Reading Notes: Public Domain Edition Ramayana Section A

(Rama and Sita)

King Dashartha

• The kingdom is great and splendid and compared to a celestial city.
• I could write a dystopic parallel depending on where the story goes from here.
• Kashala, Dashartha's kingdom, is clearly in it's heyday what with the ruling sun-dynasty and all. 
• I could write from the perspective of his wives who all want to bear a son for the Sun King.

Dashartha's Sons

• I really love all the descriptive imagery using lotus blossoms and other things to emphasize appearances.
• This chapter focuses on the horse sacrifice. This would fit really well with a dystopic turnaround.
• Alternatively, there could be some really amazing and vivid imagery if I choose to write from one of the wive's perspective.
• How hardcore is it that it's Kaushalya who gets to slay the horse???

Rama: Avatar of Vishnu

• I wonder if Brahma is obligated or in any way feels obligated to offer gifts to those who offer supplications. 
• I also wonder why Brahma cannot simply rescind his gift since it is being abused.
• Does this strict keeping of his word in any way reflect the way that members of the upper class during that time would have been expected to keep their word no matter what?
• I wonder if lotus flowers have religious significance in Hinduism.
• Why is Rama special if Vishnu divided himself in four parts and was born as all the sons?

Vishvamitra

• Why did the king promise any gift when he knew he had to keep that promise no matter what?
• Does Vishvamitra know that Rama is the Avater of Vishnu?
• If he knows, who else knows?
• I wonder if there is significance to the lizard-skin gloves.
• The brothers go to battle dressed to the nines.

Thataka

• There is a certain sense of irony in a religious sage urging a prince to kill someone.
• This chapter establishes Rama's heroic ability.
• The idea of receiving servants as a show of gratitude for murder could play interestingly into that aforementioned dystopic mafia setting. 
• I also like that setting because it helps to explore perspective and the ease with which what is good and what is evil can be manipulated by perspective.
• I wonder about the father of Maricha

Baghiratha and Ganga

• It's interesting that most of the people are said to spend many hundred or many thousand years in prayer to achieve their ends
• I could incorporate the storytelling as some kind of lecture from a mob boss on the origins of the group or a landmark the group reveres in some way.
• Why do the gods bless some who offer supplications but not all?

Ahalya

• Rama's presence alone is enough to atone the sins of Ahalya after she cheated on her husband.
• Maybe my main character can do something not magical (I think I'm going to go either a sci-fi or dystopic action route) like counseling the woman to make amends to her husband.
• Basically this just needs to establish the incredible virtue of Rama.

Sita

• Maybe in this version, Rama should be a woman so that I don't spend an entire page focused on how pretty Sita is. I could either swap Sita's gender as well or make them best friends. Alternatively, they could just both be women and fall in love. I'll have to give it more thought. I'm also not sure if I want to include the part about them being reincarnated, married gods.

King Janaka

• Maybe in my version, I'll include Janaka giving a different kind of impossible task.
• I also don't want the impossible task to result in marriage. Sita can choose her own fate. It will just cause Janaka to trust and accept Rama.
• Apparently Vishvamitra is meant to be a guide of sorts in this part of the story. I may be able to use that.

Rama wins Sita

• When Rama completes Janaka's task she can't just finish, she has to annihilate it.
• It's interesting that all these people know Rama as incredibly virtuous, but literally faint from fear when the bow breaks.

Parashurama

• I think my character is going to grow weary of everyone seeing fit to test her. 
• I think it's interesting that all it took was one sign of respect for the sage to feel better.

Rama and Sita's Wedding

• I think it's worth noting that all of Rama's brothers were married in the same ceremony he was. 
• Was this a political play by King Dashartha to unite the two kingdoms permanently?
• I may portray it that way in my story.

Rama the Heir Apparent

• Rama is very popular with everyone. I guess that's a perk of being a reincarnated god.
• I wonder how everyone can tell he is so virtuous. Does he show it on a regular basis through prayers or actions or something?

Manthara and Kaikeyi

• Manthara is extremely vindictive for someone who was wronged once and only after she started it.
• Kaikeyi is extremely easily led by Manthara's prodding. I think I'm going to genderswap all the roles. Dashartha is going to be a post-apocalyptic woman crime boss, and the "wives" are going to be men of different houses bringing forth women to succeed Dashartha.
• Manthara will be either a girlfriend or a boyfriend of the Kaikeyi character.

Kaikeyi and Dashartha

• Rather than having the characters in my story be crime lords, I think it will be more appropriate to write them as an organization of guardians. That will better explain why people behave the way they do.
• I think it's interesting that Dashartha grants the boons but then rejects Kaikeyi and Bharata.
• How is Bharata going to feel about that??

Rama is Banished

• Rama is taking banishment very well for someone who was supposed to be installed as crown prince.
• Maybe he never really wanted the job in the first place. 
• He was incarnated to kill the demon tormenting the gods so that would make sense.

Rama Goes into Exile

• Sita's weeping at the bark garment after she begged to go to the forest seems odd to me. I may flesh out her character a bit differently than that.
• I will write Rama's character as serenely as he is written here, though. I like that for the story I have planned.

Crossing the River

• Rama and Lakshmana clearly have a close relationship. I would like to add onto this scene of Lakshmana comforting Rama in his distress.
• I may drop some of these scenes such as the one about staying with a king since my story will be shorter than this one.

Dashartha's Karma

• It seems strange to me that Dashartha should be cosmically punished for a mistake that he owned up to and immediately tried to atone for. Yes, what happened was bad, but there was no ill intent.

Dashartha's Death

• Dashartha really did reject Kaikeyi and Bharata after that. I would like to know how Bharata's doing. 

Bibliography: Public Domain Ramayana