Since I took a break in Week 5 and enjoyed the Ramayana more than the Mahabharata, I decided to read The Divine Archer by F.J. Gould for this week's reading. At the end of Part A, I think I might even like this version of the Ramayana the best so far! Despite having some holes in it, such as the reason King Dasharatha owing Queen Kaikeyi two boons being unexplained, I thought the story moved faster, which I liked.
The part of Part A that stood out to me the most was the scene where Bharata, Queen Kausalya, and the people of Ayodhya came upon Sita, Rama, and Lakshman on the holy-hill of Chitra-Kuta. I don't remember the exiles being on a hill with peaceful animals in the Tiny Tales version, but I could be just forgetting things. I really liked this part because it reminded me about Shangri-La.
The holy-hill was described on page 33 akin to a paradise, with beautiful trees and rocks around, and all manner of animals living in harmony with the three humans. I think it would be cool to maybe write this scene from one of the animals point of views, maybe one of the tigers or elephants? Or from the point of view of the Queen. She does not have anything from her point of view in the Ramayana, so that could be interesting.
My other favorite parts of this section were how beautifully Sita was described. The imagery by F.J. Gould was really amazing!
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