Reading Notes: The Divine Archer, Part A

- Sons of Dasaratha are born, Rama is the greatest
- Vishvamitra needs help defeated demons that seek him
- Dasaratha reluctant to let Rama go
- Rama and Lakshmana go to help and once they defeat the demons they go to the kingdom of Janaka.
- The maid of Sita sees the boys in the royal garden
- Tells Sita of the boys
- Sita and Rama fall in love at first sight
- Rama proves strength by breaking bows in front of King Janaka
- Parashurama shows up and demands to know who broke the sacred bow
- Parashurama challenges Rama to string the bow of Vishnu and he easily strung the bow
- Both of these characters are reincarnations of Vishnu
- Dasaratha comes to see Rama get married, and the other four brothers also get married on the same day. They all return to Ayodhya.
- While king Dasaratha plans to make Rama his successor, the evil Servant Manthara manipulates Kaikeyi into thinking that Rama will overthrow her son, she uses one of her wishes promised to her by the king to send Rama into exile.
- Rama agrees to go into exile, and Lakshmana and Sita follow
- As they travel into the forest and across the Ganges, the hermit Valmiki advises them to go and live on a hill Chitrakuta.
- The king realizes that this event was karma for what he did as a young man when he shot a boy thinking it was an elephant. The father of the boy put a curse on the king so that one day he will also feel the loss of a son.
- After telling this story to Kaushalya, he dies.
- Bharata is angry at his mother for what she has done, and takes a pair of golden sandals to Rama.
- Agastya gives Rama weapons to aid him.
- Shurpanakha, a demon woman, tries to get with Rama and Lakshmana but they deny her, and this starts the war between Rama and the demons.
- Ravana, her brother has Maricha help him kidnap Sita by acting like a golden deer to draw Rama and Lakshmana away from her.
- Jatayu, vulture king, tries to intervene in her kidnapping, but is defeated by Ravana.
- Rama and Lakshmana find the bird dying, and he tells them what happened.
- They meet Hanuman and Sugriva, the monkey,
- Sugriva explains his situation with his brother Vali, and Rama makes a plan.

Bibliography: The Divine Archer. F. J. Gould. 1911

Rama, Bharata, and the Golden Sandals

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