Reading Diary B: The Story of the Great War: Some Lessons from the Mahabharata by Annie Besant Week 14

I am reading The Story of the Great War: Some Lessons from the Mahabharata by Annie Besant.  One of my favorite stories in this section of reading was the story of Krishna dying.  It was touching how he knew that he was going to die, accepted, and was willing to die.  It was odd however, that Krishna did not do anything to stop the destruction of his people.  Given his power, he should have been able to stop it.  But instead of stopping it, he accepted it.  It was nice at the end when the hunter he did not blame the hunter and comforted him had shot him.  Another story that I liked from the reading was the story of the death of Draupadi and the Pandavas.  It was odd that the order of deaths was as it was.  It seemed that Arjuna was a better person than Bhīma but he died first.  Something that I liked in the story was the devotion that Yudhishthira had for his dog.  It was touching that he would not abandon his dog to enter into heaven.  I also like how Yudhishthira said that he had abandoned his family and Krishna but only after they had died because he could not revive them.  Then in the end it turned out the dog was his father Dharma.  After that happened and Yudhishthira had completed his test in heaven with the illusions, it was a happy ending to a story that at times had seemed to be depressing.

Pandava's Journey to heaven (Source: Wikimedia)

Reading Diary A: The Story of the Great War: Some Lessons from the Mahabharata by Annie Besant Week 14

I am reading The Story of the Great War: Some Lessons from the Mahabharata by Annie Besant.  My favorite story in this chapter is the story of Yudhishthira sinning.  I found it interesting that even when he sinned he told the truth.  Another part of the story that was interesting was that Krishna advised Yudhishthira to lie but in actuality, he was testing Yudhishthira’s love for the truth. In the end Yudhishthira decided to lie but at the same time he committed a crime far worse than just lying by telling the lie in his heart and out loud but at the end of it whispering “the elephant”.  It was sad to read that after he told the lie his chariot, which had previously been floating above the earth, had dropped back down to earth signifying his fall from grace.  It was a nice touch at the end of the chapter to include part of Yudhishthira’s future.   It talked about how at the end of his life he was once again tested by a god.  This time however Yudhishthira did the right thing.  He was told by a god to desert his faithful dog in order that he could enter heaven but instead of deserting the dog he decided that he would instead not enter heaven and stay with his dog who had remained faithful.  Then the god revealed it was a test and they both entered into heaven.  That was a touching end to his life.  He had earlier in his life made the wrong decision but in the end he made the right one.

Yudhishthira entering into heaven (Source: Wikimedia)

Reading Diary B: The Story of the Great War: Some Lessons from the Mahabharata by Annie Besant Week 13

I am reading The Story of the Great War: Some Lessons from the Mahabharata by Annie Besant.  One of my favorite stories from the reading was the story of the Pandava war.  One of the most interesting parts about the war for me was the politics right before the war started.  It was interesting how each party vied for support from different leaders.  One of the interesting ones was Krishna.  Krishna knew that Duryodhana was not a good person and that he had wronged the Pandavas but when Duryodhana asked him for help, he still gave him help.  I found that it was odd that he would support both sides.  It surely most have been odd for the soldiers that he sent to Duryodhana to be fighting one of their leaders.  Another of the interesting times that Duryodhana got support was when he tricked Shalya, King of the Madras.  Shalya was allied with pandavas but Shalya was tricked into thinking that Duryodhana was a servant of the son of Kunti and offered him anything he wanted.  It was also interesting that Krishna went to the Kurus to try and prevent the war from occurring even though he knew that it would still occur.  The wickedness of Duryodhana was displayed when Krishna went to visit Kurus and Duryodhana had pavilions set up to sway Krishna to join his side but Krishna had already made an agreement between both parties.  It did not work but the fact that Duryodhana tried to get Krishna to betray the Pandavas was an unsettling fact.

The Pandavas and Draupadi (Source: wikimedia)

Reading Diary B: The Story of the Great War: Some Lessons from the Mahabharata by Annie Besant Week 12

I am reading The Story of the Great War: Some Lessons fromthe Mahabharata by Annie Besant.  One of my favorite stories from the reading was the story of Ganga and Bhishma.  I found that the history behind the reason Ganga was on earth was interesting.  The fact that Ganga chose to marry Shantanu was interesting because he was the reason that she was reincarnated on earth.  Possibly the reason that she did this is because she seemed to be a kind goddess.  The reason for this believe is because she did not place the curse of Shantanu instead Brahma placed the curse on him.  Also another reason for this believe is that she was killing the children so that the Vasus could return to heaven.  In addition, in her explanation of why she did it she explained that gods did not like to be born on earth because it felt like a prison to them.  Something odd about the story is that the curse of the Vasus from the Rishi also affected Shantanu.  I think this because the eighth child was Vasu Dyau who was cursed to live on earth for a long time and when Shantanu finally breaks his promise with Ganga it is with the eighth child.  When he asks her to stop she tells him she will not kill the child but leaves him instead because he broke the agreement.  So in this story two different curses are affecting one another and it seems like Brahma new it was going to happen like that because of how he spoke the curse.

Ganga and Bhishma leaving Shantanu (Source: wikimedia)

Reading Diary B: Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists and Cradle Tales of Hinduism by Sister Nivedita

I read Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists and Cradle Tales of Hinduism by Sister Nivedita.  One of my favorite stories of Shiva was the story of Shiva fishing.  I found it interesting that Shiva would curse Parvati to become a fisherman’s wife when she was his wife.  Then he thought later about it later, thought that he had been too hard on her, and decided to go down and marry her.  So instead of going down and declaring that she was his wife he sent a shark to harass the fishermen to the point were the head fisherman declared that the person to get rid shark would become the husband of Parvati.  Another story that I liked was the story of Shiva’s Dance.  It was interesting that Shiva asked Vishnu to go down with him to convert the heretical rishis.  In addition, to accomplish this goal of converting the rishi he asked Vishnu to pose as his wife and he was to be a wandering yogi.  They then used themselves to bring in uproar to the hermitage because of the longing of the rishis for Vishnu and the longing of the rishis’ wives for Shiva.  Then the rishi realizing all was not as it seemed tried to curse them but it did not work.  At this point, the rishi should have realized that they were in over their heads but it seemed they did not.  So after the failed curses and two failed summons they summoned a dwarf and Shiva proceeded to dance on it and then the heavens were revealed and the rishi submitted themselves.

Shiva and Parvati (Source: wikimedia)

Reading Diary B: Krishna’s story from Cradle Tales of Hinduism by Sister Nivedita.

For this week, I am reading Krishna’s story from Cradle Tales of Hinduism by Sister Nivedita.  One of my favorite stories from the reading is the story of Krishna returning to Mathura.  I found it interesting that if King Kansa was so worried about the prophecy why did he go and invite all the cowherds to a festival so that he could try to kill Krishna by wrestlers.  Also instead of out-right killing Krishna he instead tried to have him sneakily killed by one of the wrestlers.  Which I found odd because King Kansa was already known as an evil man and a tyrant so I do not think that the people of his kingdom would find it odd if he decided to just go and kill him.  Something else that I found interesting is that King Kansa challenged Krishna and Bolarama to wrestling because Krishna and Bolarama were skilled in wrestling.  In addition, the power of Krishna was well known so it might have been more beneficial if Krishna and Bolarama had been challenged in the ways of war that they had been able to learn because they were from the cowherds and not from the Vrishnas.  Finally, after King Kansa had realized that the crowd was supporting Krishna and Bolarama and the wrestlers were fleeing, it was odd that he tried to have all that Krishna held dear slain.  He knew that Krishna was going to defeat him so it was odd he made the situation worse instead of trying to change his ways and beg for mercy.

Krishna killing King Kansa (source: wikimedia)

Reading Diary A: Krishna's Story from Cradle Tales of Hinduism by Sister Nivedita

For this week, I am reading Krishna’s story from Cradle Tales of Hinduism by Sister Nivedita.  One of my favorite stories from the reading was the story of Krishna and the snake Kaliya.  One of the reasons that I liked the story was that this was one of the first times that Krishna openly showed his power to others.  In most of the previous encounters, no one was there to witness his power.  I found it interesting that Krishna even though he was a baby was able to comprehend what was going on around him and even defeat asaras.  Most likely if King Kansa had attacked Krishna in his early childhood he would have been defeated even then because Krishna seemed to have all the power of Vishnu at an early age.  In the story of Krishna and Kaliya it was interesting that even though Krishna possessed the body of a human he did not seem to be affected by the poison of the lake.  Also it was interesting that Krishna’s companions did not believe that Krishna was alive when he threw up his flute because it was his most prized possession.  But then Krishna appeared and stomped on the heads of Kaliya.  It was odd that Krishna who first attacked Kaliya would then spare the life of Kaliya and force him to go to the ocean.  After the battle, it was interesting to see that Yasoda looked and saw Krishna swallow the flames when she was told not to.  It will be interesting to see were that leads.

Krishna lifting a mountain (source: wikimedia)

Reading Diary B: Nine Ideal Women by Sunity Devee

I read Nine Ideal Indian Women by Sunity Devee this week.  The women that I read about today were Sati and Uttara.  One of my favorite stories is from the life of Sati.  It was the story of how she came to be with Siva and how she lived with Siva.  I found that it was interesting that Sita was discouraged from marrying Siva.  Even though Siva was a poor god he was still the god of creation and as such Daksha Raj should have been happy to have his daughter marry Siva but instead it vexed him that Sati chose to marry Siva.  Even Siva’s attire should have impressed Daksha Raj.  Cobras formed Siva’s crown, around his should was a tiger’s skin and he held in his hands the earth, sky and seas.  He also could see the past, present, and future.  After the wedding, Sati and Siva lived humbly but they loved each other so much.  They spent time with each other in a garden where nature sang praises about them.  Another story I liked was also from the story of Sati.  It was when she decided to go to her Daksha Raj’s yagua.  It is odd that even though she loved Siva so much she decided to go against his wishes and go to the yagua even though they had not been invited.  Then after she goes to the party, it is sad to read of how her father, Daksha Raj, treated her.  It was also sad when Sati cursed her father then she died.  Siva’s sorrow after that was understandable and it was odd that he could do nothing for her soul after she had died.

Shiva mourns Sati (Source: wikimedia)

Reading Diary A: Nine Ideal Indian Women by Sunity Devee

This week I am reading Nine Ideal Indian Women by Sunity Devee.  The women I read about today were Savitri and Damayanti.  Both of these women had amazing stories of devotion to their husbands.  One of my favorite stories of these two women is from Savitri.  It occurred after Savitri had married Satyaban and was when Satyaban died.  I found it interesting that Yom would go to such lengths to get Savitri to go away but it was not until after the last wish that Savitri got what she wanted.  She first wished for healing for her father in law then a son for her father then she wished for a son as well.  It is odd that Yom did not pay attention and understand the implications of granting the third wish.  But Savitri understood and used the wish to her advantage and told Yom that it would not be good for her to have a child as a widow.  So after that Yom realized what he had granted and gave Satyaban back to Savitri and promised that she would never be a widow.  Then the story ended with Satyaban’s father getting back his kingdom.  One story of Damayanti that I liked was the story of her finding her husband, Nal again.  It was amusing that to bring out Nal she decided to say that she was getting married again.  But she knew that by saying that she would be able to find Nal.  Then when she found Nal again, they remarried again, and then Nal went back, got his kingdom back from his brother, and then forgave his brother.

Damayanti and the messenger swan (Source: wikimedia)

Reading Diary B: Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita

I am reading Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita.  Within the text, I read the story of the Mahabharata.  A story that stood out to me in the text was the story of Amba.  I found it odd that she blamed Bhishma for her rejection by King Shalva.  However, when she was being awarded as a prize at the swayamvara she never told her father or Bhishma that she had promised herself to King Shalva.  Instead, she waits until right before the wedding and then Bhishma releases her to go marry King Shalva.  Also she probably could have gone back and married to the king Vichitravirya but instead she goes and lives in an ashram.  There she fuels her anger against Bhishma and vows to kill him.  Then after Shiva tells her that in her next life, she will kill Bhishma.  So then, she builds herself a funeral pyre, lights it and then throws herself on it killing herself.  It is curious that any of the gods would support her.  If Bhishma had not come and she was given to another king, she would have been angry with him.  Instead, most of the blame should have been placed on her.  After she died, she was reincarnated as Shikhandini who was a princess but was raised as a princess.  Then she makes a deal with a yaksha, turns into a man, and goes into battle as a male to kill Bhishma.  It was very troubling how deep a grudge could go.  If Bhishma had been an evil man and it had all been his fault, it would have been more reasonable.  However, as it was Amba was just shirking the responsibility for her actions.  

Bhishma refusing to fight Shikhandi (Source: wikipedia)

Reading Diary A: Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita

I am reading Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita.  Within the text, I read the story of the Mahabharata.  One of my favorite stories in the reading was the story of Ekalavya.  I found that it was interesting that Drona rejected him.  Considering what had happened to Drona in the past, it seems like Drona would be more sympathetic with Ekalavya.  Instead, when Drona finds out that he had claimed to be his pupil he had Ekalavya pay a teacher’s fee and he cuts of his right thumb and loses his ability to shoot the bow.  This was all because he was a low cast prince of non-Aryan birth and it would be bad if he became better than the princes and learned all the secrets of military science.  Another story that I liked was the story of the princes attacking King Drupada at Drona’s bequest.  I found it amusing that after all the training that the Kaurava princes received, they still rushed in and did not have a good strategy, and as a result, the princes were routed.  However, when the Pandavas attack the use strategy and are able to easily defeat King Drupada.  In addition, after Arjuna had captured King Drupada the Kaurava princes were angry and wanted to sack the Panchala capital even though the Kauravas had first received the chance to capture him.  Another oddity about that was that King Drupada was able to wound both Duryodhana and Karna.  The reason this was odd was the fact that Duryodhana and Karna were almost as powerful as Bhima and Arjuna respectively.  

Ekalavya cutting off his thumb (Source: wikipedia)

Reading Diary B: The Mahabharata by R. K. Narayan

I am reading The Mahabharata by R. K. Narayan.  One of my favorite stories from this section of the reading was the story of the battle.  I found that the battle was interesting in that leaders of the two armies knew each other well.  Most of the issues could have been solved if the leaders had turned over Duryodhana and his cohorts.  Instead they remained loyal to him even though they knew what he was doing was wrong.  During the battle, it was interesting in how well some of the people fought against the Pandavas even though they were sons of gods.  One of the saddest moments was when Arjuna’s son, Abhimanyu went into battle knowing that he would probably die because he had not learned how to escape a formation on how to enter the formation.  Then he did die after being trapped and Arjuna is heart-broken and vows to kill the person responsible.  Another sad moment in the battle is when Bhishma is defeated.  Then he was left on a bed of arrows for days until he died.  If Bhishma had permitted it, he could have probably been saved.  Instead, he decided to die.  At the end of the battle, I found it interesting that Duryodhana remained obstinate until the end.  After the battle, it was odd that they did not remove Dhritarashtra from power.  It was due to his hypocrisy and his inability to keep control that the situation arose in the first place.  In addition, he tried to kill the Pandavas on more than one occasion.

Bhima and Duryodhana's battle (Source: .wikimedia)

Reading Diary A: The Mahabharata by R. K. Narayan

I am reading The Mahabharata by R. K. Narayan.  My one of my favorite stories in this section of the reading was the part of the story where The Pandavas are hiding in the kingdom of King Virata.  When Duryodhana hears that Kichaka was killed, he only hesitated for a moment then he decided to attack King Virata’s Kingdom.  I found that it was interesting that the kings allied with King Duryodhana were fine with King Duryodhana attacking another king.  It was amusing that Bhima was able to save King Virata and capture King Susharman, who had been the one who advised King Duryodhana to attack King Virata.  Another interesting part of this story is when Prince Uttara had Arjuna become his charioteer and Arjuna acted like he had no idea how to put on his armor.  Then after they leave, Prince Uttara became frightened and wanted to return so Arjuna had him become the charioteer and had Prince Uttara retrieve his weapons from the tree in the graveyard.  Then Arjuna reveals his identity to Prince Uttara.  After that, Arjuna and Prince Uttara go into battle.  When Arjuna meets the enemy, he fires arrows past Drona’s ears and at his feet.  I found that very interesting that Arjuna saluted his former mentor in such a manner.  Then Arjuna defeats Karna and put the rest of them to sleep.  I found it interesting that Arjuna did not kill them and be done with the whole affair because King Duryodhana was with them.  If he had done that, the war could have been avoided.

King  Virata at his court (Source: wikipedia)

Reading Diary B: The Mahabharata by R. K. Narayan

I am reading the Mahabharata by R. K. Narayan.  One of my favorite stories in this section of the Mahabharata is the section with the dice games.  I found it interesting how Yudhishthira knew that gambling was dangerous and that he should not partake in it but he still did because Kshatriyas do not refuse a challenge.  Then Yudhishthira allowed himself to be caught up in the game and bet everything that he had.  Then after he lost what he had it was given it back by King Dhritarashtra after he granted two wishes to free Yudhishthira and his four brothers.  Then as Yudhishthira was returning to his home he is called back to play more dice and he accepts again.  Then as was expected he lost again and was forced to go into exile for twelve years and the go incognito for one year.  The fact that later he says he thought he could win the dice game and take Duryodhana’s kingdom is ludicrous especially considering the fact he was terrible at the game and the person he was playing was good at the game.  In addition, it is odd that he continued to bet in the second game after the first round.  He could have played a round with a minimal bet and when he lost, he could have retired and gone back to his home.  However, he instead continued to bet and lose.  I think there was a lesson to be learned from this about excesses, about knowing your limits, about gambling, and about being level headed.  

Yudhishthira gambling (Source: wikimedia)

Reading Diary A: The Mahabharata by R. K. Narayan

I am reading the Mahabharata by R. K. Narayan.  One of my favorite stories in this section of the Mahabharata is the story of Drona training the Pandavas, the Kauravas and his son.  I found that it was interesting that Drona spent time secretly training his son, Ashwatthaman, in additional methods of war that he did not teach the Pandavas or the Kauravas but Arjuna saw them training and secretly learned the techniques.  Karna when he was found out by the Brahmin who was training him that Karna was not a Brahmin was cursed but Arjuna was never discovered watching Drona and was not cursed as a result.  Later when Drona has his life saved(a test) by Arjuna when he is being attacked by a crocodile in a river and Drona then teaches Arjuna a secret weapon but no indication is given that he also taught his son.  Prior to this event Drona had set up an artificial bird as a target as a test and when Arjuna is the only one to pass he is praised.  It makes me wonder if Arjuna had to some degree become something like a son to him because Drona spent extra time training him and the Pandavas.  The story of Drona and Drupada was also interesting that Drona wanted get revenge on Drupada because he betrayed him in a time of need.  Drona, once Drupada was brought to him by his pupils, had Drupada’s kingdom split in half, gave half to Drupada, and said that they were still friends.  

Drona testing his pupils (Source: wikipedia)

Reading Diary B: The Divine Archer by F. J. Gould

I read The Divine Archer by F. J. Gould.  One of my favorite parts of the reading this week was the events leading up to the battle between Ravana and Rama.  This rendition of the story seemed to go more into the details of the events that occurred with Ravana.  I enjoyed seeing details about what was going on in his kingdom.  I found it interesting that several of the rakshasa were afraid of Rama and want Ravana to return Sita to Rama.  Queen Mandodari was interesting because I figured that she would be going along with Ravana but she instead tries talking to Ravana to persuade him to not go to war with Rama.  I think she had a few reasons for this was the size of army that Rama had gathered was said to be eighteen thousand billion.  Another reason was that she had heard of his exploits with the bow and knew that he was no ordinary man.  Something else that I found interesting in this version was that Vibhishana was an ally of Rama from the beginning.  In the Narayan’s version, he became an ally after he left Ravana’s kingdom.  When Rama arrived in Lanka, I found it interesting that he could see Ravana’s crown and Queen Mandodari’s earring from a great distance.  Then it was odd that he shot the crown and earring and took them instead of shooting Ravana.  If he had shot then he might have been able to end the war without having very many casualties. 

Hanuman's visit to Lanka (Source: wikimedia)

Reading Diary A: The Divine Archer By F. J. Gould

I read The Divine Archer by F. J. Gould.  One of my favorite stories in this reading was the story of Rama arriving in Videha.  I enjoyed how the story went into detail at what Rama and Lakshmana did in the city.  In comparison to Narayan’s version of the Ramayana, this version includes more about the events surrounding Rama’s wedding to Sita.  This version for instance includes the part about the hermit coming and wanting to kill whoever broke Siva’s bow but on seeing Rama string Vishnu’s bow by touching it, the hermit clasped his hands and said “Glory to the mighty Rama!”  In addition, it goes into detail at what happened when Siva’s bow broke talking about how the earth shook.  Then it talks about how heaven and earth both celebrated.  Another section that I liked was Sita and Rama married.  In Narayan’s version, it is just his wedding but in this version of the story, all four of the brother’s are married.  Also, the dowry that was given to them was massive.  I found it odd however, that Lakshmana was said to be married but later it said he was not.  When Raksha tries to woo Rama she is rejected by Rama, Rama tells her that he has a wife and that he does not like the food of Rakshas.  Then he tells her that Lakshmana does not have a wife.  The only things that I can think of is that Rama was lying, Lakshmana was fine with pologamy, or he was no longer married.  Nevertheless, whatever the reason it does not matter because he turned Raksha down and she transformed and he cut of her nose and ears. 

Rama breaking Siva's bow (Source: wikimedia)

Reading Diary B: The Ramayana by R. K. Narayan

I read The Ramayana by R. K. Narayan.  One story that stood out to me was the battle between Rama and Ravana.  It is odd that Ravana after being bested by Rama once did not try and submit to Rama instead he sends his generals and his family.  Then when they are all defeated he dresses in fine armor and goes out to battle.  But before the battle there are negative signs all around him that spell of his defeat.  Instead he does not believe that Rama, who he believed to be just a mortal, could defeat him in battle.  Rama’s skill shows in this battle because he is able fight against Ravana who was able to fire ten bows at once because of his twenty arms.  In addition, Ravana had other weapons like a trident and astras.  But Rama is able to counter all of the weapons.  One oddity is that Rama was unable to protect his chariot driver, Matali, and an arrow pierced him in his heart but because he was a god, he was able to be revived by Rama.  Another story I found interesting in this section was the story of Rama testing Sita.  I found it odd that he was so cold to her before she proved her purity.  Because he had to have known that Sita was pure but whether or not the world believed it should have not have mattered.  I was happy when Rama accepted Sita after she had proved her purity by stepping into the fire and Agni carried her out.  

Rama and Ravana fighting (Source: wikimedia)

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) 

Reading Diary B: The Ramayana by R. K. Narayan

I am reading The Ramayana by R. K. Narayan.  My favorite story in this section is the story in Chapter 4, Encounters in Exile.  I like how Rama handles the situation with Shurpanakha.  Rama discovers that even though she appeared beautiful on the outside, she was rotten on the inside.  When he is talking, he begins to become evasive and declines her advances.  When Sita appears, Shurpanakha becomes aggressive and slanders Sita but Rama handles the situation with tact and grace.  The next part I liked was when Shurpanakha returns to Rama’s residence to get rid of Sita.  I found that the response of Lakshmana was interesting.  It was odd that when he grabbed Shurpanakha and had discovered that Shurpanakha was a woman and instead of killing her, he cut off her ears, nose, and breasts.  I found that this punishment seemed excessive.  However, I felt she should have been killed because she was an asura.  I also wondered why Lakshmana did not wait for Rama to return to deliver the punishment.  Another part of the story that I found interesting was the response of the other asura, mainly her family.  The reason I found this interesting was that Shurpanakha was able to deceive her own family regarding the matter.  She when talking about this matter specifically avoided mentioning that she was in love with Rama and that it was her own fault.  Another thing I liked in this chapter was the strength of Rama.  He was able to defeat more than one asura army.  This story has advanced in many ways and I am excited to see how the story progresses.  

Rama, Sita, and Shurpanakha (Source: wikimedia)