Reading Notes: The Divine Archer - Part A

Notes: 

For this week, I decided to read the first half of "The Divine Archer" by F. J. Gould. I thought it was a good read. I really enjoyed it. It was a quick read. I noticed that some of the stories that I read from The Tiny Tales of the Ramayana were more in-depth than in this book. Some parts were barely covered while other parts were covered more thoroughly. I am only going to focus on a couple of scenes that I enjoyed the most.

I really liked the beginning of section I. It really illustrated the fact that the whole kingdom was ecstatic about the birth and arrival of the four princes. I like how the four princes were depicted. Two were dark, while the other two were fair. The part where Queen Kausalya picks up Rama and kisses him, and when she puts him back in the cradle, it was such a loving and tender moment. She also calls him the darling of darings. If I were to tell a story, I would change the environment where the mothers showed more love to their children. I know in modern times that fathers do not so much affection towards their children, so I would change that for sure. I would have the sons do activities with their father, like shooting arrows or going hunting. It is important for everyone to show affection, so everyone feels loved and wanted.

I enjoyed how the author went more in-depth about how the King's punishment came to be. When I read the other version of the Ramayana, I never understood the relevance of the story about someone accidentally shooting the child of the blind parents. After reading this version, I was aware that the person who shot the child was actually King Dasaratha. I felt that that was a really sad moment when King Dasaratha was on his death bed explaining that he actually deserved Rama leaving him because of the curse that was placed on him. I would change the scene to have the Queen write everything down the King is saying on a piece of paper and give it to the pigeon messenger and deliver it to Rama. I want there to be a scene where Rama could feel the presence of his father one last time.

Rama and Sita as a powerful couple (Source: Templepurohit)

Bibliography: The Divine Archer, F. J. Gould