Reading Notes: Nivedita Ramayana, Part B

Again, I am impressed by Nivedita's attention to detail, in comparison with the PDE. The PDE, in regards to Rama needing to cross the ocean, made him seem very childish; it was as if he were throwing a tantrum and the exasperated Ocean finally just gave him what he wanted. In Nivedita's version, however, though he is still seemingly angry, he is more rational and doesn't actually want to dry up the sea. It also gives details about the actual construction of the bridge, providing somewhat of a timeline to the story.

Vibhishana's abandoning of Ravana is also given in slightly more detail than I remember. It touches his anger at being constantly ignored/insulted for trying to warn his brother about not standing a chance against Rama. Even just one extra line that shows some kind of insight into what the characters are feeling provides more immersion in the story and gives the reader a satisfaction in progressing with them as they develop. For example, the line (present in both editions) about the monkeys' paranoia - that they would mistake a straw moving to be a rakshasa - showed their morale loss after they thought Rama was dead. Their hope was extinguished, replaced by fear.

There's a little excerpt in the Nivedita version not found in the PDE, after Garuda's arrival and healing of the monkey army, that shows Hanuman's classic awesomeness. The monkeys are fighting Dhumraksha, a rakshasa leader, and are struggling to beat him. Hanuman, seeing this, throws a heavy rock at him, destroying his carriage. Then Hanuman, casually armed with a mountain, goes to finish him off, but is sorely wounded by Dhumraksha's mace. Ignoring the wound, he throws the mountain and crushes him. Classic Hanuman.

The descriptions of Pot-ear (Kumbhakarna) are so vivid! It makes him much more menacing than how I remember the PDE describing him. That makes his defeat all the more epic. This giant, seemingly undefeatable foe, slowly worn down and eventually defeated through the valiant and combined effort of the heroes - it's the formula for epic battles!
(battle against Kumbhakarna, taken from Wikimedia)

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