Reading Diary B: Public Domain Ramayana

Today marks the conclusion to the Ramayana, and I have to say it definitely feels like a grand finale to the story. We see the final battle between Ravana and his forces and the allies of Rama, and this takes up roughly half of the reading. The battle was really exciting because it brought back so many of the other minor characters that we've met throughout the story, and it was much more drawn out and tumultuous than the other battles portrayed throughout the story. While the outcome may have been a rather obvious outcome, it was still exciting to read through the story and watch the action unfold.

Sita's trial by fire; Source: wikimedia

The second part of the readings focused on the aftermath of the battle, which was mostly about what to do with Sita, after she was dishonored by being forced to live with Ravana. Rama says he cannot allow her to continue to be his wife as it would bring him dishonor, so she asks for a trial by fire to prove her innocence. On the one hand, this is terribly misogynistic and hints at the valuing of women as only sexual objects, as Sita's entire worth and value seems to be determined by if she was faithful to Rama or not. However, going through the trial of fire and attempting to appease the gods to show her innocence was the most characterization she's shown in the whole story, so I'll take it. The epilogue stories concerning Rama's sons and the exile of Sita seem a bit extraneous, but the final chapter was a nice way to tie everything up and end the story.