The Ramayana

Epic Journeys and Eternal Themes: A Workshop on The Ramayana and Epic Poetry
Primary Text:
The Ramayana by Valmiki (translated by Ralph T. H. Griffith)
Public Domain Source:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/24869

Session 1: The Hero’s Journey and Divine Purpose
Reading:

• The Ramayana, Book I: Bala Kanda (Chapters 1–20)
  https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/24869

Motif Focus:

• The Hero’s Journey and Divine Purpose (Dharma)

Comparative Texts:

• The Iliad by Homer (translated by Samuel Butler)
  https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/6130
• The Epic of Gilgamesh (translated by Maude Barrows Dutton)
  https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11000

Writing Prompt:Compare how Rama and Achilles are guided by divine forces or a sense of duty. How does the hero's divine mission shape their early actions?

Session 2: Exile and Testing of Character
Reading:

• The Ramayana, Book II: Ayodhya Kanda (Chapters 1–30)
  https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/24869

Motif Focus:

• Exile as a rite of passage

Comparative Texts:

• The Odyssey by Homer (translated by Samuel Butler)
  https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1727
• The Aeneid by Virgil (translated by John Dryden)
  https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/228

Writing Prompt:Discuss how exile transforms the hero's character in The Ramayana and The Odyssey. How do Rama and Odysseus endure exile differently?

Session 3: The Abduction Motif
Reading:

• The Ramayana, Book III: Aranya Kanda (Chapters 31–55)
  https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/24869

Motif Focus:

• The abduction of the beloved (Sita and Helen)

Comparative Texts:

• The Iliad, Book III: The Duel of Paris and Menelaus
  https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/6130
• The Mahabharata, Sabha Parva (Portion of Draupadi’s disrobing)
  https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/15474

Writing Prompt:How does the abduction of Sita parallel Helen’s abduction? How do these events catalyze war and shape the epic's conflict?

Session 4: The Loyal Companion
Reading:

• The Ramayana, Book IV: Kishkindha Kanda (Hanuman and Sugriva episodes)
  https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/24869

Motif Focus:

• The loyal companion (Hanuman and Enkidu)

Comparative Texts:

• The Epic of Gilgamesh, Tablet I–II (Gilgamesh and Enkidu’s friendship)
  https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11000

Writing Prompt:Analyze how Hanuman and Enkidu serve as loyal companions to their respective heroes. How do these relationships enrich the emotional and moral fabric of each epic?

Session 5: The Battle Between Good and Evil
Reading:

• The Ramayana, Book VI: Yuddha Kanda (The battle between Rama and Ravana)
  https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/24869

Motif Focus:

• Cosmic battle of Good vs. Evil

Comparative Texts:

• The Aeneid, Book XII (Turnus vs. Aeneas)
  https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/228
• Beowulf (translated by Francis Barton Gummere)
  https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/16328

Writing Prompt:Compare the climactic battle scenes in The Ramayana and Beowulf. How do these battles resolve themes of fate, honor, and cosmic justice?

Session 6: The Return and Restoration
Reading:

• The Ramayana, Book VI–VII: Yuddha Kanda and Uttara Kanda (Return to Ayodhya and Rama's coronation)
  https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/24869

Motif Focus:

• The hero’s return and the restoration of order

Comparative Texts:

• The Odyssey, Book XXIII (Odysseus reclaims Ithaca)
  https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1727
• The Aeneid, Book XII (The founding of a new order in Latium)
  https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/228

Writing Prompt:How does the return of Rama compare to Odysseus reclaiming Ithaca or Aeneas founding Lavinium? How does each hero’s return restore moral or cosmic balance?

Final Project:
​Compose an analytical essay or creative retelling that synthesizes one of the common motifs across The Ramayana and another epic, incorporating evidence from the text