A friend flagged this line.

“Guess who we called monkeys in the Ramayana.”

Their argument was that it is symbolic of the evolution of human intellect.

Do I think there is a beautiful lesson in surrender and devotion in the story of Hanuman?

I am moved by the image of Hanuman opening his chest to show Rama and Sita residing in his heart.

Moved by the loyal disciple razing the institutions of old to make way for Dharma.

But I also find evolution an apologist’s argument.

Kingdom in the north with a Suryavanshi prince who is regarded as a literal incarnation Vishnu.

The jungles down south were populated by monkeys.

The people across the water were monsters.

I still see a culturally rich epic of roughly 24,000 verses.

But I also see a colorful allegory for relationships between ancient societies.