Week 3 Story: The Bedtime Story of The Ramayana
Once upon a time there was a king that was very sad because he had no children. This king's name was Dasaratha. To become happy, he begged a sage to give him children. The sage was kind and gave the king a sacrificial rice that would allow his wives to become pregnant. When the king gave his wives the rice, they both had two children. The king was now overjoyed because he now had four sons: Rama, Lakshmana, Bharatha, and Sathrugna. Dasaratha did not know this, but his son Rama was the human incarnation of the supreme god Vishnu.
Once the boys grew older, a sage by the name of Viswamithra, comes and tells Dasaratha that he needs Rama to protect him as he travels to a sacred ground. Dasaratha is highly upset by this, but allows Viswamithra to take him if he allowed Lakshmana to go as well.
Now this journey was treacherous, crossing a vile desert, going to a demon infested wood, and then finally the city of Mithila. When the group got to the desert, an evil demon by the name of Thataka attacked them. Rama does not wish to kill Thataka, as she appears as a woman. However, Viswamithra convinces him to do so, as she is not a woman, but a demon full of pure evil. Thus, Rama kills her with the single shot of an arrow. This pleases the gods and so Viswamithra teaches Rama all the techniques in weaponry. He also receives the loyalty of any presiding deities of various weapons.
The heroes continue on until they reach the woods. Viswamithra tells Rama and his brother many stories, such as Mahabali being sent into the netherworlds by being stepped on. After the storytelling, Viswamithra begins to make sacrifices and orders Rama and Lakshmana to protect him. A hoard of demons attacks them, including the two sons of Thataka. Rama shoots both of her sons, killing one and sending the other to a far away sea. Seeing how easily Rama kills the son, the rest of the demons flee.
Our heroes then continue on to the city of Mithila. Here, Rama sees his future wife: Sita. Sita does not know this, but she is the human incarnation of Lakshmi, who is Vishnu's wife. Now Sita was the most beautiful woman Rama had ever seen and he longed to be her husband. Thus, he goes to the palace of King Janaka. In order to marry Sita, Rama must break Shiva's enormous bow. This bow was so large that people mistook it for a mountain! Everyone believed that Rama would fail, but he snapped the bow in two with ease. Thus, Rama and Sita were married and were very happy together.
Many years later, Dasaratha realized how old he had become and wished his son Rama to become the next king. Kaikeyi, one of his wives, became very jealous and wished that Rama's brother Bharatha to be crowned. She called Dasaratha to him and recalled two promises that Dasaratha had made to her. Dasaratha was distraught, but kept his promises. Thus, Rama was sent away into the woods for 14 years and Bharatha was to be crowned king. Dasaratha was so sad that his son was gone that he died. When Bharatha heard this news he was very angry with his mother and sought Rama out immediately. He begged Rama to return, but Rama wanted to keep his father's promises. Therefore, Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana left and Bharatha acted as regent until Rama was to return.
To be continued...
Author's Note
This bedtime version is very similar to the original. However, I changed it to be more childlike, such as referring to the group as our "heroes." I took out some of the stories that Viswamithra tells Rama, as I wanted to be more in line with the story of Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana.
Bibliography: Narayan, R K, and Kampar. The Ramayana. New York, Penguin Books, 1972.
Hey Ashley!
ReplyDeleteI really love how you narrate the story! Thanks to this, it looks like a bedtime story: I would gladly read that version to one of my younger cousins or the kids I babysit! Your reading was also easy to follow and the right amount of details.
I think a way of improving your story is to put some dialogues since children love it when you change your voice to narrate the story.
Thanks for the story!
Hello Ashley! I am so impressed with how you were able to take the rich prose of R.K. Narayan's version of The Ramayana and reduce it to a more kid-friendly version while keeping the core of the story intact. Any child would enjoy this retelling as a bedtime story. I understand your desire to simplify the story and focus your narrative on Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana, but I wonder if there would still be a way to tell Viswatmithra's stories in this same style you have created, because I love those stories and would enjoy hearing them in your writing voice. If you wanted to create a longer story, perhaps for a child that isn't tired just yet, I think that some character dialogue (with different voices for each character of course) and more vivid descriptions of the all the places Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana visited would be an amazing addition. I cannot wait to read more of your stories, you have a very distinctive and entertaining style.
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