Reading Notes: Tiny Tales from the Ramayana Part B

Tale 52 “Manthara Persuades Kaikeyi”:

• Summary: 
• Manthara overheard that Dasharatha was going to crown Rama to be his successor as king of Ayodhya. She told Kaikeyi; if this were to happen Kaikeyi would become servant to Rama’s mother as Queen and her son Bharata would become servant to Rama. Years ago, Dasharatha promised Kaikeyi 2 boons for saving his life, so Kaikeyi used the boons to 1) exile Rama and 2) crown Bharata. Dasharatha did not want to grant these boons, but he had no choice.

Tale 79 “An Ascetic Approaches Sita”:

• Summary: 
• With Rama and Lakshmana both away from camp, a hermit came to their hut begging Sita for food. Sita was not supposed to cross the line of protection Lakshmana drew, so she offered for the hermit to come inside. He refused, arguing it would be wrong to go inside with her, so he asked her to come out instead. As soon as she crossed over the line, the hermit revealed himself to be Ravana in disguise. Ravana grabbed her and took her away with him.

Ravana Approaches Sita Disguised as an Ascetic

Illustration by Ramachandra Madhwa Mahishi: Source

Tale 94 “The Devas Bless Hanuman”:

• Summary: 
• After Indra’s attack on Hanuman, the God of the winds Vayu consoled Hanuman. Vayu stopped everyone in the 3 worlds from breathing because he was angry about what Indra did, so Brahma came to heal Hanuman so that Vayu would stop. Once Hanuman was healed, many gods bestowed boons on Hanuman. He received protection from thunderbolts (Indra's gift), radiance (Surya's gift), and invincibility from sickness and weapons (Yama's and Vishvakarma's gifts). These gifts would aid Hanuman in helping Sugriva and Rama.

I chose to write about these 3 short stories because they describe pivotal points in the Ramayana epic: Rama’s exile, Sita’s kidnapping, and the introduction to Hanuman in his quest with Rama. Note, this was not the first story to mention Hanuman, but it was the first to describe Hanuman in relation to Rama’s story.

Bibliography: Tiny Tales from the Ramayana by Laura Gibbs; Part B 

                       Page 6, Tale 52; Page 8, Tale 79; and Page 10, Tale 94