Reading Notes: The Ramayana, Part B

· Thirteen and a half years pass without us knowing anything that happens during them. I could write a story chronicling some of their life during that time.

· Demon-woman: “I’m in love with you, so let’s eat Sita and your brother and then go rule my kingdom together.” Rama: “I love Sita, so you should marry my brother instead.” What?! If I was Lakshmana and I heard that interaction, I’d be pretty upset. Maybe I could write of him overhearing the conversation and being like, “Dude! What were you thinking! She’s a demon-lady who wanted to eat me!” Then they could all go on their merry way.

· What if I told a story from the point of view of a Rakshasa? There are fourteen thousand of them, after all.

· Actually, that might be pretty unpleasant. They are demons, after all.

· Could I take the trick the demons used to kidnap Sita (turn into a deer, pretend Rama is in danger, get Lakshmana to leave her and go help) in a different context? Like, transpose the basic idea to a different situation?

· I don’t understand how Sita could be greeted in the way Ravana greeted her without being totally, completely, super creeped out.

· I’m confused: Sugriva challenged his brother to single combat, but then Rama shot him? That doesn’t seem like single combat.

· What if Lakshmana and his wife had joined Rama in the woods and then she was kidnapped, rather than Lakshmana joining Rama and his wife?

· Can Brahma decree the same thing he decreed over Ravana over Zeus? Please?

· I could tell the tale from the perspective of Sampati, the injured brother of Jatayus, king of the vultures, who saw Sita being carried away.

· Rather than trying to get her to sleep with him, what other, less dire situation could I put Sita and Ravana in? Like, maybe he’s trying to get her to tell him her boyfriend’s secret strategy in a game or something?

(Illustration by Warwick Goble)

Bibliography:   The Ramayana, retold by Donald Mackenzie and found in Indian Myth and Legend.