I find Rama just as, if not more, interesting than the other heroes we have reviewed. His calm attitudes and code are more aligned with what is familiar to me as being a good path, and so the study of those values within a hero are easier to digest than some of the other ancient text. There are indications in our readings that Rama’s perfection is not totally innate and that his way of being is a state that takes an ongoing practice to achieve. It is described quickly in our reading, in ayodhas’ 17 and 18 that Rama experiences significant anxiety as he approaches his father before being told what will soon happen. He worries about what he has done to anger his father, and seems to be not at all in a peaceful place but in a fearful one. Kausalya is also experiencing fear and anxiety I think, shortly after in ayodhya 21 when she tells Rama that he must not do as he has been ordered because of her own fear of not being able to survive without him. I don’t know if I understand the question, “How would that be consistent with the Hindu religious beliefs that imbue this work?”. There’s a forest dweller piece to the four stages of life.
Arjuna’s hesitancy to go into battle are seemingly more righteous than that of either Achilles or Medea. His hesitancy is based on his sense of morality and devotion to the divine, and it is not until the divine intervenes on his sense of right and wrong that his mind is able to change about going into battle. On the other hand, warriors such as Achilles had hesitancy that were based on things like strategy, glory, and self preservation. Codes of behavior according to Krishna are in terms of devotion, whereas it seems that codes of violence in the other examples mentioned might have more to do with things like honor or revenge.