Buck's Ramayana
Pages 60-109
- King Aswapati calls for Bharata for which Dasaratha gives permission. And not soon after, he begins to think of Rama's coronation.
- Dasaratha tells Rama about his taking over as King and Rama's mother and the other three as well come up to congratulate him happily.
- Manthara is a hunchback... Rama had once shot a play-arrow at her hump. Story?
- She was a cruel, sin-seeking hag.
- She told Keikeyi that Rama's mother would soon be walking around on a high-horse once Rama became king and not care for any of the other wives.
- She was the one who put the idea in innocent Keikeyi's head about sending Rama away for fourteen years so the people would not love him anymore and he wouldn't kill Bharata either.
- Keikeyi went in a rage soon after this, like the youngest sibling would throw a fit, she was acting similarly as the youngest wife.
- Rama humbly accepted her two requests.
- Lakshmana insists that he will kill the King if this is what he is going to do, but Rama tells him to stop and sit still.
- Sita explains to Rama how husband and wife are one and that she will go with him.
- Rama's path is blocked by the people as he tries to depart for his exile so he has to spend one night there still.
- At the Kingdom of the Far Forest, Guha, the Hunter King, welcomed Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana.
- Guha explains how he was angry at Shiva, believed in "one God" which was a tree and he kicked Shiva's statue whenever he got the chance—which was often. Yama's messengers came to get Guha and tore his soul from his body. Then a dwarf came and told them by Shiva's command to let him go, it was not time for him to go and that they were just thieves. It was not time for Guha to die just yet. However, Shiva (Nandin) carried Guha away and then when Yama showed up, he told him that Guha may have sinned but he took care of him when he came into his forest. He made those men who pretended to love him leave the forest, so his soul was for Shiva to take.
Kaikeyi and Manthara
Source: Google
I really like how you broke up this reading diary post into the major points that happened in this section. It probably helps a lot when going back and trying to decide what to write for the storytelling post. I also liked the picture you incorporated on this post, although Kaikeyi and Manthara are not my favorite characters. I just think that they are so deceiving and trying to stir up trouble. But I thought this reading diary was great!
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