Reading Notes: Tiny Tales from the Ramayana, Part D

 Character Analysis: Rama

*For the final reading notes of the Ramayana segment of the course, I will give my impression of Rama, focusing specifically on his actions in Part D of the Tiny Tales version by Laura Gibbs.

General Thoughts: Rama is certainly a hero that is easy to root for, and most of his actions are justifiable, especially compared to the actions of Ravana and other evil creatures he battles. However, I think the people, creatures, and devas who sing his praises are a little bit biased, perhaps because Rama is an incarnation of Vishnu. I took issue with several key decisions he makes.

(Image Info: Rama statue by Adityamadhav83, no changes; Source: Wikimedia; License: here)

Strengths: Rama is all-powerful, but he does not use his power to try to take control. He is focused on the task at hand, which is saving Sita. Rama is kind for allowing Sulochana to reclaim the dead body of her husband Indrajit when he had caused death to so many of Rama's soldiers and suffering to Rama and Lakshmana themselves. He is also noble for not wanting to kill Virabahu because of his devotion. Finally, he uses his boon from Indra in the most selfless manner possible: restoring the lives of his fallen monkey and bear soldiers. This is the action I respect most from Rama.

Weaknesses/Flaws: Some characters in the Ramayana, such as Narada and Valmiki, describe Rama as perfect. I think this is ridiculous. Rama gets easily angered, commits incredible amounts of violence, and he allows other people's false opinions of Sita to influence him to the point of abandoning her. It makes zero sense that King Rama, who is already sure that Sita did not cheat on him (which is dumb in the first place because as she says, she was abducted against her will), would abandon her because of some gossip. That is extremely shallow of him, and I lost a lot of respect for Rama after this point. He makes the right choice to not remarry about Sita vanishes into the earth, but he could have avoided that completely if he did not let comments of others bother him, especially when Sita already proved her innocence.

Bibliography: Tiny Tales from the Ramayana by Laura Gibbs, Part D