Week 6 Storytelling: The Sentry of Lanka

Week 6 Storytelling: The Sentry of Lanka

We have been standing guard at the gates of Lanka for an entire day without sleep. This war has put an intense strain on the Rakshasa, but it is finally over. Today for two hours Indrajit bombarded Rama’s forces and wiped out countless warriors. Moments ago it was discovered that Rama himself was among the fallen, which means an end to this dreaded war. Among the fallen a few animals remains, but there is no hope for their army. The Rakshasa are finally safe.

It has now been several hours since Indrajit's attack. Ravana is asleep, but I will surely be rewarded for my service when he awakes. Perhaps I will be promoted from the simple position of sentry! Wait... What is that? There is a faint glow, and steam is flowing through the air. Is that a shooting star? No, that is medicine hill flying through the air! How is this possible!? Hanuman survived Indrajit's attack. Now Trijata is approaching with Sita and several Rakshasa. I must stop them from seeing this sight. Ravana cannot hear of the fallen rising through gossip. I must tell him directly.

Hanuman carrying Medicine Hill

"Let me pass to the edge of the wall," Trijata yelled as she and Sita walked towards me.

My efforts to block them were in vain. Sita slipped past as Trijata grabbed my shoulders, holding me in place.

"I see him! I see Rama! He is standing up as if from a deep slumber," Sita said. You could hear the joy in her voice. It is clear how deep this woman's love is for Rama.

Trijata, who also managed to get past me, now sees the scene unfolding. She was shocked by the great deeds that Hanuman did saying "how can Hanuman perform such incredible feats?"

Sita replied simply, "His love for Rama is great. With such great love nothing is impossible."

Word of the army being brought back would spread quickly through the city. I had to tell Ravana myself, no matter if it costs me my life.

As I rush towards Ravana's palace I begin to grow fearful. He finally slept peacefully knowing Rama was defeated. How can I be the one to end that peace? How will he react? The guards to Ravana's chambers look at me knowing I bear bad news.

"Ravana woke up moments ago, he will be out soon. We will leave to give you privacy with him Sentry," the guard said.

Both walked off. I can't help but think they are escaping a fate worse than death; disappointing the king of the Rakshasas. Ravana emerged from his chamber and saw me. I must have looked as if I came bearing bad news because his expression immediately became grim.

"What do you report sentry?" Ravana said. His voice boomed like a roll of thunder, even when speaking normally.

"King Ravana, it's Rama. He.. He lives," I managed to get the words out.

Ravana's expression did not change. He was silent for a moment and he simply turned around and returned to his room. Soon he emerged wearing armor as if he was ready to go to war. I couldn't let him act irrationally. I have brought him bad news, but I refuse to be the cause of his death.

"Ravana, I urge you to command a force against Rama once more, but please do not fight." I pleaded.

"Sentry, do you not understand?" He replied. "Sita will never love me as long as Rama lives."

Then an idea struck me. Perhaps I can use his love for Sita to dissuade him from going to battle. I replied, "Yes sir, but Sita may never forgive you if you kill Rama. Surely Indrajit can repeat his incredible feat and slay Rama once more."

"Perhaps you are right," Ravana said as he walked off.

His silence is worse than any reaction I could have expected. I fear for him. What thoughts race through his mind? How will he react? If Indrajit cannot defeat the army, surely Ravana will lead an attack. I will return to my post, but I fear the worst for this war and our king.

Author's Note:

I felt that the best way to show this chain of events was to tell the story using one of the sentries. By doing this I was able to use the sentry's thoughts, as well as dialogue from other characters such as Sita, Trijata and Ravana. In the original story Trijata and Sita simply see Hanuman carrying Medicine Hill, and when Ravana wakes up one of the sentries tells him that Rama is alive. There is no dialogue between Ravana and the sentry, and no reaction from Ravana. I used this opportunity to fill it in with my own idea of what could have happened. Ravana seems like one who doesn't become visibly angry, but instead internalizes and simply acts irrationally, but in a seemingly calm manner. His silence when the sentry reports the news is very important because it shows that Ravana is simply taking it in, and is so angry inside that he cannot say a word. He resorts to action, and immediately dons his armor to go kill Rama himself. Obviously in Buck's Ramayana, first Indrajit attacks again, so I had to use the sentry to speak some sense into Ravana. Surely the Rakshasas wouldn't want their king to go into a fight in which they had lost so many great warriors, so I used the sentry as a voice of the Rakshasas. He then convinces Ravana to go to Indrajit once more rather than attack Rama himself.

Bibliography:

1) Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way.

Week 6 Reading Diary B: Ravana's Army

Week 6 Reading Diary B: Ravana's Army

The first part of the reading was about the animals building a giant bridge over the sea (page 270). This part wasn't exceptionally exciting to me, but it was great to see all the animals working hard to accomplish the impossible! I found it rather odd that Nala's special skill is to make rocks float on water! That seemed pretty random, but it turned out to be useful! After Rama and the animals reached Lanka is when I truly began enjoying the story (page 283). 

The battles between the animals and several powerful Rakshasa were intense and dragged me right into the story. My personal favorite were the encounters with Indrajit. I was impressed by Indrajit's skill as a warrior and illusionist. He summoned all the boons that Brahma promised him, which I thought were awesome: a dazzling chariot pulled by four tigers, an intricate war car, and a bow an quiver with special arrows. Indrajit had quite the arsenal at his disposal, and I was wondering how he could possibly lose! It turns out he didn't. He managed to kill nearly all the heroes of the story: Rama, Lakshmana, Nala, Angada, Sugriva, and Vibhishana (pages 310-311). This certainly didn't happen in Narayan's retelling of the story! I was really curious how things would turn out considering most of the main characters were killed, but Hanuman remained. Hanuman ended up using medicine from a hill and reviving all of the fallen soldiers, which led to a second battle with Indrajit since Rama was once again alive.

Indrajit using the boons from Brahma

The second battle with Indrajit is much less intense and I was actually a little sad to see him slain after the conversation he had with Ravana before. Indrajit knew it was a poor idea and that the odds were against him. Since Rama was brought back from the dead he knew that Dharma was on Rama's side and there could be no victory over him. After realizing he couldn't speak any sense into Ravana he ended up going off to his death. His honorable devotion to his evil brother caused his end, and the Rakshasa lost their most powerful warrior. Vibhishana revealed Indrajit in the midst of his illusions and Lakshmana battled him eventually killing him. Ravana wept at the loss of his son, and decided that he would go to war himself. I can't wait to hear Buck's retelling of the battle between Rama and Ravana! Narayan was detailed in his retelling of that battle, but so far I have enjoyed Buck's retelling overall and have high expectations for this battle!

Week 6 Reading Diary A: Hanuman Invades Lanka

Week 6 Reading Diary A: Hanuman Invades Lanka

The first major event that happens in this reading is Hanuman's group finally discovers the location of Sita (page 219). This happened because Sampati overheard them talking about Jatayu and wanted to know what happened. Sampati was angry that Ravana had killed his brother, and disclosed that Sita was being held captive in Lanka. The group fed Sampati and his wings grew back, but for some reason he didn't fly off to attack Ravana! I really wish he did because Jatayu came very close to killing him, and Sampati would likely have been able to.

My favorite event leading up to Sita's discovery in Lanka is Hanuman leaping across the 100 leagues of ocean. The description of Hanuman's initial leap is incredible. He uproots plants with the force of the jump. As he soars through the air he was like a comet, and the air around Hanuman became electric! Many interesting things happened in the process of the leap, including a mountain rising up from the sea half way across the ocean for Hanuman to rest upon. It was certainly odd to think about mountains having wings! Then as Hanuman neared Lanka the Rakshasa Sinhika came out of the water and attempted to stop him. Sinhika opened her mouth wide, but Hanuman shrank down and flew inside of Sinhika. He crushed her heart, killing her and continued into Lanka.

Hanuman's Leap

Once Hanuman is in Lanka he causes quite a bit of mischief. He found Sita, and had to go tell Rama but couldn't leave with out destroying some of Lanka. While this may have been immature on his part, Ravana certainly deserved it! Hanuman ended up getting captured by Indrajit, and Ravana has his tail set on fire. Hanuman then escapes from his captors and uses the fire on his tail to set fire to Lanka as he runs away. What a clever plan that was!

Hanuman burning Lanka with his tail

My favorite character in this reading was certainly Hanuman. Not only was he the focus of this section of the Ramayana, but he exhibits a great power that he didn't even know he possessed. He leapt over 100 leagues of sea, destroyed a powerful Rakshasi and took down most of Lanka! Although he showed signs of immaturity, and overconfidence in his abilities I think overall he possesses the characteristics of a great leader and warrior. It's a shame that he isn't the leader of the monkeys!