Rama's Initiation

Ramayana, translated by William Buck, is an ancient Indian epic telling the story of a prince named Rama who fights against his adversary, Ravana. Although there are many important female characters throughout the book, they are often seen as subordinate to their male counterparts where intelligence and strength are concerned. One character who proves this stereotype wrong is Sita, Rama’s wife, who often shows that she has the capacity of being just as powerful as the men of the story. By being more mindful than most people around her, Sita defies the expectations that many characters have placed on her. Sita lets the reader see another side of women’s power and shows us the strength that women could have. The reason that Sita proves to be powerful is that she seems to have an understanding of the deeper meaning of her life; precisely the quality that men don’t expect her to have.

The original The Ramayana is a great epic that has stood the test of time, and has been influential yet controversial throughout history. R.K Narayan’s version has been the same; his composition of stories adds another layer to the already plentiful themes, leaving the reader satisfied with his brilliant description and insight. Through Narayan’s constant comparison that parallels Rama to a perfect specimen, he is demonstrating a “Straw Man” argument. Its effect illuminates Rama’s flaws rather than his seemingly perfect composure. Narayan consciously chooses moments at Rama’s darkest hours to transform him into the relatable human figure he was meant to become.

enlightenment after he had given up looking for it. Siddhartha is only able to find his

The second his hands are sliced, knowledge dawns on the demon.He remembers what Indra had told him. He realizes that Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa are standing before him. He tells Rāma: “I became like this because of ṛṣi Sthūlaśiras’s curse; he cursed me to have a contorted form. Before that, I was doing penance towards Brahmā and requested long life. But, after that, I started badgering and bullying everyone; to curb me, Indra hit me with his vajrāyudha; the head and legs went inside the body; only stomach got left out”. Whatever is important is existing (audience

In the Ramayana by Valmiki, Dasharatha is the King of Ayodhya and has three wives and four sons, Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata and Shatrughna. Rama is the ideal and perfect son, and grows up with his brothers. He marries a woman name Sita. However, Bharata's mother is Kaikeyi, who resents Rama being crown king. She calls up a debt that Dasharatha owes her and asks for Rama to be exiled for fourteen years and her son Bharata be made crown prince instead. The devastated Dasharatha has no choice and Rama prepares to leave for exile. Sita and Lakshmana will not leave his side and follow him into the forest. While in the forest, Surpanakha becomes in love with Rama and is wounded by Lakshmana while trying to kill Sita. She

As Rama obeys his father, Sita, Rama’s wife, convinces Rama that she shall go with him, thus fulfilling her dharma s being a

You all must be aware of the epic tale of Ramayana that begins as Lord Rama was exiled to a forest for 14 years with his dear wife, Sita and brother Laxman. To get to the main point straight away, Sita, the epitome of grace and beauty was abducted by the main antagonist of the Ramayana written by Valmiki- Raavan. My mention on Valmiki as the writer is on purpose because it was according to him that Raavan was termed as the villain but in reality,

The epic story of Rama and Sita, as portrayed by Valmiki’s Ramayana and the modern day film Sita sings the Blues are two different versions of the same story which contain several contrasts as well as similarities. The Ramayana is the ancient version which was written by a sage named Valmiki in 550 B.C.E, featuring a love story between an ideal prince and an ideal woman. It outlines the adventures of Rama in his journey to find his abducted wife Sita. Rama is portrayed as an avatar, being the eighth incarnation of one of the Hindu gods Vishnu, while Sita is representing Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of light. The modern day version of the Ramayana is seen in Sita Sings the Blues, where the animator Nina Paley is relating her love story to that of Sita’s predicament. This paper will compare and contrast the epic story of Valmiki’s Ramayana and Sita Sings the Blues in the quest for power, honor, faithfulness and the conflict between good and evil.

A Different Approach There are several ways to approach a work of art, whether that be a machine or a poem. The novel Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke and The Intentional Fallacy by Willsatt and Beardsly have a very different approach when they make observations. The astronauts are continually comparing Rama to earth or previous experiences and trying to discern the intentions of Rama’s creator. According to The Intentional Fallacy this approach is wrong and a work of art should be a stand alone piece without any outside information. Rendezvous with Rama and The Intentional Fallacy primarily disagree on the use of past experiences when analyzing artifacts and the focus of the intention of the creator.

Heroism and the concept of a hero have been subject to many changes, especially with respect to changes over time and in terms of how heroism is viewed by different cultures. The thing being explored in this chapter, primarily through the analysis of major heroic archetypes and characters, is how the ancient Indian heroic society takes the ideas of heroism, with specific focus on the epic poem ‘The Ramayana’. Along with the examining of the major characterstics of heroic archetypes, specifically the hero who works with a partner or companion, the hero who works alone and the figure of the hero who plays a background role in the context of the epic, there will also be a brief focus on the importance of the ability of

We will start with the main character of the book Rama. Rama has many karma events that happens throughout the book, one being that he followed the golden deer into the woods even thought his brother Lakshmana told him not to and the result was that his wife was kidnapped. He was not there to help her because he was following the golden deer ( pg ). Another example of karma in Rama’s life is when he killed, Vila, the brother of and at the time the monkey ruler because of this Rama was able to have an army of monkey help him search for his wife ( pg ). A final example in Rama’s life is when

Rama’s brothers were perpetually loyal to Rama and could not have loved him more. They were furious when they heard he was banished and would no longer become crowned king. Lakshmana, outraged, threw on his battle robe and weapons and was ready to take on a whole army to see that Rama was crowned king, as he rightfully should be. He even stated, “I know no father and no mother, other than you.”(Narayan, 52) He loved his brother so much that he saw him as greater than his own parents, who gave him life. Lakshmana would have died at any moment for his brother Rama; this is why he decided to leave with Rama on his banishment and swore to protect him with his life. Rama’s other brother Bharata, who was away at the time, was also appalled when he heard the news of Rama being banished. It was Bharata’s mother who banished Rama and when he found out that it was she who was responsible he told her, “If I do not snuff your wretched life out with my own hand, do not pride yourself that it’s because you are my mother, but you are spared because Rama would despise me for my

In an imperfect world torn apart by religious wars, cultural differences, and a more recent social disconnect, perpetuated by the rise of technology which has helped to isolated individuals rather than globally unite them, it becomes apparent that evil is prevailing. It appears as though the modern individual has reason to fear the “other”, rejecting those different from their selves. Such demonization and aggression towards one another has allowed the evils of the world or “Ravana” to arise. Never before have people needed a reason to believe in a figure who could help rid the world of corruption, greed, desire, and ego created by Ravana, more than they do now. In William Buck’s version of the Ramayana, he retells the ancient epic of

In the politically divided nation of France, has any politician not only stood again Nicolas Sarkozy, but boldly supported many generally unspoken issues for the sake of equality in all humans? Rama Yade has spent much of her political career standing with many causes and solutions that benefited not only minorities, but France as a whole. Throughout Rama Yade’s career as secretary of human rights she has spoken for “the forgotten people of France”. She has also made many efforts to support the LGBTQ community. On top of this, she is commonly recognized as the only cabinet minister to speak again Nicolas Sarkozy.

Dharma is the duty that people must fulfill in order to achieve their life’s purpose. In the Hindu religion, it is what guides the followers’ life choices and actions. Only the utmost just decisions and choices will lead down the path of obtaining dharma. At first glance, the Indian epic, The Ramayana, is a love story about a prince who is banished to the forest and an evil creature subsequently kidnaps his wife. However, it serves a much greater purpose in the Hindu culture. The Ramayana serves as a guide to living a life of moral righteousness. Rama and Sita are role models of how men and women should interact with each other and with society. There is multiple times throughout the epic that Rama faces morally difficult decisions that he flawlessly surpasses, a feat that his human peers surely would not have had the mental strength to accomplish. Rama is the supreme example of how to live a moral life. Rama’s dharma is to destroy evil, and throughout the book the difficult choices he makes and the heroic actions her performs are what guide him in his quest to fulfill his duty. Other characters in the epic, such as Ravana, are faced with the same moral dilemmas and chose incorrectly, which ultimately lead to their demise. Rama’s profound greatness is a result of his ability to place dharma above all other humanly desires and personal interests.