I simply cannot display through writing, and emphasize, on how excited I was to begin reading this part of the tale. Up until this point I have read lot of comparison, and I am ready to learn something new about Rama, Ravana, and Sita's fate. Hanuman's stature and powers are really impressive in this section. He is so devoted in looking for Sita and appeasing Rama's wishes. I like how he was able to send a message to Ravana and to his kingdom, by burning it down, and relieve Sita from her torturous guards.
Vibhishana's persistent warnings, and helping Hanuman to escape Lanka, not only shows his pure heart, but also Ravana's consistent arrogant blindness. He only tries to be voice of reason, but reveals that Ravana is truly destined to send himself to doom. Ravana's biggest mistake is sending his younger brother away, he practically handed the win to Rama for he now has all of his army's secrets.
One of my favorite parts is when Rama's army builds the land bridge, and I could only imagine what this site would have looked like during the process. When the many days of battle have gone by, Rama has finally defeated Ravana, and he has ordered the great funeral for the demon king.
I was VERY surprised and shock with how Rama tested and presented himself to Sita when he first saw her (as were the gods)! After Agni presented Sita back to Rama, blessing her as pure, I understood more but this did not lessen my shock. I am glad that the epic addressed this, and set Rama back on the path of Dharma. I think this is just an example of how a man can be changed by battle and war. I can only wonder what would have happened if Sita did give in to Ravana. Would Rama still have defeated him, would he have changed his mind about doing so, etc.? I really liked this ending of the story, and glad that Narayan added the epilogue to go over some things. I was wondering when and why Sita would enter the forest, but he decided that this was an unappealing ending when the tale should be positive. Overall, I am very happy with Narayan's version of the Ramayana.
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