Week 3: Rama vs. Ravana (Reading Diary B)

I thought the ending of Ramayana by Narayan was good. I was glad that Rama made it back before Bharata kills himself for failing to sit on the throne. It was very lucky that the gods were there to help Rama with the final battle and his return to Ayodhya or else he never would have made it in time. 

I particularly liked the description at the end about Rama on the throne with Lakshmana and Hanuman standing loyally around him. Also I liked that Vibishana pronounced the king of Lanka after the battle. I thought that that was a good touch to end on with at least some future for him after all his family was killed and most of the country now had hope. 

I did not like the part of the story where Rama had Sita jump onto a pyre to prove that she hadn't let Ravana touch her. I thought that was very cruel of Rama and unfair to Sita. If Rama had protected her properly she never would have been taking, and if Ravana had forced himself on her, Sita would not have had much way to fight back as she was being held hostage and Rama took so long to find her and rescue her. While it was a good visual to have the god of fire save Sita and pronounce her pure, I was upset that Rama would be so cruel towards her after the trauma she has survived at the hand of Ravana. 

Sita's Fire Test. Wikimedia