The Demon Marichi and Ravana Full Size Image
This week, I've been working my way through Part B of the readings of the Public Domain Edition of the Ramayana. In this section, Sita falls for the devilish devices of Marichi and Ravana to lure her away from Rama and Lashkmana so that she may be captured!
It's been settling to dig down into the meat and bones of it all, and I'm finally feeling oriented a bit, after spending too many hours last week following every wikipedia link to orient myself to the mythological creatures and locations. Although, I will digress and admit, that this week, my favorite external Wikipedia Link click and find has been Garuda, the vahana (mount) of Lord Vishnu, of which Rama is an incarnation, of whom the readings have been focused on this week. The fascinating thing was how many different countries he is found in -- practically all over SE Asia! This bird is just fascinating to read about, I mean just look at him!
Balinese Garuda, original by Okkisafire
Back to the meat and bones of Ramayana Readings, Part B, however:
- We start with some melancholy. How sad it is that Rama and Bharata agree, "Neither Bharata nor I can recall or change the commands of Dasharatha." Rama must be exiled, but sweetly, Bharata gives Rama golden sandals upon his feet, then takes those sandals back to ceremoniously rule during Rama's forest exile.
- We Meet Sages of the Forest:
- Viradha: Two broken arms, can't be killed by battle blows, so the brothers cleverly cast him into a pit and bury him -- and he attains heaven.
- Agastya: One of the most famous Rishis, gives Rama a bow that whose arrow will always meet its mark, and a golden saber. I specifically like how they give friendship and rest to Sita, Rama's "friendless and homeless wife." He sends them to make a hermitage in Panchavati's forest: a garden of five banyan trees in the Dandakaranya forest, "The Jungle of Punishment" forests, which spreads across modern day Uttar Pradesh/Jharkhand to Maharastra.
- Friends and Foes:
- Shurpanakha, sexy seductress whose nose and ears get cut off by Lakshamana
- Ravana, Shurpanakha's brother and main antagonist of this series. Interesting to Notes: He has ten heads and twnety arms (The images of this were highlights of the week, by far), resides in the golden palace of Lanka, which is now called Sri Lanka (And, WikiTrail find -- Sri is another name for Lakshmi!)
- Golden Deers: the golden deers in Hindu myth imagery has always confused me, and we finally learn in this section that deers can often be shapeshifting forms of devilish rakshasas. Particularly in this section, it is the demond Marichi who turns into a saphire-horned golden deer with a rainbow tail to entice Sita's heart to have him.
- Sugriva: Monkey King, who will help Rama and Lakshmana kill Ravana.
As the readings come to a close, the last morsel leaves me with immense hope and excitement... a Monkey King?! Aaahhhh, yeah, we're finally getting close to Hanuman time! I will here proclaim my love and fondness of Hanuman, and show you the temple that solidified that fondness.
Giant Hanuman Statue and Temple in Delhi.
Finally, a few questions I'm left pondering.
- Rama seems to be getting many gifts in his exiled life, so it's not actually turning out all that bad for him. However, why does he have to keep going deeper, deeper, deeper into the forest?
- I could write a story from Sita's perspective about getting captured by Viradha and meeting Agastya, including how tired and weary she is from continually traveling in the forest and never knowing when the next battle will come. Little does she know, that lurking around the next corner is a rakshasi waiting to seduce her husband! Does she trust Rama to remain faithful to her, as she has remained faithful to him in their wedding vows, even through exile into the forest?
