Storytelling Week 5: Mainaka and Hanuman

The mountain Mainaka has been hiding for years underneath the waves of the ocean. Mainaka is the last remaining mountain with wings since Indra had been removing the wings of all the mountains. Mainaka knows that if it shows itself for too long it Indra will come and remove its wings. However, Mainaka has something that is more important than its wings to worry about: Mainaka cares more about helping Hnauman, great friend of Sita's love Rama, in search of Sita.

Everyone in the land seems to have Sita, soon to be queen, as their interest. Everybody is more than willing to help Hanuman not only find Sita but come up with a way to injure Ravana, the ruler of Lanka, and his power. Mainaka rises to the world and shows itself as it comes out of the sea, not worried about what Indra thinks but to give Hanuman a rest on his journey. He is on the great journey to save Sita and return her to her love Rama who is deeply concerned about her well-being. Hanuman, on his journey, settles before the great Mainaka. Mainaka informs Hanuman of the great task he has before him to find Sita and defeat Ravana. Mainaka tells Hanuman, "This is very brave of you but incredibly dangerous to challenge Ravana. You will need as much help as possible and I can be of great assistance if you will trust me." After a long conversation, with Mainaka explaining how much it would like to bring down Ravana due to the years of torture he has put the people through, they together devise a plan to save Sita and permanently injure Ravana and bring terror down on Lanka. 

Hanuman then takes his form as a cat and ventures into the village of Lanka. Hanuman spends many days in the village learning great things about Ravana and clues to where Sita is being held.  Hanuman is operating as a great spy would in a foreign land, and he was figuring out exactly what he could do to terrorize the lands of Lanka and give any advantages to Rama, Ravana's great enemy. 

Hanuman, before informing Sita that he was there to save her, returned to the shores to relay all of the information he had gathered over the past days to Mainaka. He then prepped Mainaka on what he was going to do on his return journey into the city of Lanka to find Sita. Mainaka agreed with his plan and immediately put the plan into action.

The next day both parties moved into place. Hanuman would head to Lanka to find Sita as Mainaka would move into position and then wait for Hanuman to send the signal that he retrieved Sita. Hanuman went into the city and knew exactly where Sita was located. He timed his moves precisely and attacked right when he knew no guards would be paying attention to Sita. Sita was shocked to see Hanuman, as she was not expecting anyone to come for her, but she knew he would explain later and that she should go with him now. They left quickly and quietly. However, as soon as they were out of reach, Hanuman began setting fire to the many trees around Lanka. Sita was very confused why this was happening but Hanuman informed her that this was a signal for the great mountain Mainaka.

Meanwhile, Mainaka was waiting to see the flames that Hanuman had told Mainaka he would send as soon as he had Sita. Mainaka saw the flames and moved into position. Mainaka knew that Hanuman would have not sent the signal without allowing himself time to get out of the city with Sita. Mainaka was correct. Hanuman and Sita headed straight for the shores and they turned back to the city. When they turned around everything in the city began rising, but the ground was crumbling as it rose. Then emerging from below the city was the great Mainaka forming a mountain from underneath Lanka. As Mainaka rose, the city was destroyed and the cultivated lands were ruined forever. Hanuman had emerged with Sita and left the lands of Lanka destroyed and ablaze.

Mainaka has helped Hanuman free Sita from the grasp of Ravana. Mainaka felt this mission was a test for him and he wanted to prove he could use his wings for good. Mainaka's intentions were good  and he did all of this knowing he would show himself to Indra and potentially would lose his wings. After the mission was completed, Indra paid a visit to Mainaka and informed Mainaka he would be able to keep his wings as long as he continued to use them for good and not for evil. If he did use them for evil, Indra would return to clip the wings off of Mainaka. 

Hanuman leaving Lanka ablaze 

Source: Wikipedia

Author’s Note: I have been focusing a lot of my stories on Rama and Ravana. As much as I have enjoyed developing that relationship and rivalry, I felt like doing something new. As important as Rama and Ravana are I wanted to really focus on a character who puts in good efforts throughout the story. That is why I focused on Hanuman who we learn a lot about from Buck during his journey to find Sita. With Mainaka, I just felt that the character of a mountain allowed for me to get very creative. That is why I chose to go with the idea of Mainaka leaving the land in shambles as Mainaka went from resting under the seas to resting under Lanka. Mainaka would still be able to hide from Indra but was forced to sacrifice its lifestyle to help Rama, Sita, and Hanuman. The idea of everyone coming together in favor of providing help to Rama as they form a coalition to combat Ravana is an important aspect of the rivalry between Ravana and Rama. 

Source:

• Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way. 

Storytelling Week 11: The Pandavas Escape

Dhriarashtra, the blind king, knew he had to get the Pandavas, who were the sons of his brother Pandu. He wanted to get rid of them so he forced them out of the kingdom. However, he put in charge of tracking the Pandavas his sons Duryodhana and Dushasana. These two sons had a very strong dislike for the Pandavas so they decided they would figure out a way to get rid of the Pandavas for once and for all. Duryodhana approached his brother, Dushasana, and presented him with a plan to kill off the Pandavas. His brother thought the plan was outstanding and decided they needed to present the plan to Purochana, the man they had chosen to keep guard of the Pandavas house, to see how he felt about executing their plan.

The brothers told Purochana, "Purochana, we must get rid of these Pandavas and we have devised a great plan. When we put the Pandavas into their new house of exile we will need you to set it ablaze. Is there any way you will be able to execute this without people knowing we are responsible?" 

Purochana acknowledged their plan and assured them he would take care of it. "Trust me, I am the smartest man in the land when it comes to trickery. I will design the house so that when it is set to fire there will be no way to get outside if the Pandavas are inside." 

The brothers were pleased as they returned to their father and informed him that everything was ready for the Pandavas. They then took the Pandavas to their new home. The brothers informed the Pandavas that this would be where the Pandavas would stay until they could come up with a more severe punishment for the Pandavas. The Pandavas were in good spirits. They did not seem fazed by the new home at all and instead they were excited. This reaction made the brothers question if something was going on they did not know about but instead they let it go as they knew their plan would be executed that night. 

The Pandavas were not down in their spirits for a very particular reason. They knew the house was going to get burned and they would be stuck inside. They knew because Vidura had come and warned Yudhisthira, the head of the Pandavas, what was going to happen. Once the Pandavas were inside their new home, they immediately began digging tunnels from the inside to the outside that were not visible from the exterior of the house. They also gathered corpses to place in the rubble in order to trick Purochana when he came to make sure they were dead. 

Purochana in the middle of the night set fire to the home of the Pandavas. The Pandavas immediately went to the tunnels and removed the dead corpses they had gathered to represent themselves. They then headed down the tunnel and out to the forest where they escaped into freedom. 

The next morning Purochana took the two brothers to the site of the Pandava's house and showed him the remains. They dug through the remains together and found the deceased remains of the Pandavas. The two brothers could now report to their father, the blind king, that they had accomplished their mission. 

Purochan and the Pandavas

Source: Wikipedia

Bibliography: Buck, William (1973). Mahabharata. 

Author's Note: This story comes from part B of the week 11 readings in Buck's Mahabharata. I chose this story because I thought it was a very interesting aspect and wanted to add some of my own dialogue and details to bring more of the story out. The Pandava's characters can obviously be portrayed as the "good guys" from the story. However, I also feel there is more of a "'bad guys" conflict with the brothers and their father, the king, that I wanted to present. Since he is the blind king, I wanted this to be as if they were misleading their father in order to carry out their own desires of getting rid of the Pandavas. In doing so, we got a sense of karma as the brothers now realize not only are the Pandavas alive but their father will not be able to trust them to carry out any of his wishes in the future. Also, I intended to leave it open with the Pandavas as to create a sense of them drifting off into the future as "victorious." 

Storytelling Week 9: The Shift of Power

Duryodhana, the Prince of Hastinapura, had finally completed building the new palace he had been working so diligently on for the last couple of years. He felt it was one of his greatest contributions to Hastinapura, the great city he loved so much. He also believed that his palace was so great that it needed to be the host of a great event, one of high importance. If the first event was of great importance it would symbolize how great the palace was meant to be and set the tone for future events at the palace. From then on, people would know that only events of great importance were being hosted at the palace. 

Shakuni, Duryodhana's uncle, came to Duryodhana with a brilliant proposal. He felt he had the perfect event to inaugurate the new palace. Shakuni wanted to hold a game of dice between himself and the Pandavas, rivals to Shakuni and Duryodhana. The game would actually end up putting Shakuni, a great dice player, against Yudhisthira, head of the Pandavas and a not so great dice player. This put the odds in great favor of Shakuni. The game would have great stakes as well, Shakuni and Duryodhana planned to take full advantage of Shakuni's advantage and try to take as much as possible from the Pandavas.

Shakuni, Yudhisthira, and Duryodhana agreed to come together in Hastinapura beneath the roof of the great palace. Yudhisthira was forced to accept the challenge because of Dharma. He was not allowed to stand down from such a request. They began to play dice and it was very clear from the beginning that Shakuni was going to dominate the contest. The more they played, the more that Yudhisthira wagered and lost. Yudhisthira still continued to wage everything that he had including himself, his brothers, and Draupadi the wife of the Pandavas. He continued to lose but was to stubborn to acknowledge he was going to lose no matter what. 

Eventually, Shakuni brought the game of dice to an end. Yudhisthira knew that his opponents would not hold him to all of his wagers, as it was just a game of dice that got carried away. However, that was not the case. Shakuni and Duryodhana had great plans for all the people they now had possession of due to the game.

Shakuni's first plan of action was to take all of the Pandavas and make them personal assistants to himself and Duryodhana. The Pandavas would be required to do anything they asked of them. These chores would not all be demeaning or negative, but more meaningless tasks that they would have to perform solely out of spite from their new “owners.” 

They decided that it was time for Shakuni to get married as well and they felt as if Draupadi would make a great wife for him. She was therefore forced to marry him and only to be with him from that point forward. As for Yudhisthira, they did not know what to do with him. They then went on to put him into isolation. The reason they came to this decision was they felt it was the only way to get rid go him and not kill him. Had they killed him they were scared karma would be against them. 

They felt now that they had control of the entire kingdom and no one would be able to challenge them from the outside. Fortunately, that was not true. They did not pay close enough attention to the remaining Pandavas, which allowed them to communicate with Yudhisthira without being monitored or caught on to. Although he was still technically in "isolation", they had been able to establish a line of contact. 

Within two years, the Pandavas overthrew Shakuni and Duryodhana after eighteen months of a long revolutionary war. Pandavas took control of the entire kingdom and forced Shakuni and Duryodhana to watch as they destroyed the great palace that hosted the game of dice. The Pandavas then, instead of risking keeping them alive, killed the two and buried them beneath the palace.

The Pandavas would go on to be the wealthy elite of the city that would be ruled by King Yudhisthira and Queen Draupadi. The kingdom would last for many years and no one would dare to challenge the powers of the Pandavas.

Demolition of the Great Palace 

Source: Wikipedia

Author's Note: My inspiration for this story was obviously the story of the game of dice within part B of our reading this week. I really liked the way the story was written originally, which is why I chose to stick to the script for the majority of the beginning of the story. However, after the game of dice I could not decide what to do. I decided to go with the enslavement of the pandavas being used a symbol status because I felt it was better then banning all of the characters from the kingdom and having them out of existence. I felt it was a good idea to somehow incorporate the idea of revolution, which this allowed me to do. The reason I wanted to create the story of revolution was mainly because a lot of my early stories all followed kind of the same plot where the evil prevailed. All stories where the good guy wins get old. However, I wanted to write this one where the good prevailed so that it would change up the tone of my stories. Another reason for me to do this is that personally, only through the beginning of the novel I have grown to dislike the characters that appear to be on the evil side or the opposition if that is a better description.

Bibliography:

• Narayan, R. K. (1978). The Mahabharata: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic.

Week 7 Storytelling: Rama's Plan Revealed

Rama was reaching the end of his journey through the forest, this meant he would finally have to kill Ravana in order to move on with his plan. He had used this journey as an excuse to putting off the execution of his great plan, it had begun to haunt him. Everyday he thought to himself about if he was really capable of taking over all of the land for him selves and returning to take over all of the heavens as well. However, he had finally come to terms with it and understood that it was time to execute his final steps of his great plan.

Rama went to Ravana and waged a great final battle with the god. He wanted this battle to be the one that was so great it was talked about for ages to come. He cut all of the heads from the body of Ravana and continued to defeat his great opponent until he was finally dead. This great death marked the beginning of Rama's take over. He could now return to the throne and remove his brother from power. He and Sita returned to rule the great city as their return was greeted by a tremendous festival though the streets. This festival was all to celebrate the return of Rama, the great ruler of all the land.

Rama knew he had one last part of his plan that he must carry out to gain the full trust of all the people and to be considered the most powerful leader of all time. However, this last part of his plan was the toughest. It was so tough it took him over ten thousand years to act out the plan. The reason it was so hard was that he was forced to get rid of Sita in order to be the sole recipient of all praise. He sent Sita, who he had come to admire after their great journey, to a small island where only he and very few of his trusted friends knew she was. The reason for this was that she was finally pregnant, he only needed her to have the children so they could be returned to him and she could be left to die alone.

With Sita now out of the picture, his only job was to wait for the children to be returned so that he could force the city to worship the ground they walked upon and he would be able to leave the city to them in very few years. As soon as these years had passed, he left the children the throne, knowing he would always have absolute command over them once he took full control over the heavens. Rama now went to his close friends and killed all but two of them, Lakshmana and Hanuman, who had been part of the plan all along. The plan called for them to return to the heavens with Rama. One would rule the earth from the heavens, while the other would be first in line behind Rama in commanding the heavens.

Rama, Hanuman, and Lakshmana headed to the shores where they would depart from the lands and head for the heavens. As soon as they entered the sea, their souls headed directly up to the gates of the heaven. They were met by the great gate-keeper it appeared, however the man who appeared immediately transformed into the great Ravana. A battle broke out directly outside the gates of heaven. Ravana destroyed the souls of Lakshmana and Hanuman, with no resistance from Rama. However, the two then embraced each other. Ravana said to Rama, "I have been awaiting your arrival for nearly ten thousand years brother, I am glad we may now rule all of the lands and heavens together". Rama hugged his brother and whispered in his ear, "I will rule the heavens, as you will only rule the underworld". He then drove a great sword through the heart of Ravana, forcing his soul to the underworld where he would rule but never be able to escape.

Ravana awaiting Rama at the gates to the heavens

Source: Wikipedia

Author's Note: Over many of the past storytelling projects I have told many great tales about Rama and his defeat of Ravana. Although I strongly admire the character of Rama, I felt as if doing something a little bit different with this story. I wanted Rama to appear as a very confident, strong character but maybe not so morally strong. This story focuses more on his personal interests instead of his interests in saving the people. It may seem very farfetched but that is what I was hoping to create, as well as the fact that this great plan was his intention from the very beginning. Obviously there were many great changes to the story but overall I wanted to include most of the original characters and keep it as relatable to Buck as possible.

Bibliography:

• Buck, William (1973). Mahabharata.  

Storytelling: Week 4, Rama and Sita's Journey

            Rama was sitting alone awaiting the decision of his father regarding who would be king. However, he knew what the answer would be, and he was fully prepared to handle the situation. His bigger worry was how his father would handle it and how Sita, his love, would handle it. His father came to him in tears, and could not even form words when trying to explain to his son what he was forced to decide. Rama, however, knew the decision and explained to his father that he fully understood what was going and he should not be upset but instead enjoy the decision as Rama would enjoy his time away. Rama then had to focus on how he would explain to Sita that he had been expelled from the city in favor of his brother to take over the throne and that he, Rama, must go to the forest for fourteen years.

            Rama went to Sita; she seemed excited to hear about his father’s decision as she was sure he would be chose as the heir. Sita exclaimed, “Rama! Did your father inform you of his decision yet?” Rama did not seem so excited as he said his father had. Rama then answered, “Yes, he informed me just now and we must start gathering our things immediately”. This confused Sita, “Are we going to have to move into your father’s living quarters so quick? I am not ready to move all my things”. Rama then had to inform her, “Sita we will not be moving to the living quarters of the king but instead my brother has been chosen as king and I must go live in the forest for the next fourteen years. You are welcome to join me but I understand of course if you would like to remain here”. Sita was in shock, she could not believe what she was hearing, but after digesting the news she immediately informed Rama she would be going with him wherever he went even if it was to the forest for fourteen years.

            There next step was to figure out what all they needed and then what to do with everything they must get rid of, so Sita decided they would gather all their things and give them away to people of the city who needed them since they no longer would. They walked the streets together giving things away one by one. However, people were not well receiving of these gifts, as they were furious at the announcement of the king’s decision. Rama tried best he could to give everyone hope and reassurance that everything would be okay and he would be returning before anyone would notice he had left. When they had finally given away everything they owned they returned to tell Rama’s family goodbye before they departed.

            They returned to talk with Rama’s father and inform him that everything would be okay. Rama continued to tell his father that no one should be held responsible for this and everything would take care of itself over time. Rama had finally convinced his father and told everyone farewell except for one person he had not seen all day, his brother, the newly crowned heir to their father’s thrown. He knew his brother was not one to be out celebrating or boasting so he went in search of him. When he finally found him his brother was in tears, he did not want Rama to leave, in fact he wanted Rama to be king. He exclaimed what had happened with his mother and explained it was not his father’s fault. He did not know that Rama knew all of this already. Rama exclaimed that he and Sita must leave; therefore, they said their goodbyes and headed out to the forest. After he left the city changed forever, and it was just the next morning that everyone awoke to find Rama’s father dead. The kingdom would not be able to have Rama for another fourteen years.

Author's Note: For this story I just wanted to tell the story of what happened behind the scenes when Rama left with Sita. I also wanted to focus on the fact that he was the only person in the entire city who seemed to stay calm among all of the chaos surrounding the situation. The ability of him to have the ability to stay calm and know that this was part of the plan or that this was the best for him, Sita, and everyone else. Also, I think it is important that this would be the most important point in Sita and Rama's relationship as they journeyed off into the forest together. Since I have really enjoyed Rama's character, the inspiration was simply just another way to tell part of Rama's story and to portray him in a positive light as a very strong character. 

Bibliography:

• Narayan, R. K. (1972) The Ramayana.
• Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way. 

Rama and Sita during their first night in the forest

Source: Wikipedia

Week 3: Storytelling - Celebration of Ravana's Death: Rama Reveals His True Character

Rama had finally defeated his great enemy. The great Ravana that had haunted him and Sita along with all of the people who looked up to him for so many years was finally conquered. Rama had killed the great beast in battle. Naturally, everyone would be ecstatic. Well not everyone, Rama himself was not ecstatic because he feared he had violated one of the greatest unwritten rules of battle. When Rama stood over the dead body of Ravana, he had noticed the great seven inch scar running along Ravana's spine. He could not get over the scar in the back of Ravana. This great scar appeared fresh to Rama as examined his opponents dead body. Although being assured the scar in Ravana’s back was old, something about the scar was eating at his conscience. He was glad he had killed Ravana and knew that he had protected himself and Sita, among others. However, as a god and a mortal he could not accept the fact that he may have killed an opponent from behind. Unfortunately, there was just no way for Rama to be able to tell what had happened that day during their battle.

What was he going to do? This thought ate at him for days. The scar was implemented in Rama's head as if it was his own. In his mind he was having a great struggle, he was supposed to be a great leader but he may have killed his fiercest enemy from behind the way a coward would kill his enemy. Rama decided there was only one way to possibly justify his actions and for himself to get over the fact he might have killed Ravana from behind. Rama decided to have a great celebration of Ravana's death. His theory here was that everyone would be willing to celebrate Rama's great victory over the feared Ravana. This would, in Rama's own mind, be a way to honor the life of Ravana. It was more or less a way for Rama to ease his mind from the thought of killing Ravana from behind. Although celebrating Ravana’s death might not be the best way to honor him, there was no way to get people to celebrate his life of torturing others. Rama ran this by only people he trusted, such as Vibhishana and Hanuman, and they agreed they could make it happen.

The following week was hectic with planning and preparing for the big festival to celebrate Ravana. People helped fill the streets in order to decorate the entire city and prepare for the biggest celebration in years. Rama wanted this great festival to put the one from his return to shame. He wanted this to be  a big step above anything they had ever done. They had everything ready to go and the big day had finally come. Rama, in his new royal garments, appeared before the entire city and told the great tale of his battle with Ravana. He tried to focus on Ravana as he made sure to focus on Ravana’s death instead of Rama’s achievements. Although he did not want people to mourn the loss of Ravana, he did feel as if this was an acknowledgement at least to his life. Rama closed this great speech saying, "Ravana has haunted the lives of the people of this city for years, but with this the death of this great beast may we all enjoy the eternity of peace."

The day went on with people celebrating in the streets, every building, and every home. The festival turned into the biggest celebration in years. People had already started planning for this to become an annual festival to celebrate Ravana’s death. Everyone was thoroughly enjoying the celebration, including Sita, who had been having a great time all day knowing that the great beast that had tormented her for so long would never be able to harm her again. Eventually though, she realized she had not seen Rama in some time. Worry began to set in as she felt something tragic had happened. She went looking everywhere for him and she began to panic. She gathered up a watch party and went looking for him, she went to the one place she knew he would be, back in the forest. When she finally found Rama, he had changed into his old torn,dirty clothes and was alone in the forest. She asked him why he was not in town enjoying the festival, but he did not answer. They sat in silence for a while before he said, “No matter where I shot him, he deserved to be killed, but why do I deserve to rule a city?”

Author's Note: I have been fascinated by the ongoing feud between Rama and Ravana. Every aspect of this rivalry has been intriguing. I decided to write more about Rama's fear of killing Ravana from behind, but in the end you will see that is not what is really bothering him. My intention was that this great fear that Rama showed was a sign of respect. He knew that it is disrespectful and against the unwritten rules to kill an opponent from behind. However, at the very end I wanted Rama's answer to Sita to show that he had let it off his chest with this Mardi Gras like festival he held for him. Not to compare it to Mardi Gras and it's religious meaning, but instead to portray the streets being filled like Bourbon Street in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. Rama had come to terms with the scar in Ravana’s back and was using it to cover up his real sentiments. Rama knew that no matter how Ravana was killed, Ravana had deserved to be killed for all the troubles he had caused innocent people over the years. Someone had to kill him and Rama knew it was meant to be him. This was a side of Rama’s character that has not really been exposed to the reader yet and that I want to continue to build on, a side of arrogance you might say.

The festival for Ravana

Source: Wikipedia 

Bibliography: 

• Narayan, R. K. (1972) The Ramayana.
• Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way.