Tossup

In this text, a wise man invents a new form of verse after watching two birds being shot while mating, which he teaches to the protagonist’s two sons. A character in this text who is cursed to sleep for six months at a time is woken up when a thousand elephants walk over him. In this text, (10[1])a demon disguised (-5[1])as a golden deer is used to distract (10[1])a princess of (10[2])Ayodhya (10[1])(“eye-OHD-yuh”). This text’s (-5[1])antagonist orders Hanuman’s tail to be lit on fire, (-5[1])which (10[1]-5[1])he uses to burn down his citadel in Lanka. For 10 points, Sita is kidnapped by the rakshasa (-5[2])(“RAHK-shuh-suh”) Ravana (“RAH-vuh-nuh”) in what Sanskrit epic by Valmiki, (-5[1])written before the Mahabharata? (10[1])■END■ (10[3]0[2])

ANSWER: Ramayana [or Rāmāyana; or Ramayanam] (The first line is about Valmiki teaching Lava and Kusha. The character in the second line is Kumbhakarna, a brother of Ravana.)
<Editors, Mythology>
= Average correct buzz position

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