Ana Thimme

1st Period
Chapter 3: Two Promises Revived
THEME TIMELINE
The Ramayana
Objective Summary​: Dasaratha decides to retire as king and make Rama the new king of Ayodhya. On the day of Rama’s coronation, Kaikeyi, one of
Dasaratha’s wives and Bharatha’s mother, went into to Dasaratha’s chamber to have a conversation about who should be king. Kaikeyi reminded
Dasaratha of the “two boons” or promises that he owed her from many years ago and wanted him to put them to use now. She asked for Bharatha to be
crowned king instead of Rama and wanted Rama to be banished to the forest for 14 years. Dasaratha was paralyzed with shock, but he knew that he had to
keep his word. Rama was informed of the news and decided to honor his father’s promise and do what was asked of him. Dasaratha dies of sadness and
fear of living without his son Rama.
Theme:​ It is one’s duty to uphold their promises
Chapter 3: Two Promises Revived Chapter 6: Vali Chapter 8: Memento From Rama

After Rama learns of his fate, he decides to
fulfill the promise his father kept by saying,
“I will carry out his wishes without
question,” (Narayan 45). Although it was not
Rama’s promise that he made, he followed
through so that his father could uphold his
promise to Kaikeyi. Rama did this so that his
father would remain honorable, which is
selfless and noble of him (this further
solidifies Rama’s heroic characterization).
Once he hears the story of Vali from
Sugreeva, Rama promises Sugreeva that he
will help defeat Vali for all of his wrong
doings. The author says, “Rama was moved
by his story. He was filled with pity for
Sugreeva and promised, ‘I will help you.
Tell me what you want.’ “ (Narayan 94).
Rama had promised Sugreeva that he would
help vanquish Vali, and felt it was his duty
to keep his word. Although he kept his
promise, a life was lost in the process,
calling into question whether or not it was
worth it.
Hanuman went in search for Sita in
Ravana’s palace where he was threatened to
be killed by Ravana himself. Vibishana
reminded “him that it would be improper to
shoot the messenger” (Narayan 124) and
Ravana spared Hanuman’s life. Later on,
Hanuman returned the favor to Vibishana
and allowed him to stay at their camp. This
showed the honor of both Hanuman and
Vibishana.

Evaluation​: I do agree that it is one’s duty to keep their promises, but it’s not always ethical. As we saw in The Ramayana, upholding one’s promise often
ended with a negative outcome like someone being exiled or even killed. This can happen in real world situations too. When I was in middle school, there
was always drama. If one person kept their promise, another person could get hurt. It’s not fair but the world keeps moving no matter how much you want
it to slow down.