I was surprised at how the town was so loyal and willing to follow Rama on his way to his 'exile'. He had not even been their king but they loved him a lot. This gesture asserts that he had a good character to everyone around him. It would be interesting to try and do a storytelling post from his perspective. Even his brother that was supposed to be given the crown due to his mother's wishes thought this was an absurd action, that there was nobody more suited to rule than Rama was. I wonder how much can change after fourteen years of life in this story since the life spans are long long long. I wonder why the queen banished Rama for this short time then if there was so much time left in their lives... maybe thought this was how long the kind had left but sadly, his life was to end even sooner than that. I am glad that Rama saw his brother's innocence of his mothers plan because I as a reader knew his innocence and had one of those biting my nails, hitting myself on the head moments when Lakshmana thought he had put on battle garments and came to defeat Rama with an army.
It was nice to see Lakshmana shine in this chapter with his ability to build such intricate houses out of the materials found around them. Rama is a great warrior against evil and a good person overall but I was wondering how he would fare living off the land. It is lucky that his brother insisted on coming with him, both to look after Sita when Rama was busy and to provide makeshift homes that they could take shelter in.
It was hard to keep up with characters and their relations in the next chapter but the main ones I think are pertinent to the storyline are Soorpanaka and Ravana.
Soorpanaka: beautiful(or so it seemed) woman, catches the eye of Raman though temporarily, offers her hand in marriage to him but he refuses politely and then she gets overly jealous upon seeing Sita's beauty. Her family line is that of the evil class and it is Rama's life mission to take them all out in these lands, yet she is still so infatuated with him that she pursues his love and goes as far as to hatch a plan to divide him from his wife so that he will fall in love with her (seems totally naïve), shown her true colors after her wrath is set free and she is no longer of beauty when Lakshmana cuts off several body parts of hers when she tries to snatch Sita
Ravana: The brother to Soorpanaka, it is hard to believe he has so many followers in his palace under his influence to wait on his every need since he is supposedly evil. I think he is also kind of a coward because he does not go after Rama himself after hearing from his sister what Rama is capable of but still sends someone else to even fetch Sita for himself after hearing of her outstanding beauty. I wonder why these two siblings are so enveloped in love for Rama and Sita after simply looking at them (or in Ravana's case hearing about Sita). I wonder if it is due to their past lives as Gods that intoxicates those around them to love them and adore them so much, this seems to be a pro and a con in their case. Also, the one that Vishnu reincarnated as Rama had set to destroy in the first place. Has ten heads.
The instance with the adorned deer that Sita asks Rama to fetch for her is precarious because it shows a lack in Rama's judgment and further shows how useful Lakshmana actually is. I am not sure if there are errors in Rama's judgment or if this is due to the powers possessed by Mareecha (who has failed in killing Rama twice already but lived to see another day so he tried to live a better life when he is pulled in by his nephew Ravana to lure Sita away from Rama) it is weird to think of how there are certain characters in this story who have superpowers and others who do not but all the same talk to everyone as if they are equal. I am also impressed by the honesty between some characters when the evil doers are not trying to deceive.
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