Analysis of The Ramayana Story - Term Paper Example

The Ramayana: A Review of the Literature In the story of the Ramayana, Sita is one of the main characters. Rama and Lakshmana are two of King Dasaratha's sons, and were requested by Vishwamitra (the sage, or wise man) to kill Ravana, the ruler of the rakshasas. Vishwamitra's own personal vows prevented him from being able to personally fight Ravana's demons, and so he pleaded the king for Rama's help; Lakshmana opted to go along with Rama. Sita was found as a child by king Janaka, who basically adopted her as his own daughter. The king loved Sita incredibly, and his love for her was obvious. "Many princes have desired her hand in marriageBut I wanted the man who married my Sita to be a man of great strength and righteousness. To prove his strength, this man would have to lift and string the ancient bow of Shivra. No man has shown the strength to even lift this bow." (Tominberg). Rama is asked to try his hand at this task; he easily lifts the bow and begins stringing it, and it is immediately announced that he and Sita will marry. King Dasaratha grows old and after noticing omens that were suggesting his end was near, he decided to step down and make Rama the new king. Manthara, a maid-servant, does not like this decision, and ends up talking the king's youngest wife, Kaikeyi, into also turning against the king's decision. Kaikeyi tells the king that she wants her son, Bharata, to be the king, and not Rama. She also requested that Rama be banished from the kingdom for a period of no less than fourteen years. As a righteous and honest man who had previously promised Kaikeyi two boons (promises which must be granted), the king had no other choice but to agree with Kaikeyi's choice. Rama was immediately told that he would in fact not be made king, and that he was banished from the kingdom. Lakshmana decides to again leave with Rama, and although Rama persisted against Sita leaving with him as well, she ignored his pleas and stayed by his side. "And it is my duty, my dharma, as a wife to be at your side. How can I live without you I must join you." (Tominberg). King Dasaratha lost the will to live shortly after Rama, Lakshmana and Sita left the kingdom, and died. Several days later, the three journeyers found themselves hunting in a forest far outside of the kingdom, when a great army led by Rama and Lakshmana's brother Bharata approached them. The brothers assumed that Bharata had found them and was going to attempt to kill them, but quite conversely, Bharata said, "My heart is filled with grief and shame. Grief for the loss of our noble father. Shame for being offered the throne that you rightfully deserve. Come back to Ayodhya and be our king." (Tominberg). Rama tells Bharata that this cannot be done, because he vowed not to return for fourteen years, and he would not allow himself to break that vow. Rama, Lakshmana and Sita continue to travel, making their way towards finding Ravana. Religious men who they came across in the forest told them of Ravana's demons and the horrors that they had done; Rama and Lakshmana promised to kill all these demons. While in the forest, Shurpanakha, the she-demon, saw Rama and wanted him for her husband. She used magical powers to turn herself into s beautiful maiden, and tried to lure Rama, who of course was true to Sita and was not interested. This angered Shurpanakha, who then assumed her original form and jumped on Sita. Lakshmana then attacked the she-demon, who fled until she ran into her brothers Khar and Dushan. Shurpanakha told her brothers what had happened, and Khar then gathered his army of demon warriors and headed into the forest to find Rama and Lakshmana. Rama and Lakshmana defeated Khar and his 14 000 warriors, and after this, Shurpanaka then ran to find her brother - Ravana. Ravana was terribly angered, and his plan to rebel against Rama and Lakshmana's attack on his sister, he wanted to take Sita from them. "Perhaps there is a way to revenge my sister's wounds and avenge the loss of my two brothersMaybe I can punish Rama in a way he will never expect." (Tominberg). Ravana then told Mareecha, a magician, about Rama, and about his own desire to take Sita from the forest and make her his queen. Mareecha transformed himself into a beautiful deer and went into the forest, and as soon as Sita saw the deer she adored it and asked Rama to capture it for her. Rama chased the deer far into the forest, where it suddenly paused and then retransformed into Mareecha. The magician then started calling out for Lakshmana, making his voice sound exactly like Rama's. Lakshmana and Sita heard these cries, and assuming that they were in fact Rama's own, Sita yelled for Lakshmana to help his brother. He argued that Rama had told him to stay with her, and so he could not. Sita finally convinced him by threatening to either go help Rama herself or otherwise kill herself, and so off Lakshmana went to help his brother. Ravana, who was hiding behind a tree the entire time, then changed himself into a senyasi (an old wise man). Seeing this, and feeling it her duty to help him out as best she could, Sita offered the man fruit. Ravana grabbed Sita and placed her in his chariot, which then rose into the sky and sped off to Lanka, Ravana's home. As Ravana was heading to Lanka, Jatayu, the great eagle, saw this, and told Ravana that if he did not free Sita he would kill him. Ravana won against Jatayu, killing the brave bird. Then Ravana continued on his way to Lanka. Rama and Lakshmana began a search for Sita, and on this search they met Sugriva, the ruler of the monkey kingdom. Sugriva agreed to help the brothers find Sita, and Hanuman, one of the aides in the search, was the one who actually first found Sita. He informed Rama of her whereabouts and after a long journey to Lanka, Rama and Lakshmana and their warriors fought a long and tedious war against those of Lanka. Ravana was defeated by Rama and his warriors, and Rama took his wife and returned to Ayodhya. Once back in Ayodhya, many people expressed their doubt about Sita's faithfulness to Rama while in Lanka. Rama, who still wanted to rule Ayodhya, but knew he would not be respected if he were to stay with Sita, told his brother Lukshmana, "Before dawn tomorrow you and Sumantra will take Sita back to the forest. Leave her there and return." (Tominberg). He knew that she would die, but he insisted that this is what he must do. After being deserted in the deep of the forest, Sita met a man named Valmiki, a poet and a hermit who lived in the forest. He invited Sita to make his home her own, and she pleasantly agreed. It was there that Sita gave birth to Rama's twin sons, Kusa and Lava. During the next twelve years while Sita and her sons lived with him, Valmiki wrote a poem called the Ramayana. He taught the poem to Sita's sons, and they learned how to sing the poem while also playing the flute and drum. The boys went to festivals to sing the poem for the public, and soon became widely known. Rama soon heard about the wonderful poem and went to see it performed. He discovered that the two boys were his sons, and, his heart suddenly filled with emotion, sent a messenger to go find Sita and bring her back to him in Ayodhya. Sita approached Rama when she returned, saying, "Let me prove my innocence before you once and for allMother earth, if I have been faithful to my husband, take me home." (Tominberg). The ground then opened and took Sita, proving to all that she truly had been faithful to Rama. After ruling the land of Ayodhya for a thousand years, Rama realized he did not appreciate the life he was living, and wanted Sita. He left the palace, and continued walking until he reached the banks of the Sarayu. Rama entered the river and was taken to Heaven. The Ramayana was loved and praised by all, and Lava and Kusa continued to travel throughout India singing Valmiki's glorious poem about their father. "Wherever they went they said, 'Men who listen to the Ramayana will live a long life. They will be free of sins and will have many sons. Women who listen to the Ramayana will be blessed with children like Rama and his brothers. All those who listen please Rama. Such is the glory of this story. May all who recite it or listen to it regularly find increased love, wisdom, and strength.'" (Tominberg). Works Cited Tominberg, Larry. "The Ramayana: A "Telling" of the Ancient Indian Epic". 16 Feb. 2006 http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/maxpages/special/ramayana/RAMA.html Read More