Reading Notes: The Divine Archer, Part A

For this weeks reading, I decided to read The Divine Archer by F.J. Gould. I chose to read this because it seemed very interesting and I like that it is mainly based on Rama and how he uses archery to help him in all of his battles. As I was reading, I really liked the format of the book because it was very easy to read. This version seems much more like a fairy tale for children, where as Narayan's Ramayana read more like a novel. The fairy tale like writing makes it very playful, while also stressing the evils that Rama faces.

Something I really like about this version of the Ramayana is that the author focuses on Rama's brothers. I know that is Narayan's Ramayana he discussed Lakshman and Bhartha, but he didn't really go into that much detail about his third brother, or much detail about the other two in general other than the fact that they both trusted Rama and did what he said. When Rama meets Sita and gets married to her, the author explains that all three of Rama's brothers got married that day as well and I think that that is good information to have. I also enjoy how he told the story of Rama and Sita meeting and getting married. There was more detail to it than the fact that they saw each other through a window and Rama was able to string the bow to win Sita's hand in marriage.

As I was reading through The Divine Archer, I was thinking of ways I could retell the story. Here are a few options:

Chapter 1

• I could write about Visva-mitra's life and the journey that he went on with Rama and his brothers from his perspective

Chapter 2

• I could write how Sita at first didn't love Rama back, but she eventually fell in love with him
• I could write that Rama had failed to string the bow, but was able to still win Sita's hand in marriage

Chapter 3

• I could rewrite the story where Dasaratha doesn't give Kaikeyi what she wants
• I could rewrite the story to where Rama gets furious at his father's decision to not give him the crown

Chapter 4

• I could write where Kaikeyi was Rama's charioteer and abandoned him in the forest on coronation day rather than he asking Dasaratha to not crown Rama

Chapter 5

• I could write a story where Maricha disguised himself as a dog rather than a deer

Chapter 6

• I could write where Ravan was defeated by the vulture rather than Ravan defeating the vulture

Bibliography

The Divine Archer by F.J. Gould, online book

Symbol of an archer, web source