Janaka

In the short story, interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri incorporates symbols to help the reader better understand the relationships that are shown. The symbols vary from objects to actions. Often times these symbols can be overlooked and rendered meaningless, but with intent examination they can help us better understand the story and the relationships that are portrayed. Interpreter of Maladies is a story centered around a family and their tour guide. This family includes a Mrs. Das, Mr. Das and their 3 children. They are visiting India and have a guide named Mr. Kapasi. After learning about Mr. Kapasi’s second job as an interpreter, Mrs. Das takes a sudden interest in him. This leads to him having fantasies of them becoming closer and connecting. This idea is re enforced by Lahiri’s use of symbols. One of their stops is at an ancient pyramid like temple. In the temple there were as Lahiri writes “countless friezes of entwined naked bodies, making love in various positions, women clinging to the necks of men, their knees wrapped eternally around their lover’s thighs.” (Lahiri, 57) These statues symbolize the intimacy that Mr. Kapasi feels for Mrs. Das. Further down on the page, Lahiri writes, “ (Mr. Kapasi) was especially pleased that it appealed to Mrs. Das.” (57) This shows that Mr. Kapasi watched for Mrs. Das’s reaction and was content that she stopped every three or four paces and closely examined the sculptures. Not only did Mrs. Das admire the sculptures but he…

challenge of the demon and subsequently accomplished victory by the killing of this demon. As a sense of gratitude, Rama was given gifts for the success of his brave battle with the demon and thereafter he departed once again as he headed back to Ayodhya. On their way back, Rama, his brother and Visvamitra traveled to Mithila. Upon arrival there – it is widely memorialized that King Janaka the ruler of Videha put forth an opportunity of Swayamvara which is a practice/contest for choosing a…

kinds of orientations in their lives – the emotionally-oriented, the action-oriented, and the intellectually oriented. Even so, there are three types of Yoga – Bhakti Yoga (Devotion) for the emotional people, Karma Yoga (Action/Renunciation of Action) for the restless and active people and, Jnana Yoga (Discriminative Enquiry) for the rational, intellectual people. There’s a fourth path of Yoga, known as the Raja Yoga. The Raja Yoga (Meditation), often known as the royal path to enlightenment, is…

Impressed by the region’s rich vegetation, the ancient visitors called it Madhubani -– the ‘forest of honey.’ In this mythical region, Lord Rama, the handsome prince of Ayodhya and incarnation of Vishnu, married princess Sita, born of a furrow her father King Janaka had tilled. Mithila is the land of the founders of Buddhism and Jainism, the birthplace of the scholars of all six orthodox branches of Sanskrit learning such as Yajnvalkya, Bridha Vachaspati, Ayachi Mishra, Shankar Mishra, Gautam,…

played an insignificant role in the traditional history, which was destroyed by the Punyajana Rakshasas. Saryati offered his daughter in marriage to Chyavana and was succeeded by his son Anarta. In the Balakhanda of the Ramayana, 47th Sarga, it should be noted that Visala is also referred to as the son of Ikshvaku who in later course founded Visala; so there are conflicting origin stories regarding the establishment of this dynasty and city/kingdom. Rama, one of the many paragons of the Treta…

states that Rama is not a bad husband for this behavior, in this case that he is still the ideal man. Kapoor mentioned that "It is important to understand [Rama 's] action in context of who he was and what relationship he had with Sita all along. It is outrageous to evaluate his whole life and person on the basis of one action," what the author is trying to say that even though he behaved very harshly the reader has to understand that as the future king he has to behave a certain way, not as a…

time, geography against space, and it is these coordinates that have to change and make the life larger than it seems, and its small impurities and accidents and parts, must perforce be transmuted into equations where the mighty becomes normal, and the normal in turn becomes myth. (Rao, 8) Rao gives a new dimension to Gandhi’s life history; he elevates it to the place of an epic legend. Gandhi’s life is increased to such a magnitude where he ceases to appear like a human being. During his South…