This is the story of how Rama kills Vali. In the research I had done in preparation for the project, I read that Tara is Vali's wife and that it was Sugriva's jealousy and his desire to have Tara as his own wife that drove Vali an Sugriva apart. In this rendition of the story, I feel that Vali is made out to be a terrible person who exiled his brother and stole his wife. However, from my understanding, it was Vali who first met Tara, fell in love with her, and married her. Thus, it is my understanding that this story is presented in this manner because Sugriva is modifying the truth, or he may actually believe that Vali stole his wife, in order to deceive Rama into helping him.
Rama setting a trap for Vali and killing him while he fights Sugriva seems cowardly. We have an all-powerful individual hiding in the shadows to attack another individual with astounding powers. Not only did I want a mindblowing showdown, but what actually occurred was extremely underwhelming. I will certainly need to return to this reading when working on the project.
"Hanuman's Leap" by Sister Nivedita: Source
I love that in Indian legend people are capable of absurd feats of strength like moving a mountain. In this case, we see Hanuman is capable of leaping across the ocean while killing a rakshasi that leaps from the water to devour him. I will surely need to portray such traits in the same manner in my own stories.
"Hanuman and Sita" by Donald A. Mackenzie: Source
Hanuman finds a way to speak secretly to Sita while she is kept as Ravana's prisoner. Hanuman offers to carry Sita away to freedom, but she refuses to touch any man other than Rama. Instead, Sita gives Hanuman a jewel as a token and says she has only two months to live.
Is it improper to touch another man's wife at all in Indian culture? This is effectively the only reason I can think of for Sita refusing to leave. She would rather live in the clutches of a demon than have another man touch her? This seems absurd.
"The Burning of Lanka" by Sister Nivedita: Source
Hanuman was caught by Ravana's army. Rather than kill him outright, they attempt to humiliate him; they set his tail on fire. Sita prays, and her prayers are answered in the form on Hanuman's icy tail. He is not harmed by the fire! This causes Hanuman to break his bonds and burn the city of Lanka with his flaming tail. He then puts out the fire by dipping his tail in the ocean. He then leaps back across the ocean to tell Rama and the other monkeys that Sita is alive and well.
I want to have some sort of comparable story. This situation seems hilarious. The attempted mockery by the bad guys backfired and led to their own destruction. Classic.
The imagery of Hanuman burning a city by leaping from building to building is astounding,
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