Week 2 Reading Diary, continued: The Ramayana Part B

I appreciated the literal translation of The Ramayana by Manmatha Nath Dutt because I often found myself wondering how much the wording varied from their original prose. At the beginning of Part B, I will say I started to get some of the many characters confused but eventually began to understand the narrative again. As in Bharata Returns by Donald A. Mackenzie, I cannot imagine unknowingly coming home to my father’s death and my brother’s exile. I think its important to note that people WANT to follow Rama. He is a leader by example - not by rank. This quality is not only very valuable but it is also very rare, and I think it is what makes Rama so powerful. The portrayal of Rama in Dasharatha's Funeral especially highlighted Rama's unique power over people when Dasharatha claims that "...this earth does not look graceful. The city appeareth unto me like the night deprived of the moon" in Rama's absence. Shortly after this, the idea of japa, or a repetitive recitation of a mantra, is introduced. I am familiar with this concept but would love to learn more about mantras related to the sacred literature of India. In Rama and Bharata, I found Jabali's morbid ideas surrounding death very intriguing. Likewise, I loved every bit of Rama's response to Jabali - spot on! More specifically, Rama claims, "Truth endures when all else passes away." To build off of my first post this week, Rama is very much a savior-archetype. For example, something about The Sandals story reminded me of Jesus cleaning people's feet. Furthermore illustrating this idea, Rama says that he "will live as a devotee... in a robe of bark" similar to the sacrificial life of a martyr. The last portion of Part B, Shabari, reaffirms this idea. Finally, I enjoyed the introduction of the deer - a symbol of femininity, gentleness, and unconditional love - into The Ramayanas.

Source: Wikimedia