Week 11 Storytelling: Rama

Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana roamed the lands of India after being exiled from King Dasharatha’s kingdom. They had just finished a quarrel in which they had to defeat the demons Khara, and Dooshana. Shurpanka, Khara and Dooshana’s cousin, had escaped from the battle and retreated to the Kingdom of Lanka where she hoped to receive aid from her brother Ravana.

Shurpanaka begged Ravana to defeat Rama and Lakshmana in battle after they had injured her in battle. At first he disagreed because he did not want to involve himself with his sister’s drama. Shurpanaka then told Ravana about Rama’s beautiful wife Sita. Ravana grew more interested and finally decided to help Shurpanaka get revenge on Rama and Lakshmana.

Ravana devised a plan in which he would attempt to steal Sita away from Rama. He tells his uncle Maricha about the situation, and Maricha decides to help him. Ravana’s plan was to have Maricha shape shift into a beautiful golden deer. Sita would be so in love with the deer that she would send Rama and Lakshmana after it. Ravana would then swoop in to steal Sita away.

A couple weeks passed and the plan was set in motion. Rama, Lakshmana, and Sita were all taking a rest from travel. They all sat down and ate some fruit that they picked off nearby trees. All of a sudden a beautiful golden deer appeared before them. Sita instantly fell in love and urged Rama and Lakshmana to catch the deer for her. Rama said that he would go after the deer alone while Lakshmana protected Sita, but Sita disagreed. She said that Rama would have the best chance of catching the deer if Lakshmana accompanied him. This way they would catch the deer, and they would accomplish the task quicker than if one of them went alone so that they could hurry back to protect Sita again. After a lot of begging from Sita, Rama finally agreed. Lakshmana and Rama made way for the golden deer.

Meanwhile, Ravana hid where he could not be seen. After Rama and Lakshmana were out of sight he made his way toward Sita. Jatayu, a powerful bird the roamed the skies, had happened to be observing the situation that was taking place. He did not dare to challenge Ravana to battle because he knew that would end in his defeat. Instead, he flew as fast as he could to catch up with Rama and Lakshmana. He warned them that an evil and powerful rakshasha named Ravana was kidnapping Sita. He told them that he was a relative of the demons they had defeated earlier.

Rama did not know if he could trust Jatayu. He quickly shot a non-lethal arrow at the deer. The deer instantly transformed into Maricha. Rama believed Jatuyu’s story now. He instructed Lakshmana to defeat the injured rakshasha while he saved Sita. Rama jumped on Jatuyu’s back and made way for Ravana.

Rama and Jatayu finally found Ravana flying in his chariot in the sky. Rama demanded that Ravana return his wife. Ravana rejected Rama’s command and after that an intense battle followed. Each party exchanged blows but seemed to be evenly matched. Rama then decided to attack Ravana’s chariot instead of Ravana. He sent a shot at Ravana to bait him. As Ravana dodged the arrow, Rama intercepted his chariot’s motion with a barrage of arrows. The chariot was damaged and began to spiral out of control. Rama and Jatayu quickly pursued it and saved Sita. Ravana crashed to the ground with the chariot.

Jatayu descended to the ground. Rama and Sita were happy that they were reunited. Soon after, Lakshmana joined the family with news that Maricha had been defeated. Ravana then slowly crawled out of the chariot with several severe injuries. Rama told Ravan that he should have never attempted such a cruel act. He then shot Ravana with a barrage of arrows to ensure his death.

Here is an image of the comic book that gave me the idea for this story:

Source

Author’s Note:

I wanted the Ramyana to have an alternate ending. In the original story, Ravana successfully kidnaps Sita and takes her back to Lanka. In the process Jatuya is defeated after he attempts to save her. When Rama and Lakshman return, they have to seek information of Sita’s whereabouts. In my story I use Jatayu as a messenger to tell Rama that he is being tricked. Rama then catches up with Ravana just in time, and defeats him in battle.

Title: Rama

Year: 1970

Author: Amar Chitra Katha