Reading Diary A: Ramayana by R. K. Narayan

I am reading The Ramayana by R. K. Narayan.  My favorite story in this section is the battle of Sugriva and Vali with an assist from Rama.  I found it interesting that Sugriva was able to survive so long against Vali.  Which makes me wonder if Vali was using his full strength.  The moment that Vali was pierced by the arrow was the start of the realization of Vali that he had done wrong.  The argument between Vali and Rama caught my attention because it seemed like an intense argument.  Vali was sure that Rama had wronged him because Vali was sure that he had done nothing wrong.  Then Rama explained to him that he was wrong and then Vali realizes that he was wrong.  It was good to see that Vali went from ignorance to something akin to salvation.  Another story in this section that I liked was when Jatayu tries to save Sita from Ravana.  I wonder why Ravana did not initially fight with all of his strength but instead tried to spare Jatayu’s life.  I also liked how bravely Jatayu fought even though he had to have known that he was probably going to die and then when he was dying he lived long enough to tell Rama that Ravana had taken away Sita.  Then later in the story, Hanuman met Sampati it gave a happy moment in the story when Sampati told his story and regained his original form when Hanuman and his men all shouted “Victory to Rama!”

Rama, Lakshamana, and Sugriva talking (Source: wikimedia)