita in
his Pushpak
Vimana chariot, Ravana
shows her their bodies lying there. At first Sita thinks they are dead, but
Trijata, who
has befriended Sita, tells her that they are just stunned. Garuda,
the great bird who is the vehicle of the god Vishnu,
breaks the power of the poison darts. Hanuman carries Rama on his shoulders
to confront Ravana. Rama wounds Ravana and shatters his crown. The day is over,
and Rama tells Ravana to return the next day with fresh weapons.
p. 147. The battle continues. Kumbakarna, famous for his deep sleep, is awakened. Kumbakarna promises to defeat Rama, but he rebukes Ravana for having been driven by lust. Kumbakarna kills and swallows thousands of the monkeys. Rama finally dismembers and kills Kumbakarna. Ravana despairs when he hears of Kumbakarna's defeat. Indrajit creates a phantom version of Sita and then kills her. The monkeys despair when they think Sita has been killed. Lakshmana finally manages to kill Indrajit. Ravana is stricken with grief when Indrajit is killed and wants to kill Sita. Ravana's advisors urge him to attack Rama and Lakshmana. Ravana says prayers to Śiva before his battle with Rama. Indra sends his own divine chariot for Rama to use in battle, driven by his charioteer Matali. Rama suspects that the chariot could be an illusion, but Hanuman and Lakshmana are convinced it is real. Ravana, meanwhile, tells the giant Mahodara to attack Lakshmana, but Mahodara attacks Rama instead and is destroyed.
p.
154. Ravana battles Rama. Before his battle with Rama,
Ravana sees ominous signs but he still scorns Rama because Rama is
a mere mortal. Rama destroys Ravana's armies hoping he can persuade Ravana
to surrender. Rama is able to repel Ravana's arrows with his own arrows, but
Ravana pierces Matali's heart. Rama and Ravana circle the earth in pursuit
of each other, and they launch their supernatural weapons against each other.
Rama is able to revive Matali and he uses a mantra to destroy Ravana's trident,
his most dangerous weapon. Each time Rama chops off one of Ravana's heads,
it grows back. Ravana finally faints from weakness, and Matali urges Rama to
finish him off but Rama will not attack an opponent who is in a faint. Ravana
revives and renews his attack on Rama. Finally Rama sends his Brahma-astra
into Ravana's heart and he dies. Rama is shocked when he sees a scar on Ravana's
back, but Vibishana explains that this was an old scar; Rama had not shot Ravana
in the back. Rama orders a grand funeral for Ravana.
p.
161 Rama tests Sita. Rama sends Hanuman to fetch Sita
after Ravana's death and receives her in the presence of a large
crowd. Rama refuses to bring Sita back into his house. She builds a fire and
jumps into the fire, declaring that she was untouched by Ravana. Agni,
the god of fire, vindicates Sita and returns her to Rama from out of the fire.
Rama says that the test was needed to show Sita's purity.
p. 164. Daśaratha comes to Rama. The gods are puzzled by Rama putting Sita to the test and Brahma comes to remind Rama of his divine nature. Śiva sends Daśaratha down to earth to see Rama and he offers to grant any wish of Rama. Rama asks Daśaratha to acknowledge Kaikeyi and Bharata. At first Daśaratha refuses to forgive Kaikeyi, but finally he does, and Rama feels a great sense of peace.
p.
166. Rama returns as king to Ayodhya. After fourteen years
of exile, Rama can now return to Ayodhya. Bharata is awaiting him at Nandigram,
prepared to kill himself if Rama does not return. Rama takes Sita and many
others with him in the Pushpak Vimana chariot, so that he can reach Ayodhya on
the appointed day. Rama sends Hanuman to Bharata to announce his arrival.
When Hanuman arrives at Nandigram, he puts out Bharata's fire. Rama casts aside
his forest clothes and puts on royal garments.
Hanuman and Sugriva come to Rama's coronation in human form, as do the gods.
This version of the story ends with the return of Rama to Ayodhya.
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