In connection with the equinox/harvest festivals that come this time of year, I've been reading about ancient, but still celebrated Hindu festivals, like Diwali.
From what I've read, Diwali is celebrated differently in different places; however, one common element represents the story of the Hindu couple Rama (an avatar of Vishnu) and Sita.
Rama was the heir to the throne, but his bigamist father (reminiscent of Zeus [see Semele] ) was obligated to grant the request of one of his wives who was interested in securing the status of her own son. She asked that her son be made heir and Rama sent into exile for about 14 years. I don't know why she didn't ask for permanent exile, but it was probably a good thing because her son didn't share her ambitions for him.
Rama was married at the time, to Sita. The couple and another of Rama's brothers left the palace amicably and went to live in the forest.
You know there's more to the story, so read about Rama and Sita, and find out who the 10-headed creature named Ravana (see the picture) is in my annotated bibliography.
Comments
I teach a course on the Ramayana and Mahabharata, and for the Ramayana we read two versions: one by R.K. Narayan, and one by William Buck. There are annotated reading guides for both of those books online along with a transcription of Dowson’s Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology for the topics relevant to those epics – here is the website:
Epics of India Online Course
The Ramayana is covered in Weeks 2-7; Weeks 2-3 cover Narayan’s Ramayana and Weeks 4-5-6-7 cover Buck’s version – each week has two reading guides covering the readings for that week. Both Narayan’s and Buck’s books have been around for a while and are available quite inexpensively in used copies from the online booksellers; they are quite different from each other, and reading the two of them together provides for a good Ramayana learning experience I think!
Laura – Thanks for posting that. I think I should have known about your Epics of Ancient India: Mahabharata and Ramayana course, but if I did, I forgot. I’m sorry. I noticed that you have online practice quizzes available. Nice!
This myth is the subject of BBC Radio 4′s upcoming classic serial. It has been updated to a modern version but still sounds like it will be interesting. You can access Radio 4 programmes for seven days internationally via the listen again function on the website.