Alex's Epics of India Blog

As I finished the  Ramayana , I found a few parts of the narrative intriguing.  The first thing that sticks out in my mind is the honor of one-on-one combat, specifically the code which leads Rama not to attack his opponent when he is "in a faint" and therefore susceptible to being killed. This seems to underscore a deeply masculinist, tough-guy feeling about fighting -- that a 'fair fight' is the only kind of fight acceptable, and for things to be fair, they must be equal between the male combatants. On the contrary, I once heard from a police officer that no fight is a fair fight -- it's just a fight, and you've gotta do what you've gotta do to win. I subscribe to this view, but I still think that the ancient ideal of honor and how it's reflected in modern fighting etiquette -- no gouging eyes, no hitting/kicking the crotch -- shows that, throughout time, people (or at least men, who I can speak for) believe that to be incapacitated 'unfai...

NOTE: Portfolio location --  https://sites.google.com/view/crayonandonand/story-one Once upon a time, in the distant Kingdom of Almost-Humans, two young brothers lived happily together as princes, chasing each other around the castle grounds and racing each other home when their almost-human butler called them to dinner, careful not to trip on their tails. As the brothers grew older, they never concerned themselves with the line of succession--which one of them would become King of the Almost-Humans--until one fateful day when everything changed. "Hey, brother," the first and older almost-human prince said, "where are the carrots for today's feast? Father is planning to introduce me as his rightful heir to the throne of the Kingdom." The younger brother, who well knew how valuable carrots were to the succession announcement and ceremonies, had dug them all up the previous night, tied them into a tight bundle, and punted them into the forest. He shrugged....

In this section of the Ramayana , two episodes stick out to me as significant -- not because they are the most important or exciting episodes, but because they parallel epic mythic tradition found elsewhere in the world (spoiler alert: I mean Greece, like always). First, the confrontation between Sugreeva and Vali, ended by Rama, provides insight into ancient Indian battle philosophy. Vali, shot through the heart by Rama, calls out Rama for fighting with cowardice. "How could you, protector of all creatures, aim your shaft from your hiding place, like some mean hunter tracking a wild beast, instead of facing me in a fight?" (111). This philosophy -- the cowardice of archers -- reminds me of multiple instances in the Iliad,  and of one character in particular -- Paris. During the Iliad , Paris is constantly hiding and shooting at the Greeks in a cowardly way, and if he's not doing that, he's just running away from a fight. (Interesting that Paris, a coward and Prince...