Reading Diary B: Public Domain Ramayana

I think that I enjoyed the second set of stories even more than the first! It is probably because the first readings set up the story, and this batch really got into some variety. My favorite part of this set was when Maricha became a deer. I thought the description of the deer was very interesting: lotus blue ears and a tail of rainbow! The first thing that I imagined was a "My Little Pony" character.

(Image Information: Maricha as the beautiful deer. Source: glimpse of krishna)

Anyways, I thought this was a very clever act. Even though Rama made Lakshman stay to protect Sita and in doing so had changed the way Ravana had originally foreseen the plot, they made their plan work around it and eventually captured Sita.
The other story I found to be very interesting was "The Sandals" by Donald A. Mackenzie. After deciding to not come back to Ayodhya, Bharata planned to rule for his brother while he was away, without taking the seat on the throne. Rather, an object of Rama's was placed on the throne to represent his rule. I thought it was interesting that Bharata held up his brother's right to the throne and even offered to be banished instead of Rama.
So far, my favorite character is Rama. This is most likely because his character has been established in so many different ways. I could tell his love for Sita was true in how he makes sure she is always protected (even though she may escape the protection such as when Ravana comes in disguise as an older, hungry man). You could almost feel his lament after finding out that Sita had been taken.