Reading Notes for Week 4 - Part D

 Part D starts with the creation of Rama's bridge. 

Rama knew he would need to cross the ocean in an attempt to reach Lanka after Hanuman leaped there using his superpowers. He began to perform sacrifices to get the attention of the God of Ocean. None of the sacrifices worked. Angrily, he began to shoot arrows with his bow and celestial weapons into the water. The sea got angry as well and darkness came about with lightning and thunder. Rama threatened to dry up the sea. After these numerous attempts, God of the Ocean rose above the water telling Rama to find help from Nala, son of Vishwakarman, the divine artisan, to help innovate a bridge that would let everyone across. The God vanished back into the waters immediately. A green body, Nala, assisted by his workmen, made rocky islands between the land they are on and Lanka. The bridge is now called "Rama's Bridge." 

Now that Lanka is accessible to Rama, it was time for his next step towards his beloved Sita. The earth was tumbling, the clouds were raining blood, and a fiery circle fell from the sun, according to the PDE edition. Rama thought about Sita being imprisoned. Ravana sent spies as monkeys to gather intel on Rama and the monkeys on his side. The monkey spies attempted to persuade Ravana to surrender Sita because of how enraged Rama was. Ravana thought otherwise and sent a different set of monkey spies. Ravana knew that this would have to end in battle unless he surrendered Sita. So, he began to play with Sita's head. Ravana made a counterfeit semblance of Rama's head and bow. He tried to make the illusion that he had defeated and beheaded Rama. As Ravana and Sita were still in conversation, Ravana was disturbed and distracted by war. It was time for him to fight. When Ravana exited the scene with Sita, the head disappeared and Sita recognized that it was just an illusion. 

Bibliography:

Public Domain Edition Ramayana: The Bridge from Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913). 

Public Domain Edition Ramayana: Rama Attacks from Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita (1914). 

Building the Bridge from Mainland to Lanka from the Philadelphia Art Museum. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introduction to the Life of AJ

Image
Welcome to my life! My name is AJ Hernandez and I am 21 years old. My birthday is November 21st and I was welcomed into this world in 1998. I was born and raised in a growing city, Tulsa, Oklahoma. I lived in the same house for all 21 years that I lived in Tulsa. Fun fact, I have the coordinates to that house tattooed on my right tricep. Another fun fact, my sister's also have the same tattoo! The most important thing in my life would be my family. Both of my parent's and both of my sister's have contributed significantly to my life and I will forever cherish them. I grew up playing soccer and I played throughout high school.  Fun fact, I am 6 foot 5 inches tall. Now, back to where we were. Soccer has to be the second most important thing to me because I have always been around it since a young age. I was raised as a Catholic and I continue with strong faith! Religion has always been important to me because it helps me have a clear mind. Nonetheless, I was raised to be disc
Read more

Comment Wall

Image
Visitors, you can find my Project Portfolio here . Thank you for visiting and commenting!   This image shows Dasaratha saying goodbye to Rama after he's been banished for fourteen years. The image was found in the image library for MLLL-4993, but can be found at the San Diego Museum of Art. 
Read more

Week 7 Story: Arjuna's Letter to Subhadra

Image
The published version of this story is now on my portfolio here ! Dear Subhadra,   I am still in battle against the Kauravas. The war has been balanced between both ends, but my everlasting determination has preserved my energy. I shall fight until the end with my skilled archery.  I write to you this letter to pass forward the detrimental news of the passing of Abhimanyu. Our baby boy has been taken from our chaotic earth and has earned a place with our heavenly gods.  It all started as Abhimanyu was in the forest alone on his chariot. Six warriors led by the evil Jayadratha surrounded him like coyotes and their prey. They knew he was alone and ruined his chariot, thus forcing Abhimanyu to leap out of the chariot. After my brothers noticed and analyzed the situation they quickly attempted to help their nephew. Unfortunately, Karna and Jayadratha together held off my brothers.  The situation went down the drain quickly.  With no help around, Abhimanyu stumbled on a rock because of his
Read more