Reading Notes: Tiny Tales from the Ramayana Part A

There were quite a few short stories that stuck out to me, but I will only go into detail about a few of them. Regarding the entirety of Part A reading, there were some elements that repeated in multiple stories that I found interesting to the epic of Ramayana as a whole. The first was the amount of what I assume is foreshadowing that I read. Of course, I have not finished the book, so I cannot say whether these are foreshadowed or not, but these events that I predict will come later seem too significant to cast aside as just idle threats. If they weren’t important, then why include them in the short stories all all? Another plot point that appeared multiple times that surprised me was how Brahma, and the Gods in general, are very generous in bestowing blessings (“boon” was the word most frequently used in the text) to anyone who asked without asking for a price or any form of reciprocity in return. When reading I just could not understand why Brahma gave them whatever they asked for so easily.

As for the specific short stories that caught my eye, the first one I wanted to talk about was Tale 15 "Ravana Rapes Rambha":

• Summary: 
• Ravana came across an apsara (a type of female spirit) named Rambha in the woods and was instantly attracted to her despite her being a relative. Incapable of understanding sexual consent and respecting boundaries, Ravana raped her. When Rambha told her husband what happened, he cursed Ravana; if Ravana ever touched a woman without her consent again, his head would burst.

I did not intentionally plan this, but I want to point out that this curse is one of the those foreshadowing events that I mentioned above. As for the story itself, I cannot put into words all of the emotions I felt while reading this. I think how I feel about this story may be noticeable in the tone I used when writing my plot summary. This story was memorable for all the wrong reasons, and for me personally, this was the moment that solidified Ravana’s role as the villain in this epic.

The other short story I wanted to discuss was Tale 45 "Rama Comes to Janaka's Court":

• Summary: 
• Rama arrived at King Janaka’s court to try lifting Shiva’s bow. Rama succeeded in doing so easily, but not only did he lift and string the bow, he also broke it into two. As his reward, he won Sita’s hand in marriage.

I enjoyed this short story because of its romantic undertones. This story was a nice change compared to the previous ones about battles and deaths and assault. And on top of that, Sita fell in love with Rama beforehand, so she was not being forced into this marriage. At the same time, this story ended on somewhat of a cliffhanger, a question to keep in the back of your mind as you continue reading. Was breaking the bow truly a bad omen? Is it the reason for Sita’s eventual kidnapping at the hands of Ravana?

The Breaking of the Bow of Janaka

Illustration by Evelyn Paul: Source 

Bibliography: Tiny Tales from the Ramayana by Laura Gibbs; Part A, Page 2, Tale 15 and Page 5, Tale 45