Week 3 Story: Rama's Exile
King Dasharatha wants Rama to succeed him as king. He only fears that Rama will renounce the world and become a forest rishi. Because he has suspicion about Rama, Dasharatha sends Vashishtha to ask Rama is he really wants to renounce the world. Rama understands that whenever one renounces the world, it is basically the same as renouncing God. He then told Vashishtha that he is ready to become king.
Word gets around about Rama to be the next king which upsets Manthara, the maid of Kaikeyi. Manthara then pursuades Kaikeyi to use her boons, that Dasharatha had promised her, to have Rama exiled.
Dasharatha honors his word and exiles Rama. Rama did not try to retaliate and agrees to this exile, but he wasn't the only one to leave. Once Rama's wife, Sita, and his brother, Lakshmana, heard of this exile, they immediately said that they would join Rama in his exile.
During Rama's exile, Lakshmana did not sleep but protected Rama and Sita throughout the night. Lakshmana was able to not sleep at all during the exile because his wife, Urmila, slept for him back at home.
Bharata and Shatugha return from visiting their grandfather, Kekaya, and learned that Rama was send to exile. They were very mad upon hearing this news so they go visit him and bring news of their fathers death.
Bharate begs Rama asking him to return to Ayodhya and become their king. Rama states that even though his father is the one that sent him into exile and he is dead, he must honor his fathers promise, even in death.
Manthara then came to Rama in exile and came to beg for an apology. Rama consoles her saying that there is nothing to apologize for because in a previous lifetime, she was a celestial gandharvi.
Authors Note: This story that I have told about Rama's exile is pretty straightforward to the real story that it is based off of. This story is me retelling the 51-60 stories that we were given to read during the Week 3 reading part B.
Bibliography: Story Source
Hi Matt! I enjoy how your story is short and straight to the point like the Tiny Tales which packs in a lot of information in fewer words. You did a good job of keeping all of the important information in the story while shortening it. The only thing I would suggest would be a few more details to make it your own retelling and elaborate more on the parts that are most vital in your view.
ReplyDeleteThis part of the story was heart-wrenching because it was shown that the father and son had a strong bond. As you stated Rama was believed to be the next heir. You summarized the story very well! I do think you could add a bit more flavor to the reading as the exile was seen as a grave injustice and written as a dramatic scene. The quotes used were very eloquent and Rama's conversation in response to the exile was interesting as well! He dealt with injustice with his dignity!
ReplyDeleteHi Matt!
ReplyDeleteThis was really fun for me to read, as I took Epics of India last semester and am now taking Mythology and Folklore. As a result, I am familiar with the original story, but I have slept many times since then and also filled my head with lots of new stories!! Your straight-forward re-telling was a great summary, as it would be hard to concentrate so many events and details into one rendition. Great job, it was fun to read (again)!