Week 4 Reading Diary B

Today the reading assignment was to continue reading The Ramayana by William Buck pages 60-109

Important Notes: 
-Dasaratha decides that Rama it to become King. This is interesting to note because Dasaratha has many sons and chose Rama over them.
-Dasaratha has many wives, and when he chose Rama over his other sons, one of the wives, Kaikeyi became very angry.
-Kaikeyi wants her son, Bharata, to be king and not Rama. Dasaratha owes Kaikeyi wishes, so Kaikeyi uses her wishes to send Rama in exile and to make Bharata king.
-The fact that Dasaratha honors Kaikeyi's wish that he owed her is important because it shows he is a trustworthy person.
-Rama leaves in exile. The town, Ayodhya, is upset that he is leaving. Sita and Lakshmana want to go with Rama, but the people of Ayodhya flood the river so they cannot leave.
-As Rama is wondering in exile in the forest, he runs into Guha, who is the Hunter King. He embraces Rama and Guha's followers bring food out for them to eat while Rama tells them the story of Shiva. They continue to tell stories. Guha tells a story about Kaikeyi who demanded that Dasaratha teach her how to speak the language of the animals, a secret that was supposed to be guarded and kept secret.
-Rama and his group (Sita and Lakshmana) leave Guha's forest, they run into Bharadwaja who convinces them to stay in Chitratuka. Lakshmana sets up a home for the group.
-Dasharatha dies after Rama leaves. As he is dying he envisions a kid dying in the forest. He compares this to how he sent his own son in exile into the forest.