Week 3 Story: We will meet again in another life
We will meet again, in another life
One day as Ravana was walking through the village he
stumbled upon a big mountain. He was frustrated that he was not able to get thought,
but he decided to pick up the mountain and move it. What he did not know was
that it was Lord Shiva’s residence. Lord Shiva pushed the mountain back onto
Ravana. Seeing his strength, Ravana decided to befriend him and offer prayers.
Lord Shiva exclaimed, “So what would you like to have in
return for being a gracious devotee?”
[Parvathi was standing beside Shiva, and Ravana points to
her]
Ravana without hesitation responds, “I would like her to be
my wife!”
Lord Shiva could not deny his wish and decided to fulfill
it. Parvathi being her shrewd self, decided to turn a deer into a clone of her;
This in turn will be Mandodari, Ravana’s wife.
Ravana had a big ego after being granted boons by both Lord
Brahma and Lord Shiva. This led him to invade anyplace he sought. He killed many
innocent lives residing in the villages that he felt were in his way. Everyone
feared him, including his own brothers, devas, and priests.
One day while walking to invade a village, he noticed a
young girl named, Vedavati. He starts to misbehave with her. Little does he know
that she will reincarnate into Sita – his daughter.
Meanwhile in the bustling town of Ayodhya King Dasharatha is
longing for a son but is unsuccessful. One day he approaches a rishi named
Rishyashringa who fulfills the King’s wishes. An avatar of Lord Vishnu was born
to King Dasharatha; his name was Rama.
One day while his mother Kaushalya was putting him to sleep,
she noticed that something unusual and strange was happening. She was able to
see the whole universe in her son’s body. It hit her that her son was quite powerful.
King Dasharatha had two other wives along with Queen Kaushalya,
Queen Kaikeyi and Sumitra. One day King Dasharatha had to go fight off an enemy
and Queen Kaikeyi accompanied him. On their journey, one of the wheels from their
carriage broke off. Queen Kaikeyi cut and used her thick strong hair to make a
new wheel and get them to their destination safely. During the fight King Dasharatha
got injured and Kaikeyi quickly brought him to safety. Seeing her bravery, he
offered her two boons.
One day while King Dasharatha was hunting he accidently
strung boy with his bow. The father of the parent said, “You will get your
karma and your son will one day is not there”. This upset King Dasharatha very
much, but he tried to not pay much heed to it.
He quickly tried to rush the preparations of Rama being his
successor. He first sends Rama on a trek that would lead him to finding his
future wife- Sita and testing his abilities as a King. He finds himself in a
village proving his strength by lifting Lord Shiva’s bow. Impressed, Janaka, the
King of Videha marries Sita off to Rama.
After his return, Dasharatha is preparing for the announcement
of Rama being his successor. Upon hearing the news Manthara, Queen Kaikeyi’s help,
decided to manipulate the facts and create an unfavorable situation. Queen Kaikeyi
feels threatened and goes to King Dasharatha.
“I demand my two boons now. One, Rama is to be exiled
immediately, and two, my son Bharatha must be King”, she demands.
Dasharatha hesitant but confused grants her two boons. Rama,
Sita, and his brother Lakshmana leave for exile. After they left, King Dasharatha
was so upset that he was not able to contain it he died in his sleep.
To find out what happens next, stay tuned for next week!
Author's Note: I wrote my story today based upon the Ramayana parts that I read this week. I decided to change the form that Mandodari took. Instead of Parvathi asked a frog, it was a deer. I also changed the scenery to cities and villages. In the original Queen Kaikeyi used her arm to fix the broken wheel, I used her hair instead.
Bibliography: Tiny Tales from the Ramayana from Laura Gibbs
Hey Aarushi! This story was absolutely amazing! You did a fantastic job of including all the important details needed to understand all the stories and combining them into a short series to follow along with and understand. I really enjoyed the little changes like the deer and the use of the strong hair instead of the arm! Great story! I also really liked your last sentence inviting the readers back, it was a fun way to encourage involvement!
ReplyDeleteHi Aarushi,
ReplyDeletethe story that you retold is full of good details and personal creativity. I retold the same part of the story and I think that your the way you built your story is so much better because the story was able to draw a lot of my attention. The character Ravana built through your word is really details. Your work is very creative.
Hi Aarushi, I thought you did an amazing job on your story! I personally loved how you stayed with the original plot of the story but switched some of the details in it such as using a deer instead of a frog and changed the scenery to cities and villages. I think you did a great job of drawing in the readers attention throughout the story!
ReplyDeleteHi Aarushi,
ReplyDeleteI had fun reading this. I am really liking the subtlety of the changes you make. I especially liked reading about Ravana. I also noticed how you threw hints about the little girl being incarnated as Sita, his daughter. I am always very intrigued about the different versions of Ramayana. There are versions where Sita is Ravana's daughter and other's where she's not. It's always fun reading about the different versions!
Hi Aarushi! I really enjoyed your re-telling of certain aspects of the Ramayana. You included a lot of details to understand and imagine the story, but it wasn’t overwhelming or too difficult to follow. It’s also a great read to refresh on what happened in the Ramayana with certain details. For example, I completely forgot that Ravana’s attempt to move Shiva’s mountain caused him to meet with Shiva.
ReplyDelete