Reading Notes: Narayan's Ramayana Part A

Reading Part A
  1. King Dasharath
    1. Kingdom of Koshala is described as a very beautiful place
      1. Capital city is Ayodhya
    2. Dasharath is does not have a son; i.e. no heir
  2. Dasharatha's Sons
    1. Dasharatha preforms a horse sacrifice in order to receive an heir
    2. After the sacrifice, the gods (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, and Indra) promised that 4 sons would be born to Dasharatha
  3. Rama: Avatar of Vishnu
    1. Vishnu is born on earth as a human in order to defeat the demon king Ravana
      1. Vishnu is born as Rama (he is actually all four sons), the son of Dasharatha
  4. Vishvamitra
    1. Vishvamitra, a brahmarishi, asks Rama Lakshmana to help him fight some demons that are interfering with his sacrifices 
    2. They use swords and bows as weapons
  5. Thataka
    1. Rama engages in battle for the first time
    2. He fights a female rakshasa
      1. After winning the battle, he receives supernatural weapons that allow him to converse with the spirits of the weapons
  6. Bhagiratha and Ganga
    1. While with Vishvamitra, Rama is told stories of gods and goddesses
      1. One story concerns the Ganges River
  7. Ahalya
    1. Vishvamitra is telling more stories
      1. This story is about the god, Indra
      2. Indra falls in love with a sage's wife (Ahalya) and disguises himself as Gautama (her husband)
      3. Upon finding out, Gautama curses Ahalya to become invisible
  8. Sita
    1. Rama falls in love with Sita, who is an avatar of the goddess Lakshmi (just as Rama is an avatar of Vishnu)
  9. King Janaka
    1. In order to win Sita, Rama must bend the bow of the god Shiva
      1. This is reminiscent of several other fairy tales; first that comes to mind is King Arthur and the sword in the stone 
  10. Rama Wins Sita
    1. Go figure, Rama is able to string and bend the bow, rather easily
  11. Parashurama
    1. Parashurama (who is also an avatar of Vishnu) gives Rama another test; which is another bow test
  12. Rama and Sita's Wedding
    1. Rama and Sita are married, as well as the other three brothers of Rama
  13. Rama the Heir Apparent
    1. In the beginning, Dasharatha only needed one son to carry on the royal bloodline
    2. Now he has four sons and he needs to decide who is the immediate next in line
      1. The Brahmins all vote for Rama
  14. Manthara and Kaikeyi
    1. The decision to install Rama as heir apparent makes Manthara (the nurse of Bharata) unhappy
      1. Rama cursed her when he was a child, making her hideous
    2. So Manthara starts making trouble
  15. Kaikeyi and Dasharatha
    1. Kaikeyi, Bharata's mother, goes to Dasharatha and demands that he exile Rama and make Bharata heir
    2. Kaikeyi threatens to kill herself if Dasharatha does not meet her list of demands, so he sends Rama into exile
  16. Rama is Banished
    1. Rama goes into exile without even questioning or arguing with his father
  17. Rama Goes into Exile
    1. Sita and Lakshmana follow Rama into exile, even though they themselves were not exiled
    2. All three cast away their marks of royalty, in almost a gesture of spite to Kaikeyi
  18. Crossing the River
    1. The three of them make offerings to the Ganges in exchange for a safe return to the city after 14 years of exile
  19. Dasharatha's Karma
    1. Dasharatha is on his death bed, because of a hunting accident that happened in his youth
      1. He accidently shot a hermits son with an arrow while hunting
  20. Dasharatha's Death
    1. Dasharatha dies while Rama and Lakshmana are in exile and his other two sons are in his father-in-laws kingdom
Rama, Sita and Lakshmana
Wikipedia, 1957

Title: The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic
Author: Kamban / R. K. Narayan
Year: 1972

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