Reading Notes-Ramayana Part D

Simhika leads Draupadi into the forest

While this picture doesn't completely correlate with the stories of Part D, it does remind me of how Sita would have looked after the battle had died down and she was expected to walk back to her husband and her future.

The concept that stuck out to me the most during this portion of the Ramayana epic is, of course, the battle scenes. I'm not sure if it's just me and how I process scenarios, but I can never quite get a grasp of battle scenarios. In these scenarios, specifically, I noticed that the characters often got lost in what they were doing and who they were doing it to. It was significantly easier to process the scene if it worked with the main characters that had been a part of each story, like Hanuman, Ravana, and Rama. Their actions, whether it was written out differently or not, seemed easier to understand and the reasoning for their actions was usually clear. When it got to external characters or even other gods that got involved, it was hard to not only understand what exactly they were doing but even what their purpose was. At the same time, I must keep in mind that it was partially my exposure to new characters were particularly lower and I would have taken longer to remember who they were in relevance to the story instead of what they were doing which convoluted my learning.

I also noticed through all of the Ramayana epics that many chunks of the prose were written in couplets. They rhymed and it was easier to read but, for some reason, I had more difficulty understanding exactly what was being said. However, when I did understand exactly what the characters were trying to express, I felt more connected with the characters and the story itself. I believe that kind of couplet style was only used to express the words that Sita and Ravana's wife were saying or doing. I think it's pretty cool when the women speak since they are both in a predicament that doesn't necessarily deal with the direct battle. They both have husbands that they are worried about but don't have much contact with each other. I wish I knew more about their relationship but I think the story is meant to show more perspective of the brothers rather than their wives.

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