RELIGST 1J03 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Ravana, Lakshmana, Dasharatha

• School: McMaster University
• Department: Religious Studies
• Course: RELIGST 1J03
• Professor: Philip Rose

Document Summary

Week 3 the hindu ramayana, part 1. The hindu version of the ramayana, the author is named v lm ki. The story describes true events; this of course is a traditional point of view. The scholarly answer to who wrote the ramayana is that we don"t really know. We can"t even say that it was written by one person. Written from a brahmanic point of view, by an elite author. Dasaratha -> wives are kausalya (birthed rama), sumitra(laksmana, satrughna), kaieyi (bharatha) sometime in the past she nursed dasaratha on the battlefield after he had been injured, and he gives her two boons. She makes her son king, and rama is exhiled for 14 years. One of the duties of a king is to keep his word. Episode: when rama is in the froest with sita and laksmana another female demon comes across them. The demon is soorpanakha and she lives in the forest (which is viewed negatively).