Clara's Blog

Sita's Ramayana by Samhita Arni and Moyna Chitrakar (2011) Part D: After Ravana's death, Sita wasn't happy or filled with joy, instead she was frightened and nervous. She could hear women and Ravana's queens filled with grief, which made her feel bad that so much pain was caused by one mans unlawful desire. Sita was stunned when Hanuman brought her back to Rama, the freedom she dreamed about for so long wasn't anything like she imagined. Sita was angry when Rama didn't believe she was pure, and questioned why he even fought in the war and said she would have just killed herself. Rama explains to her he fought the war for his honor. She claims his honor had ruined many lives and brings up the men killed by deceit, the newly widowed wives, and the fatherless children. Sita says she suffered, starved, waited, and only kept herself alive so she could be with Rama. Sita also says war is merciful to men, but not to women. Women become widows, orphans, or prisoner...

Sita's Ramayana by Samhita Arni and Moyna Chitrakar (2011) Part C: Even though Sita couldn't see the war, Trijatha told her everything that happened. Even the giant Kumbhakarna believe that Ravana was in the wrong by holding Sita captive. Sita feels bad about Kumbhakarna's death since he advised Ravana otherwise and he didn't listen. Trijatha is upset that Indrajit is killed by Lakshmana without honor, saying he deserved a better and that there were no heroes in this war with the treachery and deceit used. Sita believed that the actions and results of the war was caused by Ravana's unjust imprisonment of her. Sita was brought to tears when Trijatha told her that Lakshmana almost died, she couldn't imagine a world with him. She was also amazed by Hanuman's bravery who battled enchanters and challenged the sun to save Lakshmana. Sita saw Ravana's wife, Mandodari, was overwhelmed and in a daze. Mandodari had hidden a special arrow Ravana had given her,...

Sita's Ramayana by Samhita Arni and Moyna Chitrakar (2011) Part B: Trijatha tells Sita that Rama will come and rescue her. Sita continues to tell herself everyday that Rama will come. Hanuman came to save Sita while the guards were sleeping, and tells Sita that Rama is coming to save her. Rama was upset that Lakshmana had left Sita alone in the hermitage and didn't know what happened to Sita. They searched the forest for her until they find Jatayu, who tells them what happened. Sita was upset to hear that Jatayu died trying to save her. Hanuman tells Sita that Rama and Lakshmana found her trail of jewels and followed it until they were found by him. Hanuman takes the brothers to meet Sugriva, who tell them that Ravana took Sita. Sugriva offered to give Rama his army if Rama help Sugriva defeat Valin and regain his wife Tara. When Valin was killed, Tara was devastated at the loss of her husband. Sita feels guilty that Tara was widowed and Angada, Valin's son, was father...

Sita's Ramayana by Samhita Arni and Moyna Chitrakar (2011) Part A: The book begins with Sita explaining her perspective of the Ramayana to the forest. She begins the story with their exile, saying that life was pleasant, but Rama and Lakshmana didn't enjoy the peace of the forest. She explains the reasoning behind Ravana capturing her was because of Lakshmana cutting of Surpanaka's nose. Sita asked Rama to bring her the beautiful golden deer while Lakshmana watched over her. She feared Rama was hurt and asked Lakshmana to leave her in the hermitage and check on Rama. While alone, she heard the sound of music and found a minstrel who needed food and water. She felt like the music casted a spell on her and goes to feed him, but the minstrel was Ravana. He grabbed her hair and seized her arms and put her in his chariot. Ravana came to avenge his sister, but fell in love with Sita. He offered her many luxuries while stating Rama was a bad husband for leaving Sita alone. Si...

The Mahabharata narrates the rivalry between the two groups of cousins, the Pandavas and the Kauravas, whose family drama ensues an all-out war. The Mahabharata all begins with the birth of Vyasa – wait, does it begin there or before him? He’s not even a Pandava or Kaurava, is he? Okay, I’m going to figure out this family tree first.  Mahabharata family tree ( Wikipedia ) We’ll start with Satyavati, who was born from a fish and a king. Making her half-fish and half-woman. So that makes her a mermaid, right? No wait, I think she was a human woman who just smelled like fish. Okay so, she was raised by a fisherman and meets Parashara, a rishi who takes away her fishy smell in exchange for embracing him. This trade left her with a beautiful scent and a son, Vyasa. Next, there is King Shantanu, son of King Kuru. Shantanu’s first wife was the goddess Ganga. Together, they had like seven or eight kids, but she kept throwing them into the Ganges. For obvious reasons, this ...

PDE Mahabharata  by Arnold, Besant, Devee, Dutt, Ganguli, Kincaid, Macfie, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Seeger, and Tagore The battle continues and Bhishma is killed by Arjuna's arrow, causing Drona to take over Duryodhana's armies. Drona's attempts to take Yudhishthira prisoner, while Arjuna is willing to sacrifice his life for him. Abhimanyu was surrounded and killed by Duhshasana's son. Arjuna blames Jayadratha for his son's death and avenges Abhimanyu by killing Jayadratha. Bhima's son Ghatotlacha is killed by a dart from Karna. Drona is killed by the Pandava general Dhrishtadyumna, forcing Karna to take control of Duryodhana's armies. Bhima finally kills Duhsasana and gets revenge on him for treating Draupadi so poorly. Arjuna kills Karna when Krishna brought up the death Abhimanyu. Kripa advises Duryodhana to ask for peace, but Duryodhana says he won't since he has wrong the Pandavas so much. Shalya becomes the new leader of the Kaurava army and is kill...

The Sons of Rama: Luv and Kush – The Invincible Twins (Volume 503) by Anant Pai The comic begins with the story of a launderer beating his wife and differentiating himself from Rama saying he wouldn't take a wife who was in another's house. This makes Rama conflicted, but he decides to banish Sita because his duty is to his people. Lakshmana didn't want to leave Sita but Rama demands him to. Valmiki finds Sita when she is frightened by a snake. The hermitage became Sita's safe haven and where she raises her sons. Valmiki teaches them about Rama, the Ramayana, and how to use weapons. When he tells the stories of the Ramayana he refers to Sita as Vaidehi. The boys agreed Rama was cruel to Vaidehi and wonder what happened to her. Rama wants to send Lakshmana to find Sita for his yajna, but decides to use a golden statue of her instead to avoid upsetting his people. Luv and Kush find the horse and are willing to fight. The sons defeat the army and the army returns to Rama...

For my learning challenge this week I read the New York Times article,  "What Kids Wish Their Teachers Knew"  by Donna De La Cruz. I expected the notes to be kind letters to the teacher, letting her know what she could improve or change about her class. Instead, the letters were about the struggles the students were dealing with outside of school. I think these things are important for teachers to know, so a child's poor behavior or lack of success in a class can be better understood, ultimately leading to improvement. I went to school in Oklahoma where teachers are underpaid, and towards the end of my high school, many of the teachers that were genuinely passionate about teaching left to other states to get higher pay. With a graduating class of about 1,200 and every class I had was filled with about 30+ students, there weren't many opportunities for teachers to get to know their students. My teachers always offered to be there for students in need, but I think the l...

This week I really focused on putting my plan of getting ahead in this course into action. I’ve managed to finish all of my week 6 assignments before the weekend and even started the readings for week 7. I’m about to begin studying for the MCAT, and I want to have as little other schoolwork as possible towards the end of the semester, so I’ve been prioritizing finishing assignments in this class a lot recently. I also got hired for a job I’ve been wanting, so my schedule is about to get a bit hectic. I’m hoping that getting ahead in this class will ease some of the stress I’ll have in a couple weeks. I’ve enjoyed the reading this week, but I think most of my future readings will be based around the Ramayana since my storybook is over Sita. For my writing, I’ve been working on stepping outside of my comfort zone. I usually just write retelling or stories from third person, but I’m working on being more creative in my stories. I’ve really grown to love the self-grading system of this c...

I have completed the backup for my blog and checked on the Progress Chart to make sure on I'm on target with my desired grade. For my video this week I watched  "Bheem meets Hanuman"  by Epified. The video was about Bheem goes to find flowers and ends up lost in a forest, while trying to find his back he meets Hanuman. Hanuman is upset that Bheem woke up the other animals while he was trying to find his way back. Hanuman blocks his path and Bheem tries to get past him but he is unable to, so he asks Hanuman for forgiveness. Then Hanuman greets Bheem as his brother and they part ways. I really enjoy the Epified videos because they give me an opportunity to learn more about characters that usually aren't main characters in the epics. My favorite graphic this week was the diagram that helps identify what tasks need the most focus. I find when I'm overwhelmed with school work or problems, I struggle to know where to begin and I think this graphic will be helpful for o...

PDE Mahabharata  by Arnold, Besant, Devee, Dutt, Ganguli, Kincaid, Macfie, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Seeger, and Tagore For these reading notes I wanted to focus on one character, Draupadi, who is following the Pandava princes into exile. She is upset that Duryodhana tried to make her a slave and her husbands didn't try to protect her. Draupadi and her husbands are rejoined with Arjuna and they returned to Kamyaka. Draupadi is carried away in a chariot by Jayadratha while her husbands were gone hunting. She says that Jayadratha is worthy of death for kidnapping her, but Bhima spared his life. The goddess Durga promises the Pandavas and Draupadi that they would remain hidden during their final year of exile. When they arrive to the city of Virata, Draupadi offers the queen to be a bondwoman. The queen was drawn to Draupadi, but feared that her beauty would cause problems. Draupadi reassured the queen that she was protected by her husbands. The queen sends Draupadi to deliver wine and f...

For this week's Growth Mindset challenge I decided to teach my boyfriend about the growth mindset. I've been wanting to bring it up to him recently because I think the concept of a growth mindset is interesting. He had heard about the growth mindset before, but wasn't very family with the ideas or concept. To me, one of the key ideas is being proud of the effort and the journey instead of the result. If the results aren't where you wanted them to be, then you weren't ready "yet", but will be with continued persistence. He doesn't think he has been applying a growth mindset at school and is planning on learning more about it in the future. I also think I want to share the growth mindset with my brother, so he can teach it my niece and nephew. Growth Mindset ( Flickr )

I don’t know how I got down here, or where exactly “here” is. I fell so quickly and without any warning there was nothing I could do about it. It’s been months of darkness and I don’t know if I’ll ever be found. I think I’m in a car because day in and day out I hear the engine start, and if I’m correct I know I’ll never be found. I’m a gold shiny bracelet, I can’t be that hard to miss? I’m a beautiful rosary and I was used to pray every day; I don’t deserve to be treated like this! Maybe if she would just try to look a little harder, she would be able to find me underneath all these clothes. Before I was down here, I was always complimented for my beauty and daintiness. I hope I'm found soon! A gold bracelet, but unfortunately not my gold bracelet ( Piqsels ) Author’s note: For my biography I wrote about an object I lost. I wrote from the point of view of my bracelet that I used to wear daily until I lost it. I wanted to write from the objects point of view becau...

Sita Sings the Blues  by Nina Padley After intermission, Sita is pregnant. The narrators tell a story about a man who beat his wife when she was unfaithful and negatively compared her to Sita. Lakshmana takes her to the forest and leaves her in exile. Sita sings a song about Rama being a mean man and she doesn't deserve to be treated that way. During this time, Sita wonders what she did in a previous life to deserve such a suffering current life. She meets Valmiki and gives birth to her two sons. The narrators had an interesting debate about Sita's choices and her issues. One point was Sita was so devoted to Rama that she made him come rescue from Ravana instead of going with Hanuman. If she would've gone with Hanuman, she would've saved thousands of lives. Also, they questioned her for being so devoted to someone that was so toxic to her and treated her so poorly. They concluded that Sita had an unconditional love for Rama even though he treated her poorly. Sita san...

For my Story Lab this week I watched the TED talk given by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie called  "The danger of a single story" . During her talk she states that describing someone as one "thing" or one characteristic continuously can cause that person to become that in someone else's eyes. For example, she heard many negative things about Mexcians from the media coverage that they had become the "abject immigrant" in her eyes. By starting the story differently, the story can completely change. Adichie emphasized the negative impact of single stories on causing incomplete and hurtful stereotypes. The second TED talk I watched was  "Imaginary friends and real-world consequences: parasocial relationships"  by Jennifer Barnes. Barnes asks why we engage with fictional characters and what effect does engaging in fictional characters has on us? One reason is parasocial relationships, which is relationships we form with someone without ever meeting them,...

Naga I started my Wikipedia Trail with nagas after reading about them in the Mahabharata. Nagas are half-human half-serpent beings that reside in the underworld. They are brought up in the Mahabharata when they attack Bhima when he is in the underworld. Garuda Next I clicked on a link to Garuda, since he is an enemy of nagas. Garuda is a bird or bird-like creatures in Hindu mythology. Indonesia uses the Garuda in a a different form for it's national symbol.   Phoenix Indonesia uses the symbol of the Garuda intertwined with a phoenix, which led me to my next Wikipedia link. A Phoenix is associated with the sun and obtains new life by rising from ashes. It represents renewal, as well as concepts such as the Roman Empire, time, and the Sun. Roman Empire I clicked on the Roman Empire because it was one of the things a phoenix symbolized. I was also interested because I took Latin the past two semesters, so we were constantly learning about the history and people in the Roman Empi...

For my week 6 Learning Challenge, I decided to read an article about empathy called,  "10 Reasons to Stop Judging People"  by Barbara Markway. Before reading this article, I knew judgement was a natural instinct and hard to stop. The article elaborates on the idea of being mindful as a way to try an understand someone else's perspective before responding too harsh. One new thing I learned is someone that feels good about themselves are less likely to be judgmental towards others. I really liked all the tips given to be less judgmental towards other people, although I don't consider myself a judgmental person, there's always room for improvement and I plan to incorporate some of these tips into my life. Quote about judging others ( Flickr )

PDE Maharabharata  by Arnold, Besant, Devee, Dutt, Ganguli, Kincaid, Macfie, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Seeger, and Tagore Vidura saved the Pandava's and their mother by an underground passage to the woods, so they wouldn't be hurt by the fire, but many believed they died in the fire. Duryodhana and Dhritarashtra rejoiced when they heard they Kunti and her sons died. While Bhima was taking care of his family in the forest, a rakshasa named Hidimba wanted to eat them and sent his sister to bring them. Instead, the rakshasa woman falls in love with Bhima and warns him about her brother. Bhima kills Hidimba and he marries the rakshasa woman. Bhima and Hidimbi had a son Ghatotokacha, she eventually left the Pandavas with her son. Bhima returns to his family in Ekachakra where he defeats Baka, a monster that was conquering the town. Draupadi and Dhrishtadyumna are born supernaturally with the purpose to defeat Drona and the Kauravas. The Pandavas went toward Panchala disguised as brahm...

For my week 6 Tech Tip, I decided to learn about the Google Reverse Image Search. This is something I've always wanted to learn, but never had any reasons to use it before. The steps were extremely easy, by just copying the image's address and pasting it into the search bar I discovered the image was of Ravana. This tool will be helpful in the future for finding image information for blog posts. Mystery Image of Ravana 

PDE Mahabharata  by Arnold, Besant, Devee, Dutt, Ganguli, Kincaid, Macfie, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Seeger, and Tagore Since this is the beginning of the Mahabharata and many characters are introduced, I decided to base my notes on the characters and how their relationships are intertwined. It's confusing to keep track of the origin of each character and their motives, so hopefully these notes will make the further readings less confusing as the story continues and characters from earlier episodes return. Characters Vyasa: author of Mahabharata, son of Satyavati and Parashara, Island-born. Ganesha: Vyasa's scribe. Satyavati: daughter of king, foster daughter of fisherman, beautiful, fishy smell but lost it by having Vyasa, marries Shantanu. King Shantanu: powerful, married to Ganga then left by her, loves Satyavati. Ganga: goddess, wife of King Shantanu, divinely beautiful, mother of Devavrata. Devavrata (Bhishma): son of Ganga and Shantanu, possesses powers of Vasus...

For my week 5 Growth Mindset, I read the article " "25 Simple Ways to Develop a Growth Mindset"  by Saga Briggs. This article confirmed the negative consequences of having a fixed mindset and the impact it can have on all aspects of your life. Despite knowing the negative impacts of a fixed mindset, I didn't it could lead to dishonesty. The article mentions a study done where kids were asked to right a letter to their peers about their IQ scores and found that about 40% lied about their score. There were many useful ways to develop a growth  mindset and couple of them stood out that I want to incorporate into my life. A lot of the tips acknowledged the speed it takes to learn, so I'm going to start allowing myself more time to learn material so I'm learning well instead of learning fast. Also, i want to increase my determination, since the article suggests that students with more grit are more likely to seek approval from themselves instead of others. Gro...

Sita Sings the Blues  by Nina Padley The film begins by showing many gods, the film has three narrators that take us through the Ramayana, despite their own confusion of the Ramayana. I really liked the use of the narrators in this film, their discussions brought up questions and ideas I hadn't previously thought about. Sita sang a song about being thankful for Rama. The narrators discuss that Ravana might not have been too bad, bringing up the story of him playing the lute with his intestines. Ravana is convinced to capture Sita by Surpanakha and sends Maricha to become a golden deer to distract Rama. Before Sita is taken, she sings a song about how much she loves Rama. As Sita is carried away she drops her jewelry, but the narrators wonder how she had jewelry, since she left Ayodhya with nothing. Rama and Hanuman become allies and Hanuman goes to save Sita, but she refuses to go with him. The narrators discuss why Sita would do this and if her decision to stay until Rama rescue...

The first story of my storybook is going to be Sita's writing journal entries about having strange dreams of her past life as  Vedavati  and her being found as an infant in the furrows from  Sita's Story . I would use this section to introduce all of Sita's relatives and set up her backstory.   The next section of my story would be about her first interaction with Rama in the garden. I would also include details from when Rama wins Sita in the competition, their wedding, and their exile all inspired by either Sita's Story or the  PDE Ramayana . The next section of my storybook would include their exile, her being taken by Ravana, her proving her purity to Rama, and their return to Ayodhya. Since this section would contain many different events, I'm going to try to keep the Sita's entries during this time a bit shorter. During this section I also want to refer back to Sita's dreams as Vedavati because as Vedavati dies she swears she will be born agai...

Link to my Storybook:  Sita's Journal India Mystic Background ( Needpix.com )

It was a bright day in Lanka when Indrajit and his wife, Promila, received the devastating news about Indrajit’s brother, Birbahoo. Indrajit fell to the ground with sorrow mourning Birbahoo, who had been killed earlier by Lakshmana and Rama in battle. Using little time to grieve, Indrajit swore to avenge his brother by killing Rama and Lakshmana and starts preparing himself for the fight. He was reluctant to leave his beautiful wife, but ensured Promila he will be back that evening. Promila had heard the stories of the mighty Rama and feared for Indrajit’s life. Promila decided to roam her beloved garden to calm her nerves, but this only made her thoughts worse. As she anxiously paced around her garden, she noticed something was different. This beautiful garden that once brought her serenity and joy felt so lackluster now. She realized being without Indrajit made her feel incomplete and empty. She couldn’t stand a day without him; how would she continue if he didn’t return home? ...

Nine Ideal Women: Sita, Promila, and Shakuntala by Sunity Devee (1919) Promila's Story Characters: Indrajit - eldest and bravest son of Ravana, married to Promila, wants to avenge his brother, confident. Promila - wife of Indrajit, fair and gentle princess, goes to fight with Indrajit, optimistic, devoted wife, killed herself to be with Indrajit, brave. Ravana - kidnapped Sita, lost all his sons in war with Rama, Birbahoo - Indrajit's brother, killed by Rama. Lakshama - fought Indrajit while Indrajit was unarmed (disgraceful), killed Indrajit. Bibhisan - Indrajit's uncle, disloyal, let Lakshama into alter. This story gives a whole different perspective to the antagonist in the original Ramayana we read. In this version, Indrajit is described as an extremely loving and devoted husband and brother. His only reason for going to war was to avenge the death of his brother instead of fighting to keep Sita as a prisoner. The story also makes Lakshama seem disgraceful, ...

Nine Ideal Indian Women: Sita, Promila, and Shakuntala by Sunity Devee (1919) The story begins with the King of Vadeha, Janaka, finding Sita in the furrows while he was working as a farmer. King Ravan ordered a messenger to bury a gharrah in a deserted place, this gharrah that Sita was found in. Sita had three sisters, Urmila, Mandavi, and Srutakirty. Sita was regarded as the Princess Royal of Videha and was looked upon for good fortune. When Sita was fourteen, her father had a competition for whoever could break an ancient bow could marry Sita. King Dasaratha had four sons, Ramchandra (Rama), Bharata, Lakshmana, and Satrugna. Ramchandra and Lakshmana were in Vadeha when Rama first saw Sita and it was love at first sight. Many competitors attempted to break the bow, but they were all unsuccessful. Sita was thrilled when Rama approached the bow and prayed that he would be able to break the bow. Rama won the competition and was marrying Sita, his other 3 brothers married Sita's...

This week I really enjoyed the reading and managed to complete both readings on time and catch up from last week. I fell behind in Week 3, so I didn't want to stay behind this week. Part D of the Ramayana was my favorite reading so far. I felt like I was more interested during the reading compared to how I had been in the past, probably because it had the most action and turning points of the readings. I liked the story I wrote this week, but I'm still working on strategies to get into mindset to write stories. I feel like it takes me awhile to be able to get into a good work flow when it comes to writing stories. I read someone's story about Rama and Sita earlier that used amazing detail, adjectives, and literary devices that really brought the story to life. I really enjoyed reading their story and their writing style, so I might try to implement some of those strategies into my writing. I have exams in all my classes this and next, but I enjoy being able to use this clas...

I have completed the back up and the check up part of the assignment. This week I watched the video  Why We Worship Trees . The video states that trees are associated with gods, and they are worshipped to show their gratitude. Different trees are associated with different gods. My favorite graphic this week was the poem "Advice from a Tree". I thought this poem was short and easy, while still getting an important message across. Advice from a Tree

Catalyst I started my Wikipedia Trails with catalyst. I have a test in my biology class this week and was learning about catalysts right before I did my online work, so I decided to start my Wikipedia Trail with them. Formaldehyde From catalysts, I clicked on formaldehyde. I have a lot friends in anatomy lab right now, and they always complain about the smell of formaldehyde, so it grabbed my attention. Milky Way Galaxy From formaldehyde, there was a link to the galaxy. I've always been interested in the stars and space, so the a link to the galaxy seemed interesting to me. Galileo Galilei From the Milky Way, I clicked on the link about the "father of observational astronomy" Galileo Galilei. I clicked on the link of Galileo because I was interested to learn about his contributions to astronomy and what he observed. Galileo Galilei (Source:  Wikipedia )

For my Learning Challenge this week I read the article  "The Surprising Link Between Laughter and Learning" by Dana Asher. Before reading the article, I knew that laughter was a positive outlet for aggression, but I didn't know the complete impact laughter had. The article connects laughter to learning and leadership. The article states that laughter shows vulnerability, which leads to self-awareness and trust. After reading this article, I'm interested in learning about other benefits of laughter and the benefits of having an overall greater happiness. Laughing face (Source: Pixabay )

For this week's Growth Mindset, I read the article  "6 Bad Mental Habits that Sabotage Your Success" by Amy Morin. This article confirmed how powerful the mind is. If we think positively about ourselves, we perform better, while negative thoughts can lead to poor performance. This article taught me that negative thoughts can effect everyone, even aspiring Olympic athletes will work with sport psychologists to improve their mental strength. The article gives tips to avoid the 6 unhealthy habits that harm mental strength. I think I'm most interested in the habit about negative predictions turning into self-fulfilling prophecies. To prevent myself from catastrophizing my future I'm going to quit dwelling on the worst case "what if" scenarios. Growth Mindset (Source:  Flickr )

For this tech tip I decided to play the Ninja Cat game, since last week I said I wanted to improve my typing speed. I thought this game was really fun, unfortunately it wasn't working well for me, so I kept losing. I tried some other games, but they all seemed to load too slow. Typing (Source: Pixabay )

For my storybook project I want to write about Sita's life from her point of view, possibly as journal entries. I'm currently thinking of breaking it into the three sections of Sita's life into before she meets Rama, when she is  with Rama, and after she is sent into exile. Vedavati is said to be the previous incarnation of Sita. Vedavati is dedicated to winning Lord Vishnu as her husband and having a child with him. Eventually, Vedavati enters a fire and dies to avoid being with Ravana. Before her death she tells Ravana she will be born again for his destruction. I think all the similarities between Sita and Vedavita would be interesting to write about along with Sita's birth from the earth. I would most likely condense majority of Rama and Sita's story from the  PDE Ramayana into their life together in the jungle and her being captured by Ravana. I would also probably add their intitial feelings they had for each other at first sight.  My final story ide...

Sita and Rama returned to Ayodhya filled with joy that their long and exhausting years of exile were finally over. Under Rama's reign the city flourished. There were no diseases, plenty of crops grew during the harvest season with plenty of rainfall during the rainy seasons. Despite Ayodhya's success under Rama's reign, rumors about his queen, still circulated between around the city questioning her loyalty to the king while she was Ravana's hostage. "Sita was not faithful to Rama while she was captured by Ravana, how could Rama stay with a woman who stayed with another man?" they would say. Sita knew what the people said about her, but after proving herself to Rama, she didn't acknowledge what they thought because Rama knew her virtues. Eventually, his people's criticisms convinced Rama to send Sita back into exile. Rama battled internally with losing the respect of his subjects and banishing his innocent wife. He finally decided to tell Sita that s...

Public Domain Edition of the Ramayana by M. Dutt, R. Dutt, Gould, Griffith, Hodgson, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Oman, Richardson, and Ryder.  The 4th part of the Ramayana begins with a dilemma for Rama and the army. Unlike Hanuman who can use his superpowers to jump to Lanka, Rama and the armies were unable to pass the ocean. The King of Ocean guides Rama to seek Nala to build a bridge to Lanka, this bridge was called "Rama's Bridge". Ravana's spies advised Ravana to surrender Sita and not go to war, but Ravana refused. Ravana tries to fool Sita into thinking that Rama is dead, but she eventually realizes it is only an illusion. Then the big battle begins, eventually Indrajit uses his invisibility power to injure Rama and his army. Then when they thought they had lost the battle, Garuda comes and heals them. To help them fight, the rakshasas woke Kumbharkarna, a man-eating demon. Rama was able to defeat Kumbhakarna using a flaming arrow. Indrajit then used a Brahma-weapo...