Reading Notes: PDE Ramayana, Section A

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Dasaratha sends Rama into exile because of Kaikeyi's wish.
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For this note taking assignment I want to focus on the plot of the Ramayana and compare it to some other stories from other religions that it reminded me of. I listened to the audio version of the PDE Ramayana that Professor Gibbs recorded. Since I don't know how to pronounce the majority of the names and places in the Ramayana, I find it helpful to listen as I am able to absorb more of the story without getting hung up on the small things like name pronunciation.

I want to focus on Rama's exile. In the Ramayana, Rama's father, Dasaratha, sends Rama to the forest for 14 years. Previously, Rama was going to be the heir to the throne when his father passed, but his brother's mother's servant, Manthara, is not happy about this. Manthara, a ugly old woman, hates Rama and wants his brother, Bharata to be the heir instead.

Manthara tells Kaikeyi this, and she is happy to listen, because her husband Dasaratha owes her some favors. Kaikeyi asks Dasaratha to send Rama to the forest and make Bharata the heir, and he obliges. He is not happy but he sends Rama to the forest and fulfills his promise to Kaikeyi. Rama does not cause a scene, and also fulfills his duty as a faithful son by doing as his father commands.

This story reminds me of the story of Abraham in the Bible and the Qu'ran. Abraham is asked to show his loyalty to God by sacrificing one of his sons, Isaac in the Bible, and Ishmael in the Qu'ranic story. Abraham agrees to do so, even though he loves his son and right at the last minute, he receives word from God that it was just a test to see how devoted to God Abraham was devoted to him.

This was similar to the story of Rama being exiled to the forest, Rama and Dasaratha were willing to do whatever necessary to fulfill their duties in life, or their dharma. This also got me thinking about the influence of the Ramayana and dharma in the caste system of India. I know next to nothing about the subject, so I decided to look it up, and found some really interesting insights. Here is a interesting take from a blogger!

Bibliography: PDE Ramayana

Comments

  1. Laura GibbsJanuary 10, 2018 at 8:31 AM

    I am glad you found that link about the way caste can be interpreted in different ways, and the key role played by both dharma and karma in that. If you keep an eye out for the concepts of karma and dharma throughout the Indian storytelling world, that will give you great insight into every story in fact! You might also enjoy this article by Devdutt Pattanaik, who is one of my favorite Indian authors (oh, he is the one who wrote the Pashu book about the animals that I recommended; he does amazing illustrations, too, as you can see here): Caste Again

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