66697602-The-Ramayana-R-K-Narayan

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pleased that she is no longer here? One of your kind drew me away from her. Now what is your purpose in strutting before me?” When he saw a slender streak of lightning edging a cloud, he sighed, “Why should you remind me of Sita’s figure and vanish again? When you rumble, does it signify your determination to restore Sita to me?” Then he addressed the god of love, Manmatha: “You are a tormentor. I feel scorched, and while I seek something to heal me, your darts stab again and again the same sore spot at my heart —merciless god! It is your good fortune that you are unseen, which saves you; my brother would have eliminated you, if he had seen how you torture me. Do you know what happened to Soorpanaka?” Lakshmana noticed Rama’s state of mind and felt it was time for him to comfort him. He said, “Are you worried that the rainy days are prolonged? Are you worried that the asuras might prove invincible? Do you fear that Janaki may not be traced at all? Please don’t let your mind weaken. Anjaneya is there, Angada and all the other stalwarts will be our helpers. Soon we will see the skies bright and clear. Time has been passing, and we will soon see the promised armies, and with ease they will bring Janaki to your side. You had assured the sages of Dandaka forest that you would eradicate the asuras from their midst and that has been your chief mission here. Muster your strength and fulfill your mission. Don’t let your spirit droop.” Rama was comforted by such words, and they sustained him through a second bout
of rain which suddenly started after a brief interval of clear weather. The rains ended at last. The skies cleared. New leaves appeared on the trees; jasmine and other fragrant flowers bloomed. With brighter surroundings, Rama’s spirit also quickened. Now he could move out of his ashram and act positively. With the end of the rainy season, nature’s traffic resumed on land, air, and water. Flocks of swans crossed the sky; cranes and aquatic birds flew by; a variety of fishes newly spawned darted under the water surfaces. Lotus was in bloom; frogs which had croaked themselves hoarse in unison all through the wet days now were silent. Peacocks came out into the sun shaking off clogging droplets of water and fanning out their tails brilliantly. Rivers which had roared and overflowed now retraced their modest courses and tamely ended in the sea. Areca palms ripened their fruits in golden bunches; crocodiles emerged from the depths crawling over rocks to bask in the sun; snails vanished under slush, and crabs slipped back under ground; that rare creeper known as vanji suddenly burst into bloom with chattering parrots perched on its slender branches. All this was minutely noted by Rama, as indicating a definite change of season and a reminder that Sugreeva had failed to keep his promise to arrive with his army. He said to Lakshmana, “Does it not seem that Sugreeva has
Page 3 and 4:
Table of Contents About the Author
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THE RAMAYANA R. K. NARAYAN was born
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING IN P
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Introduction In the summer of 1988
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to the Indian freedom movement agai
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superiority by stringing an enormou
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after this, she passes away, and a
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their particular social group. The
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choice of words—“impelled,”
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present in this retelling of The Ra
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4 P. S. Sundaram, trans., N. S. Jag
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The Grandmother’s Tale and Select
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To the memory of my uncle T. N. Ses
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Introduction The Indian epic, the R
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The following pages are based on a
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List of Characters (If not otherwis
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SUBAHU (soo ba’ hoo) and MAREECHA
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kinds of smoke rise in the air, fro
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arrange for the performance of a ya
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want any help from me?” They alwa
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fatigue, and even decrepitude. The
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agitated? I came here for a purpose
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Following the footsteps of their ma
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orn to them—Mareecha and Subahu
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earned the gratitude of humanity. T
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When a poor man like me has a glimp
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Concluding the story, Viswamithra a
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now, has a divine association. Moth
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the saint, assuming that he had sto
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all mankind, as the Ganges bears a
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came back at this moment, having in
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and take her back, her heart is pur
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of swaying back and forth, their ne
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from the sea, but none of it comfor
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ceremony at Janaka’s palace. At t
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it. It was so huge that no one coul
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the coolest bed they could find her
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the King’s proclamation to every
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creature on the ground; others held
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with his ministers and officials an
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3 TWO PROMISES REVIVED In his busy
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must have trembled without my knowi
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can be no place in a king’s heart
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fact, I do not doubt that he will b
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Tomorrow he is crowning Rama as the
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“Do you know how people can chang
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wearing torn off, her jewellery sca
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The king remained silent a moment,
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The night continued in this kind of
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to the assembly?” The King stirre
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her son. She had been expecting him
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Kausalya in a state of complete des
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muster in his tone. “Everything i
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my death so that she may place Bhar
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and hearing his stentorian challeng
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vanquished an innocent brother who
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decreed by Kaikeyi. Many wept at th
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there for the night. The citizens w
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messengers murmured a polite answer
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e back? What made him go? Did he go
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lackest sins for which people were
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Bharatha opened the subject. “I h
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4 ENCOUNTERS IN EXILE After Bharath
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They reached Panchvati, set in sylv
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alone, unescorted?” She answered,
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you wear the robes of ascetics, and
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emarked, “Ah, how true! No one ca
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unite with me, and quench the fire
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We met last evening and you were so
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come to be here with his wife and b
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hacked me thus.” Kara looked clos
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5 THE GRAND TORMENTOR Ravana, the s
Page 150 and 151: “Ah,” cried Ravana, challenged.
Page 152 and 153: “What wretched season are you?”
Page 154 and 155: know day had come. Even the rooster
Page 156 and 157: at Sidhasrama, to avenge his mother
Page 158 and 159: seeking your own destruction and th
Page 160 and 161: Seizing the idea from Mareecha’s
Page 162 and 163: Sita became insistent and said sull
Page 164 and 165: Sita had no ear for any explanation
Page 166 and 167: obeying her command and pleasing he
Page 168 and 169: when he has to meet the mighty Rava
Page 170 and 171: and uttered reckless pleasantries.
Page 172 and 173: The perfect man takes a false step,
Page 174 and 175: clothed in ascetics’ robes? But t
Page 176 and 177: Every day Vali visited all the eigh
Page 178 and 179: Vali seized Sugreeva and tried to s
Page 180 and 181: things in seven; and then it return
Page 182 and 183: Then Sugreeva and Hanuman spoke enc
Page 184 and 185: And now Tara quietly mentioned, “
Page 186 and 187: clashed. Then they separated, dodge
Page 188 and 189: exercised all his remaining strengt
Page 190 and 191: Rama softly came out of his hiding,
Page 192 and 193: egotten by the chief of gods. You p
Page 194 and 195: “Another thing. If your brothers,
Page 196 and 197: Sugreeva was crowned with elaborate
Page 198 and 199: can do for me.” When Sugreeva sti
Page 202 and 203: exceeded the four months’ limit?
Page 204 and 205: whispered, “Listen to me, please.
Page 206 and 207: his stepmother Kausalya. Uncontroll
Page 208 and 209: again.” After this resolution, he
Page 210 and 211: of all that he had seen and heard d
Page 212 and 213: Learned men have compared them to t
Page 214 and 215: Their problems were answered presen
Page 216 and 217: creature approaching them. Unidenti
Page 218 and 219: your own powers. This delusion will
Page 220 and 221: While he sat there on the roof unob
Page 222 and 223: destroyed the Asoka Vana, and damag
Page 224 and 225: Whereupon his commander-in-chief sa
Page 226 and 227: Ravana said, “My boy, you have sp
Page 228 and 229: “You began with agreeable sentenc
Page 230 and 231: destroyed by fire, I know. You have
Page 232 and 233: me very strange indeed. We cannot a
Page 234 and 235: him, to me that victory would not b
Page 236 and 237: 11 THE SIEGE OF LANKA 11 Ravana dep
Page 238 and 239: you fools believed that I should su
Page 240 and 241: and told, “My lord, the battle is
Page 242 and 243: and Lakshmana, you know you can, an
Page 244 and 245: his body his accoutrements for prot
Page 246 and 247: Lakshmana. Whereupon Mahodara order
Page 248 and 249: which met arrow for arrow. Ultimate
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and its leaders—Kumbakarna and In
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issued forth monstrous serpents vom
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went on shooting his arrows. There
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when he paraded his strength around
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values. After all this, I must tell
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Now Brahma, the Creator, came forwa
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lifted from Rama’s mind, and he f
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moment, Hanuman arrived in the form
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Hanuman, when he was young, as we s
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with lights and music. I am omittin
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simsupa—a tree vanji—a rare flo
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Ravana was known as an accomplished
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