Reading Notes: Ramayana Reading B- Bharata Returns

Bharata Returns: 

Bharata goes to find Rama.
Source: Wikimedia Commons

• I like this story and how Bharata refuses to take the throne, because it is rightfully Rama's. I also like how he has such respect for his elder brother. This story could be easily manipulated to were Bharata is filled with greed and immediately takes the throne and allows the woman to be killed, then Rama would hate him. This was the first story of reading B, and I thought that throughout the reading, Bharata would betray Rama, but he did not. This story is really good and I like  how the brotherly love and respect is kept through the story. I would like to change this story and make it a diary of Bharata. I want to feel what he felt when he returned home and learned of his father's death and his brother's exile. A diary is probably the best way to convey this, but just putting the story in Bharata's perspective would probably do the trick. Throughout this Reading assignment, there were a couple of different stories on Bharata and Rama, but in my opinion, Bharata plays the biggest role in this story and we truly learn about his character the most. I honestly though while reading this story that Bharata might have taken his brother's throne, but I found it interesting that he chose to uphold his respect for his brother. That is that part that really stuck out to me. I thought about changing the story and making Bharata bad, but honestly, I like the idea of just telling the story from his perspective better than changing his character altogether, because as far as I know, he seems to be a good character.
• This story would also be a good story to incorporate into a storybook or portfolio if I choose the theme of Dharma. In this story, Bharata shows justice, custom, and duty in the fact of not wanting to take what was his brothers, but he also shows order and model in not allowing his mother to be killed for her wrong doings. Overall this was my favorite story that I read out of Reading B.
• Bibliography: "Bharata Returns" from "Indian Myth and Legend" by Donald A. Mackenzie.