Storytelling for Week 2: Deer Hunting at its Finest

Once upon a time, in a far away forest there was a deer. He was just an ordinary deer trying to survive in this harsh world. One day, the deer crossed a small pond deep in the forest, that looked as if it were sparkling. The deer was so overjoyed to see water, that he drank and bathed in it for days. After leaving the pond, the deer realized he had a coat of gold around him that shined so bright it was almost blinding, and that he felt as if he had supernatural powers. As time went on, he became stronger and stronger until he was eventually invincible. His speed was increasing by the day, his strength was astronomical, and his precision and power was higher than ever seen before. This creature was godly even to the gods, and was given the name "golden deer".

It has been known for hundreds of years that if you catch the golden deer, you will be granted the powers that the deer had possessed, and will live an immortal life full of love, happiness, and fulfillment. It would take a very special person, with very special, unique talents unlike anyone else to capture this deer and reap the profits. The catch is that the deer is nearly impossible to capture, because of his strength and speed, and therefore hasn't been seen in hundreds of years. Some even question the truthfulness of this story that has been passed down for generations.

~~~

Deep in the forest there was a man named Rama, who lived in a picture perfect log cabin with his beautiful wife, Sita. Rama and Sita lived what most would call, a perfect life. One day, while sitting in their long cabin, Sita asked Rama to go fetch some food as they were running low. Of course Rama did so, and willingly went out the door in search of some food. As the afternoon went by, Rama had no luck so far. Time went on and Rama was still on the hunt, until he halted immediately. He spotted something that was shining through the bushes.

So many thoughts were racing through his mind... "Is that what I think it is?" he thought to himself. "No.. It can't be!" he questioned himself.  "But, what if it was? I would be a hero and would live an everlasting life full of love and power...I'm going for it!"

Rama capturing the deer. Wikimedia

Rama slowly drew closer to the deer to get a better look, but he still wasn't sure of its authenticity. He didn't want to get too close in fear that the deer would notice him and his opportunity would have passed. As he begins to point his bow he thinks to himself, "Man, Sita is going to be so impressed if I am the godly man that catches the golden deer!" and without any further preparation he goes in for the kill, striking his arrow right at the golden deer! He begins jumping with joy and runs over to the deer expecting to be gaining his powers at any minute. As Rama walks up to deer he is immediately filled with disappointment. The deer was a fraud. He had been covered with gold glitter to fool him into thinking he was the golden deer! "Impossible! I am a fool for falling for that", Rama exclaims with furry.

He storms back to his log cabin, full of distraught and humiliation. As he approaches his cabin, he hears a cry for help. He says out loud, "Oh no, something has gone terribly wrong!", and then he sees a terrifying scene. His beloved Sita is being taken away on a schooner with great speed. Rama catched on to what has happened today, "I have been tricked! Someone covered a deer in glitter knowing I would find him and think it was the golden deer, and in the meantime captured my wife!" He then gathers his things in a scurry and heads after his wife, with a look of revenge in his eyes.

~~~

Author's Note: I chose to tell the story of Sita being captured because I wanted to add light and simplicity to this intense part of The Ramayana. I changed the background of the story quite a bit and added in some of the inner thoughts I would think Rama might have had in this situation. In the actual story, Ravana and Maricha make a plan to abduct Sita, so Maricha disguises himself as a golden deer to capture the attention of Sita, who then begs Rama to catch it for her. While doing so, Maricha calls out for help using Rama's voice, so that Sita would think he was in trouble. She forces Rama's brother, Lakshmana to go save him, leaving her unguarded. She then gets taken away by Ravana. 

Narayan, R. K. (1972) The Ramayana.

Week 2: Reading Diary B - My Journey Through the Ramayana Continued

The last chapter ended with one of Dasharatha's son's mother, Kaikeyi, demanding her wish be that Rama is sent into exile for fourteen years, and her son Bharata become the successor. Dasharatha had no choice but to abide by these wishes since he owed them to her. Dasharatha dies when he hears of Rama's departure into the forest. Bharata is so enraged that his mother would exile his own brother, that he refuses to take the crown. Lakshmana and Sita accompany Rama with his exile.

Chapter 4: Encounters in Exile 

This chapter begins with Rama, Lakshmana and Sita continuing through the forest. They encounter Jatayu, a bird who was previously a friend of Dasharatha. Once Jatayu was informed of Dasharatha's death, he wanted to end his life then and there, but the boys convinced him to keep his life, as he is the closest thing to a father figure now. He agreed to embark on their journey with them.

-> A quote that I loved from this page was when Jatayu said, "While I fly, follow me in the shadow of my wings"(p.66). To me, this quote represents security for the boys and Sita. They are now being watched over by the bird, and it almost seemingly feels like their father watching over them from above. With all of the uncertainty and danger in their journey, they now have a feeling of comfort and solace when being protected by a friend of their dads.

As they continue to embark on their journey, they finally reach Panchvati. Rama is reminded of the reason he is here in the first place... "he had come here to encounter and destroy the asuras, the fiends who infested this area, causing suffering and hardship to all the good souls who only wanted to be left alone to pursue their spiritual aims in peace"(p.67). Ramas purpose of incarnation was to destroy these asuras and therefore abolish the fear from all men and gods, to establish peace, and to bring justice to the world. While he was in the woods, he meets a woman named Kamavalli, daughter of Sage Visravas and sister of Ravana, and is immediately paralyzed by her beauty.

-> Although he is just mesmerized by her beauty, Rama's reaction to this woman makes me wonder if he finds it somewhat normal to be in love with more than one woman at a time, since his father had many wives. Does polygamy exist in this story?

Kamavalli quickly asks for Rama's hand in marriage, but he politely refuses. As Sita walks out of their cottage toward the two, jealousy overcomes Kamavalli. She then goes on to convince herself that Sita is not Rama's wife.

-> This reminds me of a modern day situation, as every girl feels envious toward that one girl that seems so perfect on the outside, making you feel a bit of insecurity. I also know we have all at some point in time convinced ourselves of something in order to feel better and more in control about a situation.

Kamavalli goes to extremes to break apart Rama and Sita, and plans to capture Sita. She later gets captured by Lakshmana, who punishes her by cutting off her nose, ears, and breasts. She eventually runs off to her brother, Ravana in Lanka.

Chapter 5: The Grand Tormentor

This chapter starts off with Ravana in Lanka, and gods are acting for his every need. Vayu, god of wind, was there to blow away flowers and sweep the halls clean, Yama, the god of death, was there to sound the gong at each hour of the day, and the god of fire was there to keep lamps, incense, and camphor flames lit at all times. Many more were there to serve him. Out of no where, Soorpanka comes running to the scene, falling to the throne, crying, "See what has happened to me!" (p.80). Ravan is furiated, until she begins to talk about Sita and her beauty and falls in love with her just from her description.

Ravana visits his uncle, Maricha to gain advice about Rama, since he had been up against him before. They come up with a sneaky plan, not to fight off Rama, but to distract and trick him, and then snatch Sita. Maricha disguises as a beautiful deer, capturing Sitas attention. Rama attack the deer so that Sita may have it, and while doing so he shoots him, but his cries sound like Rama's. This worries Sita, and she forces Laksmana to go check on him. While doing so, Ravana shows up to capture Sita. Her efforts are not enough to keep him from taking her. Jatayu, their protector, comes back into the picture and tries to fight off Ravana! He exclaims, "Don't seek your own ruin, and the ruin of your whole clan, class, tribe, and all. Rama's arrows will end your career, have no doubt about it"(p.94). His efforts fail, and he gets struck down. Sita is now captured by Ravana, but Jatayu is able to tell Rama what has happened before dying. He can now finally be with his beloved friend, Dasharatha. His last words, "Do not despair. You will succeed in the end"(p.95), showing his faith in Rama. To me, this feels like it is almost coming from his father, and foreshadows his success in getting Sita back safely.

Narayan, R. K. 1972. The Ramayana. 

Week 2: Reading Diary A - My Journey Through the Ramayana

As I began to read Narayan's The Ramayana, I was unsure of what to expect. I have honestly never heard of the epic, and really had no idea of what it entailed. My first impression of the book was.. "Wow, there are a ton of words in here that I can't even pronounce!" But, after continually reading and with the help of the study guides, I quickly caught on and quite frankly am really impressed with this book so far.

Since the names of the characters are long and begin to mesh together, here is a character list with a short description in order to refer back to along with some important points from each story.

Characters and Stories:

Dasaratha - Dasaratha is portrayed as approachable and dedicated to his duties as a ruler. His people think very highly of him as is described as the king that "was always accessible, and fulfilled his duties as the ruler of Kosala without grudging the hours spent in public service" (p. 7). This character is relatable because he holds great responsibility and has much fame, but only desires for a son to carry on his name. He eventually has four sons - Rama, Bharata, Laksmana, and Shatrughna.

Sage Viswamithra - Former king and conqueror. Wants to journey to Sidhasrma to perform a yagna (sacrifice) and requests to bring along Rama as his protector. Is portrayed as wise and knowledgeable, and acts almost as an educator and mentor to Rama and Lakshmana as they proceed on their journey.

Rama - Son of Dasaratha and an avatar of Vishnu. Rama is portrayed as caring and helpful. The people of the Ayodhya say "with you as our prince and your great father as our guardian, we lack nothing" (p.6). He chosen by sage Viswamithra to accompany him on his journey and serves to protect him. As chapter one came to an end, Viswamithra address Rama by saying, "O great one, you are born to restore righteousnous and virtue to mankind and eliminate all evil. At our yagna, I saw the power of your arms, and now I see the greatness of the touch of your feet"(p.22).

Lakshmana - Son of Dasaratha. Accompanies Sage Viswamithra and Rama on their journey.

Thataka's Story - Daughter of Suketha, a demigod of might and purity. Has two sons, Mareecha and Subahu. Her husband was killed, and she and her sons demanded revenge and transformed to demonhood. Killed by Rama.

Mahabali's Story - Seized heaven and earth while Vishnu sat in meditation, and then later was summoned down below.

Ganga's Story - The river Ganga (Ganges) was brought down by Bhagiratha with the help of the god Shiva. The river "flows along the valley, coming down from the Himalayas, carrying within her the essence of rare herbs and elements found on her way" (p.17). Every inch that she touches, becomes holy.

-> How the Ganges formed: King Sakara performed a horse sacrifice, and while doing so King Indra stole the horse, hiding it behind Sage Kapila underground. Sakara's son later dug a huge hole in search of the horse, where they then destroyed Kapila, and only one survived, Bhagiratha. Bhagiratha wanted salvation for his dead family, so he then brought the Ganga river down.

Ahalya's Story -  Ahalya was created by Brahma with the ingredients of absolute beauty. God Indra was very attracted to her and was convinced he was the only one for her. Brahma notice this, but gave her custody to Sage Gautama who then raised her, then eventually married her. Indra could not stand being away from Ahalya, so one day when the sage was gone he snuck in and made love to her. Sage Gautama came back to the scene and punished him by covering him in "female parts" to show the world what is really on his mind. Sage Gautama punished Ahalya by imploring her to a rock.  Later on Sage Gautama said, "May the thousand additions to Indra's features become eyes"(p.21), and eventually became known as the "thousand-eyed god".

Sita - Daughter of King Janaka and avatar of Lakshmi (Vishnu's wife). Rama immediately falls in love with her. The king declared that any many who can bend Shiva's bow, can have permission to marry Sita. Rama completed the task!

What stood out to me:

In the beginning of the reading, there was a quote that really stood out to me. It read,

"You cannot count on the physical proximity of someone you love, all the time. A seed that sprouts at the foot of its parent tree remains stunted until it is transplanted. Rama will be in my care, and he will be quite well. But ultimately, he will leave me too. Every human being, when the time comes, had to depart and seek his fulfillment in his own way" (p. 19).

I find this quote so timeless because of its relatability. Everyone at some point in time has to be separated from someone they love and it is truly a difficult thing, but it is part of life and is something that we need to adapt to. This was said by Sage Viswamithra, a former king and conqueror as he was pleading to Dasaratha to allow his son Rama to go on a journey to Sidhasrama. The King is having a hard time letting go of his beloved son. As a college student, I often visit my family back home, but then have to leave to come back up to school and it is difficult to say goodbye. I could only imagine how much more difficult it is for my parents, so I understand Dasaratha's feelings. As the young embraced on the journey, they had many feelings of distress and bewilderment.

Narayan, R. K. 1972. The Ramayana.