Reading Notes - Part A of Ramayana

 Reading notes over Part A of Week 3 Reading: 

Dasharatha was king of Koshala and father of Rama. There is also Mithila who is ruled by Janaka, the father of Sita. The article tells a great description of Koshala in "King Dasharatha." Dasharatha is powerful and has two family priests, Vashishtha and Vamadeva. Dasharatha also has three queens: Kaushalya, Kaikeyi, and Sumitra. The Gods gift Dasharatha four sons after he does a horse sacrifice. Of the four kids that were born from the wives of his own, Rama was the most gifted. Rama is actually a human avatar who is actually Vishnu, a god. This was done this way because Ravana cannot be defeated by gods, but only human or a monkey. Vishvamitra asks for the help of Dasharatha's sons, Rama and Laskshmana, to battle against demons who are disturbing the priests. This was the start of their manhood. In a dark and suspenseful setting, Rama and his brother cut the ears and nose off of a rakshasan woman, Thataka. The priests then did powerful chants and basically gifted Rama celestial weapons when he needed them. For the rest of the 10 days that Rama and his brother were required with the priests, the priests flourished them with hospitality and told stories like how the Ganga came to earth. The priests also tell Rama a story about Gautama and Ahalya. Ahalya had been turned into stone and Rama coincidently frees her and she offers her duties to them. This story of Ahalya also included a good amount of poetry. This was unique in the way the story was told. Rama also meets another human avatar, Sita. This causes them to have eternal love. I've read about her in different stories. Rama was challenged in Mithila to break a bow and wins Sita as his bride. The breaking of the bow showed the worth of Rama. This was impressive and it shows value in the family of Dasaratha. Dasharatha realizes that his time is running up in the throne. While Bharata is away, he decides this is the perfect time for Rama to be crowned king. A servant, Kooni, tells Bharata's mother the news, Kaikeyi. Dasharatha owes Kaikeyi two wishes that must be granted from a deal they had before. The deal came about because Kaikeyi saved Dasharatha's life at one point. Kaikeyi uses her two wishes: One to send Rama into exile for fourteen years, and the second to crown Bharata king. Dasharatha then realizes this all happened like this because he murdered a young boy in a dark forest a long time ago. 

This was a summary of the entire reading assigned for Part A. 

Dasharatha grieving over the exile of Rama from image library for MLLL-4993.