Reading Notes: Ramayana, Part D

 Ramayana by various authors

- It would be interesting to have a more in-dept/revamped version of Ravana psyching Sita out with Rama's bloody head. I imagine that it could be a very intense scene, but the text doesn't dwell on it long.

- The character of Vibhishana is interesting, a rakshasha who fights on the side of good instead of with his brother on the evil side. 

- Kumbhakarna is the creepiest villain that Rama and Lakshmana have come across, in my opinion. He only wakes once a year and he feasts on humans. That's pretty terrifying.

- Ravana's mourning for Indrajit is touching. It gives me some ideas for an evil narrator who still has a heart when it comes to the ones he loves. It kind of makes his character less inhuman. 

- I like Rama's speech to the dead Lakshmana. It touches on the theme of siblings being tied together for life that I was considering trying my hand at at some point. 

- I'm not sure how it slipped my attention but I didn't notice before that Ravana has ten heads. That's a very interesting character design for me because I feel like it says something about who he is. Like, he' s got many different sides to him or something. 

- Uh-uh, nope. I do not like Rama's response to finally seeing Sita again. For some reason, I've really disliked his character all along and I think it has to do with the fact that everyone boasts about his goodness and heroism but, when it comes down to it, he's just an arrogant man. His speech about just doing it for the assembly doesn't really convince me either. If I were to write a character like him, I would have fun making him out to be very ridiculous. 

- I like how the story has come full circle and Rama has been crowned king after all of these years. What I don't like is how he banishes Sita for such a silly reason. It just makes me dislike him more. If I were to write a hero character, I would avoid portraying anything like Rama. It's okay for a hero to have flaws, but Rama is just too much. I mean, he abandons Sita to raise their sons alone and here I thought Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana were bound forever as family. It's very sad, honestly. 

- He even has the audacity to grieve and mourn for Sita once she has gone to a much better place than he's left her for the past decade. I think he just wants what he can't have. I'm very tempted to write a revenge story where the female holds the power in the situation. 

                                                               Poor Sita (Source: Wikimedia)

Bibliography: Ramayana by various authors. Website: Indian Epics: Images and PDE Epics