Surpanakha

against dharma, the path of life or the principle of cosmic order. Not to mention these intentions themselves are desires, again going against dharma. The Ramayana also shows how women introduce chaos with the demoness character Surpanakha as she tried to seduce Rama. As Surpanakha falls in love with Rama, she becomes animalistic and uncultured describing how she wants to eat Sita so that she will have Rama all to herself. This animalistic chaos is how the text

In two ancient classics, we see a clear display of an abuse of power. In both The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Ramayana, we find protagonists who commit deeds of treachery in the name of slaying a monster. These slayings seem justified at first; however, as we examine them further we find that they are no more than heinous acts in the name of asserting power over the other. Both Gilgamesh and Rama kill monsters in the name of supporting what they believe in, but their beliefs are not always justified

Rebuffed by Rama, Surpanakha “threw herself in front of [Khara], as a bolt of lightning would fall from the sky” (Sattar, p. 245) to seek his help to avenge her, thus catalysing conflict between Rama and Khara. Similarly, Kaikeyi “flung herself on the ground” (Sattar, p. 116)

The Ramayana is an Indian Epic and one of the most influential stories in India. The epic embodies dharma and other values from Hinduism making it a reference for the Hindu religion. The story is a good versus evil story, with a humble King Ram who represented good versus a ten-headed evil King Ravana who represented evil. Ram was the eldest son of King Dasharatha of Ayodhya, his mother was Queen Kaushalya and Sita was his wife. Ram was very courageous, intelligent and obedient whereas Sita was very

“Dharma is knowledge prominently directed to the achievement of desired happiness here (i.e. in this life) and hereafter by means of appropriate actions”. (Khan, Benjamin. The Concept of Dharma in Valmiki) Rama and Krishna have been set as perfect exemplars of Dharma in the texts of Ramayana and Mahabharata respectively. They are considered to be the reincarnations of God Visnu, a Supreme Being, and supposedly lived their lives according to the Dharmic (or right) way of life. However, the stories

Valmiki, a sage, gave a long list of virtuous qualities to Narada, the wanderer, that he felt made the perfect man; fulling believing he was describing a figure of his imagination (Ramesh Menon, The Ramayana, Book 1, 4). What Valmiki didn’t know was that there was a perfect man named Rama and he would be the mortal that destroyed Ravana. Since no immortal man could kill Ravana and end his tyranny, Rama was necessary to destroy Ravana definitely (Menon, Ramayana, Bk 1, 10). Even though Rama is the

The journey, the hero, the triumph, and the defeat are all elements that some of literatures greatest works have encaptured, such as: the Ramayana, The Epic of Gilgamesh, and the Mahabharata. Each of these texts depicts a hero or protagonist that is unique to their culture and although each of these heroes embark on a different journey with different purposes and goals in mind, they all display a variety of features that people of then and now can relate to. It becomes transparent that each of

Epic is defined as “ a long poem… involving a panoramic sweep of action and a castoff protagonist who straddle the human divine worlds” (97). The epic hero is the protagonist that goes through some kind of life journey. In the epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh is described as half-divine, half-man. Gilgamesh is described as a headstrong, abusive tyrant. His people feared and despised him. “Gilgamesh would leave no son to his father… Gilgamesh would leave no girl to her mother” (101). His people prayed

Rama, who was born to defeat the demon King Ravana of Lanka, has an altercation with his sister Surpanakha. The king was enraged by Rama’s provocation, he kidnaps Rama’s wife Sita. Gilgamesh goes to cut down the magnificent tree, with Enkidu, and the giant curses them (96). Gilgamesh upsets the goddess of love and war, Ishtar, and she sets the bull of

There have been many heroes throughout history, but only the ones with the best qualities are able to stand out and deserving of their memory to live on through stories and monuments. They display qualities that are morally accepted and generally a man with a mission. Gilgamesh, Rama, and Aeneas come from Mesopotamian, Hindu, and Roman culture, respectively, and they all display heroic traits that make them deserving of a monument in their memory. Gilgamesh, especially, who at first to the people