Week 11 Story: Killer Kansa

(Krishna and Devaki: Wikimedia Commons)

Once there was a powerful king. A king that ruled over the sad city of Mathura. His name was Kansa. Kansa was a selfish, greedy man, and all who lived in Mathura despised his rule. All except his sister. Kansa and his sister, Devaki, had a very close relationship. Their bond was unlike any other. Kansa loved his sister so much that when it was time for her to be wed, he made it priority to find her the best suitor. He thought about his favorite noble, Vasudeva, and believed that they would make a happy couple. Kansa introduced Devaki to Vasudeva, and they had an immediate spark. Shortly after, Devaki and Vasudeva wedded, and Kansa was there to give his blessing. It was a happy day.

That night, Kansa went to sleep with the biggest smile on his face. He was so glad that he was able to witness the his sister's wedding ceremony. And with that peaceful thought his fell asleep.

"NO!", Kansa cried out.

Kansa woke up from his deep sleep, startled, disgruntled, and in panic. The guard outside his door came running in shouting,

"Are you alright, your majesty?"

Kansa reassured him, "Yes. I am quite alright."

But if fact, Kansa was not alright. What had awoken him was a voice. A voice that stated that Devaki and Vasudeva's eighth child was destined to bring Kansa his rightful fate. Unmerciful death. The voice echoed that this was Kansa deserved for his lifetime of tyranny and unforgiving nature. With that voice ringing in his head and making him nauseous, Kansa knew he had to do something. All his love for his sister and his noble shattered into a million pieces as he gave these orders to his guard.

"Tell the general to issue a unit to kill Devaki and Vasudeva. Tell him it needs to be done first thing in the morning."

And with that order, Kansa went back to peacefully back to sleep.

Authors Note
In the original story, Kansa throws Devaki and Vasudeva into prison and then kills each of their children individually. I did not really understand why Kansa went through the whole trouble of doing that when he could have just ordered their execution. And that is exactly what I did in my story.

Bibliography
Cradle Tales of Hinduism by Sister Nivedita

Week 9 Story: The Kingdom That Wept

(Shantanu and Satyavati: Wikimedia Commons)

Once upon a time, there was a kingdom named Hastinapur that was ruled by King Shantanu and his wife. It was once a beautiful kingdom with many wondrous and delightful sights, and the sun was always shined on this happy kingdom everyday. But one day, the queen fell ill, and soon after she passed away. King Shantanu's heart shattered into a million pieces. He could not believe his one true love had left this world, and he began to cry. And as the tears began to stream down King Shantanu's face, the sky wept with him. As long as King Shantanu was in despair, the sky was in despair the with him. The once bright and luminous kingdom became down and gloomy.

King Shantanu's son, Devavrat, could not bear to see his father in such a state. He had only known his father to be a beaming light of positivity, but now, he only saw an unmotivated, heartbroken man. Devavrat tried everything in his power to make his father happy again. He tried buying him gifts, playing his favorite music, taking him on trips, but nothing worked. Finally, as they were returning to the palace from their last trip, they passed through a fishing village. King Shantanu was conversing and connecting with the people of his kingdom but suddenly stopped. His jaw dropped as he laid eyes upon the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen. Her name was Satyavati.

King Shantany spent the day getting to know Satyavati, and his heart was enlightened. As he got happier, the sun began to peak out of the clouds, little by little. Devavrat saw what was going on, and he knew that his father's heart was mending. Devavrat knew that Satyavati made his father happy, and he knew there was only one thing he could do to keep his father happy.

Author's Note
I wanted to take my own spin on how Devavrat tried to keep his father happy. In the original story, Ganga had been absent from Shantanu's life for quite some time, so there was an appropriate length of time before Shantanu fell in love again. In my story, Satyavati helps mend Shantanu's broken heart. Also, in The Mahabharata, it seems as if King Shantanu was really respected by his people, so I wanted the kingdom and the weather to reflect Shantanu's feelings as a way to show that the kingdom was on his side through this tough time.

Bibliography
The Mahabharata by Epified

Week 7 Story: Arjuna's Obstacle For Love

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(Urvashi: Wikimedia Commons)

Arjuna arrived to Swarga, upon Indra's request. The land was ethereal with abundance of vibrant wildlife, the air was filled with the sounds of angelic music, and the city just glowed with a golden-like aura. One of the first things Arjuna did was explore the city. He had never been to Swarga, so he was quite excited to find lively areas filled with new people. Arjuna first went to a beautiful garden filled with every kind of flower imaginable. Arjuna began his tour of this exhibit, fascinated with every color and every shape of the flowers. Suddenly, he heard a women giggle in the distance and began to lift his head. And there she was.

Standing there was a beautiful young lady, with youthful eyes. As soon as Arjuna laid eyes on her, her gazed moved and met his. Arjuna felt something pulling him to her, and he began walking toward her. He introduced himself and learned that her name was Urvashi. From there, they exchanged some words and walked through the garden together, exchanging stories while looking at the flowers that guided their walking path.

Arjuna had told Urvashi that this was his first time in Swarga, and he wanted to travel through the entire city. Urvashi offered her expertise of Swarga, and from there, she became his tour guide for the day. They went to all sorts of places: the town square, the capitol, and even her favorite coffee shop. By the end of the day, the pair was tired but fulfilled. Arjuna walked Urvashi home, expressed his enjoyment of her company, and asked to see her again. At first, Urvashi's eyes lit up with happiness, but then she replied that she knew where this interaction was going to lead to. Then, she proceeded to say that they would never work out because he had no knowledge of the culture in Swarga, and that ignorance would become a hindrance in their relationship in the future. Arjuna did not know how to respond to such a profound and forward-thinking comment, but he did know this.

This disparity was not going to stop him, so all Arjuna did was smirk at Urvashi and whispered, "We will see about that."

With these last words, Arjuna ran home, and the very next day, he started his studies in music, dance, song because, boy, did he have a lot of work to do.

Author's Note
In the story about Arjuna and Indra, a short story regarding Urvashi was included, but there was not much background or detail. I decided to dedicate a whole story to Arjuna and Urvashi and decided to change the dynamic of their relationship. In the original story, I believe Arjuna is the one that rejects Urvashi, so she set a curse on him to live among women as a dancer and musician, and that is how he became skilled in song, dance, and celestial weapons. However, in my story, I wanted Arjuna to be the one yearning for Swarga and have him learn all those things in hopes of gaining Urvashi's interest in him.

Bibliography
Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie

Week 6 Story: Ekalavya's Revenge

(Ekalavya's Guru Dakshina: Wikipedia)

Drona became very famous as a perceptor, and many rajahs sons and warriors very extremely quick to try to be instructed by him. Drona mentored all that came to him, except for one man, Ekalavya. Ekalavya was the son of the rajah of Bhils, and the Bhils were highway men and cattle lifters. Because of the Bhils' status, Drona refused to teach Ekalavya, but Ekalavya continued to beg and beg.
Finally, Drona said, "Why would I teach a Bhil the great knowledge of weapons? That would be the utmost sin."
Drona's final decision infuriated Ekalavya, and he returned home while thinking, "If Drona and I ever cross paths, the only thing he will see is my arrow aiming at his body."
Once Ekalavya returned home, he trained at every waking moment. If Drona would not train him, then he would take matters into his own hands, and make himself the best archer the world has ever seen.
One day, Drona and the princes went hunting in the Bhil kingdom, and their dog was running freely through the woods, until the dog made a high pitched yelp. Drona and the princes immediately ran to the dog, and was met with not only the dog but with Ekalavya.
"Who art thou?", the princes demanded.
Ekalavya introduced himself, "My name is Ekalavya, son of rajah of the Bhils."
"Son of the rajah of the Bhils?", Drona curiously asked, "Have we met before?"
Ekalavya smiled and replied, "Why, yes, we have. And I am so glad I finally can see you again."
As soon as Ekalavya finished speaking, he raised his bow, pointed it at Drona, and was getting ready to draw his bow. However, Arjuna knew there was evil behind Ekalavya's smile and instinctively knew what was about to happen, and before Ekalavya could release his bow, Arjuna already beat him to it. As soon as Ekalavya's body dropped to the ground, Drona remembered how he met Ekalavya and understood why he drew his bow.

Author's Notes
I did not understand Ekalavya's reaction to getting rejected from Drona, so that is what I decided to change in my story. In the original, Ekalavya makes a clay doll, worshiped it, and trained in front of it, and in the end he still had to sacrifice his thumb to Drona. I had a hard time wrapping my head around that, so instead, I made a stereotypical revenge story.

Bibliography
Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie

Week 5 Story: The Support of the Gods

(Tiruchchirappalli Painting of Indra: Wikimedia Commons)

Rama and Sita fell in love at first sight, and now it was time to prove Rama's worth and win Sita's hand. In order to become Sita's husband, the must be able to bend the bow of Shiva. Rama is very hesitant to attempt this task, but Vishvamitra convinces Rama to try. Rama, then, picks up the bow and snaps in perfectly and effortlessly in half.
Other rival suitors heard word of this event and became furious at the idea of an man being able to bend Shiva's bow, let alone snap it in half! One of these rivals was Parashurama. He was extremely fond of Sita was enraged that she had taken another suitor. It became Parashurama's ultimate goal to break any ties between the two, and he knew that if he gathered enough momentum from other suitors that his plan could become a reality, even if it meant by forceful means.
Parashurama sent his messengers to contact the rival suitors, and he got positive responses of agreement almost instantly. Together, Parashurama and the suitors then march to Videha, ready to confront, and even attack, Rama.
Rama sees a sea of men angrily coming in his direction, and terror immediately rushes to his stomach. The mob comes to a stop, and Parashurama yells angrily at Rama questioning how he was able to bend the bow of Shiva. Rama answers honestly, but this only irritates Parashurama and the other suitors even more.
Finally, Parashumara cannot hold in his aggravation and is ready to call upon the other men to battle Rama until a loud crashing noise came from above the in the sky. Everyone crouches in fear as they see a figure come down from the sky. It was the god Indra! Indra declared, in the most ominous voice, that if anyone of those men were to lay a finger on Rama, that they were in for a lifetime of curses. The suitors would not dare to challenge Indra, so they all immediately ran at the hearing of the threat and now knew why Rama was the one suitor for Sita.

Author's Note
I wanted to expand upon the section where Parashumara and the suitors were threatening and questioning Rama, but I wanted to make my own ending. In the original story, Parashumara gives Rama another weapon, the bow of Vishnu, to see if Rama can bend it, and he can. That is how Rama gains Parashumara's respect and honor. In my version, I wanted the suitors the see that Rama had gods that were directly on his side, and that is why I added the part of Indra making an appearance at the scene.

Bibliography

The Divine Archer by F.J. Gould

(http://iereadingguides.blogspot.com/2014/05/reading-guide-week-1-gould-divine-archer.html)

Week 4 Story: Selfless Sita

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(Sita Requests Rama To Fetch Golden Deer: Flickr)

Rumors began to spread about Sita's supposed infidelity, and the people began to grow hatred toward her. Initially, all the gossip and news was all speculation, but then people started speaking very badly about Sita, and wondered why the king would ever take back such a wretched women, and so the people grew weary and doubtful of the king himself. A man and his brother heard about the news and began their own conversation on the topic. They both agreed that the king was quite idiotic for taking back a woman that was so clearly unfaithful to her spouse, and began questioning Rama's political ability. The man exclaimed, "If a man is so ignorant of his wife, then how will he do with this kingdom? I am afraid that his misjudgment will turn this town to turmoil! I can not simply stand here and witness a unspoken crime unfold before my very eyes!" His brother responded, "We never had to deal with such foolishness under Bharata's rule. He need be king again." "Perhaps we are able to make such a reality come to fruition," the man said, to which his brother asked, "How could we ever do such a thing?"

"We must rally other people, and use political force, and perhaps even violence, to create such a replacement," the man strategized.

Word got back to the palace that the people of the kingdom that the people were curating a plan to create a public disturbance that could have possibly included the act of violence. Rama was infuriated with the people's lack of judgment and rash thinking and began to devise a plan to oppose the people, but Sita also caught word of the news and began to do some thinking herself. Finally, she came up to Rama and told him that is was best if she were exiled. It is the only way to make the people happy. Rama grew confused and feared the idea of his wife leaving into the unknown of the jungle, but he knew that this was the safest and most peaceful solution, and with that, Sita was exiled.

Author's Note

In the original story, there was not much detail on exactly Rama's thought process of exiling Sita. It was presented in a cause and effect manner. In my story, I wanted to give more background and more purpose for banning Sita, which is why I included the people's planned retaliation. I wanted to create a more urgent reason to exile reason, not just the fact that the people were talking about Sita. Also, in the original story, it was Rama's decision to ban Sita, but in this version, I wanted it to be her idea, to show her selflessness and her love to her husband and his kingdom.

Bibliography

"Indian Myth and Legend" by Donald A. Mackenzie

(http://ouocblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/pde-ramayana-indrajit.html)

Week 2 Story: James

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(Burning Town and Hillside Watchers: Wikipedia Commons)

My hometown of Joon was in crumble. An extremist rebel group had taken over the local government, and practically burned the town to ashes. My family and our fellow neighbors were trying to find refuge in another town, but we had no resources, no food, no home, nothing. We were on the verge of dying in our very own town we called home.

As we were all preparing to find shelter for the night, a random man with a large rifle appeared from the shadows. Dad was alarmed and immediately put his body in between us and the stranger. The man immediately responded to dad's language. "Don't be afraid, sir. I am here to help," he said. "Help? How so?" dad questioned.  "Yes," the man continued, "My name is James. I am from Wenon. We heard of the turmoil back home, so the capital's save group sent out reinforcements to protect and guide those in need." "Oh, thank the lord! God has finally answered our prayers," my dad exclaimed.

"There is no time to celebrate. We must hurry to the refugee camp. Wenon has a camp on the border closest to Joon. It is not entirely too far, but we still must hurry and leave Joon before the rebels catch us," the man stressed. Dad seemed completely on board, ready to guide the rest of us into the hands of a stranger. Mom, however, was less enthusiastic about the random aid. "Honey, I am not sure if we can completely trust this man. Have you not heard of those stories of those who seek refuge with those that say they can help, but they never are to be seen again? I am afraid of such a result," mother whispered. This made dad hesitant as well. An older neighbor of our's sensed the fear in my parents, so he bravely came up to them and made an offer, "I will go with him. If I am never to be seen again, then that is just fine. I have lived my life, so I will go to see if what he speaks is the truth." Dad agreed to this proposition and guided the elder to James, and off they went, while we stayed put.

Two days later James and our neighbor returned, and with such joy on his face, he delightedly said, "Oh, it's all true! There are so many people there to help us, and there are so many programs for us to start a new lives!" With much happiness, dad thanked James, and then James said, "Now I will take you all there individually. This way, there is less chance of getting caught by the rebels."

At that moment, our neighbor went with James again, but this time James took a different route. The old man was worried, but James reassured him that this was just a detour to remain out of sight from the rebels. However, the elder was not greeted with the bright future of opportunity. James brought him to the bullets of the guns of the extremist rebels. All this time, James had a deal with the extremists. There was a cash reward for every fleeing Joonian that was brought to the rebels, so that the Joonians could be brought to "justice" for not believing in the rebellion. After this murder, James kept returning back to Joon, guiding each person back to the camp to be killed. One by one, they went with him, until there was only me.

I am even more hesitant than mom, and refused to go with James, but I was the last one left. James came back for me, but I was still skeptical. James kept trying to convince me, but the only thing I could find myself to say was, "Fine. I will go with you, but only if you let me protect myself. I cannot bear to trust a stranger with my life if I do not have a weapon myself." James was eager to agree to the idea because the excitement of money clouded his judgement. James gave me the rifle, and we went our way. However, I noticed James was not taking me toward the direction of Wenon, and the further we drifted from the border, and could not help but ask, "Where are you taking me? We have entirely missed the border of Wenon." James stopped in his tracks, and slowly turned to me, with a creepy smile, he quietly said, "That is because we are not going to Wenon, my dear. I am taking you to meet the fate of the rest of your family. The fate of death from the hands of the rebels!"

As soon as I realized that James had practically killed my family, I raised the rifle right to James' forehead, and with the most steady voice, I calmly said, "Oh, good sir, you will take me to the refugee camp, or the last thing you will see is the blood from you brains flowing into your eyes." James instantly knew he made a biggest mistake of his life. "Oh, please spare my life! I will take you to the camp! Please do not shoot me," he begged.

Finally, he began to lead me to the site of the refugee camp, but before we reached the border, I raised my arms, cocked the rifle, and pulled the trigger. I walked the rest of the way by myself. As I arrived, volunteers from the save group ran up to help me, but all I could think about was how I was going have to start this new life by myself.

Author's Note
I think the most memorable aspect from the original story, "The Cunning Crane and the Crab", was the theme of lie and betrayal. James is supposed to be the crane, the family and neighbors are the fish, and the narrator is the crab. Overall, the part of James taking each person one-by-one, the mom's hesitation, and the way James revealed himself were directly related to the original story. Also, I know I mentioned how unfair it was that a disabled, old fish was picked as the guinea pig, so I kind of changed it to a more explicitly voluntary action, rather than an ambiguous one. However, the ending is completely different. The crab had no ties with the fishes and did not care about them, so when he was finally taken to the lake, there was no sadness of the death of the fishes, only the happiness of him getting what he wanted. However, the narrator has personal and intimate ties with everyone that died, so even though the narrator has personal vengeance, the narrator is still filled with the sorrow of the death of loved ones.

Bibliography

1. The Cunning Crane and the Crab by W.H.D. Rouse  (https://sites.google.com/view/jatakas/crane-and-crab)