Reading Diary A: Public Domain Ramayana

1. Sugriva and Hanuman

1.     Sugriva is a monkey king? He is now living in exile as Rama and Lakshmana head out in search of him. Lake Pampa is where they find Sugriva hiding. Sugriva is afraid because he thinks that the two brothers have been hired to find him by his brother, Vali. The brothers meet Hanuman, a monkey god, and Rama’s future most devoted fan.

2. Sugriva's Story

1.     Sugriva and Vali have been fighting for a long time. Vali took away Sugriva’s wife in order to avenge himself. Rama wanted revenge for his dear friend Sugriva and he challenges Vali to meet them in battle. This is where it all begins.

3. The Armies

1.     Sugriva has broken his promise to Rama and Lakshmana shows up at the palace to intimidate Sugriva and remind him of that promise. Sita was still missing because she had been taken by opposing forces. Sugriva was going back on his promise to recover her, which made Rama very angry. He finally sends out the monkeys in search for Sita.

4. Hanuman's Leap

1.     Hanuman promised himself that he would find Sita or “bring Ravana away in chains”. A rakshasi came out of the shadows as Hanuman leaped across her mouth. He killed her in the process. What is a rakshasi?

Hanuman battles the sea-demon Surasa on his way to Lanka; he plunges in through the mouth and then fights his way out through the ear. (British Library: Mewar Ramayana)

5. Hanuman Captured

1.     Hanuman found Sita, but continued to look around until Prahasta, who was sent by Ravana, came to kill him. Prince Aksha and Indrajit also came after Hanuman, but to no avail. Indrajit realized that Hanuman could not be killed with weapons, so he then used his spiritual insight in order to bind him forever. Hanuman was bound, but insisted on speaking to Ravana.

Public Domain Ramayana

Reading Diary B: Public Domain Ramayana

1. Rama Attacks

This story was interesting because it built up to the climax of the story. Ravana’s spies inform him that he needs to surrender Sita. He is angry and refuses, but later, he goes to Sita and tries to trick her by saying that Rama had been killed. Sita is crushed and she begs Ravana to behead her. Before he gets a chance, he is called away to war. As he rushes off to war, Sita is aware that he tried to trick her and she is distraught.

2. Hanuman and the Mountain

Prince Indrajit vows to kill Rama and Lakshmana. He makes a sacrifice to the god of fire in order to keep his vow. The god gives him a brahma-weapon. Indrajit attacks any monkeys and many men from the army. When Hanuman sees what Indrajit has done now, he knows he must take charge to ensure the safety of the men of the army.

3. Indra's Chariot

The beautiful poetry of this story ties together the drama of the Ramayana perfectly. The gods are watching the battle between Rama and Ravana from above. They had already planned for Rama to win the battle so they ensured the win by Indra coming down to help Rama. He brought his chariot and charioteer, Matali, to help Rama win the battle against Ravana. Where exactly are the gods watching the battle?

Rama battles Ravana, shooting off his heads
(British Library: Mewar Ramayana)

4. Sita and Rama

Rama and Sita are once again united after the battle. Sita cannot believe that she is seeing Rama again. Just as she is appreciating his presence, Rama breaks the news to her that Lanka and Sugriva were slain in battle. Sita is heartbroken.

Public Domain Ramayana

Week 2 Growth Mindset

(Meme from Laura Gibbs' "Growth Mindset Memes" page)

This week I talked to my roommate about the benefits of the growth mindset in education. She is an education major so she had fortunately already heard of this concept and was eager to talk to someone else about it! We started talking about the importance of teaching children to have higher goals and then it lead in turn, to talking about the problems with the common core curriculum that Oklahoma will be required to use. It was a very interesting conversation and I learned a little bit more about her in the process!