Week 5 Storytelling: Bharata Returns

The night was dark and the moon was bright as ever. Bharata was asleep at his grandfather's house peacefully until...

"Ahh!" Bharata screamed and woke up from his dream panting and sweating.
"What's wrong, my grandson?" said Bharata's grandfather Ashwapati.
"Oh grandfather, I had a terrible dream that someone died and I can't see who it was," said Bharata.

Ashwapati tried to comfort Bharata by telling him it was just a dream and that everything would be okay. However, Bharata could not sleep. His face was pale and damp with sweat. The nightmare was horrible. How could he go back to sleep? Suddenly, Shatrughna opened the door and his eyes looked beyond frightened.

"My dear brother! Someone has died but I do not know who! We must head back to Ayodhya now," said Shatrughna.

Obediently, Bharata packed all his belongings and so did Shatrughna and as they bid their grandfather goodbye, they were in a hurry to find out what had happened in Ayodhya. As they saw the city approaching, the brothers stepped off their horses and looked at the grand palace. Kaikeyi was sitting by the window and ran to her sons.

"Bharata! Dasaratha is dead and Rama is in exile," said Kaikeyi. She explained everything to her son and how she used her two wishes to make Bharata king. Rama had been banished for no crime he had done. Bharata was outraged by his mother's actions. "How could she be so manipulative?" he thought. "She wanted me to be king that bad she was willing to get rid of Rama and cause the king's death?!" he thought once more. "Okay, maybe she did not cause the king's death on purpose but Rama's exile and my father dead?! Her wishes have caused this to happen!" Bharata thought to himself. He knew that Rama was not her son and all she wanted were good things for Bharata, but how could she send Rama in exile? He had done nothing to her.

Bharata had always thought of his mother as a kind and gentle woman. He had praised her and admired her caring ways but this situation was different. Bharata had changed the way he looked at her. "This was exactly like my dream. My mother had used her two wishes and sent Rama into exile! I heard my father scream!" Bharata recalled from his nightmare.

However, Kaikeyi was still his mother and deep down Bharata really cared about her. His mother had always been there for him since he was a young boy. His father Dasaratha had too many wives and occupied his time with women and his throne. Bharata and Dasaratha did not have a connection like how he was with his mother.



Bharata watched his mother as she explained all the horrible deeds just so she could make him king. Bharata thought, "I cannot believe how evil she is! But did she do this all for me? All she wanted was for me to become king and have good fortune, but why did she have to do it in such an evil way?" he said. His mother was a kind woman and very caring to Shatrughna and Bharata. So what had gotten into her? He could never look at his mother the same way again. She had done him wrong and was not apologetic. She did not even acknowledge her responsibility for the king's death or regret what she had done. Maybe his father had done something wrong in the past and it resulted in karma. This was his father's punishment. Kaikeyi will soon get her karma too. She was selfish and wanted Bharata to become king instead of Rama. His mother would get her punishment. Now Vasishtha, the God of Brahma wanted Bharata to be king until Rama returned... He agreed but only for the sake of Rama and not his mother's wish. Bharata's dream came true... his father was dead and Rama's exile had caused everyone grief and chaos. He was disappointed in his mother's actions but it was too late to change back time. Now Bharata had to step up to the plate and become king until Rama comes back.

Rama and Bharata: (WikiSource) Bharata

Author's Note:
I decided to make a story about Bharata's return from his grandfather's house. I wanted to make the story in his own perspective by showing how outraged he was by his mother's actions. He could not believe his mother would be the reason for his father's death even though she would not admit to it. She basically tore the family apart and sent his stepbrother Rama to exile. Her selfish motives were to make her own son king. All she wanted was happiness for Bharata but she did not think of the results. Kaikeyi even explained her motives to Bharata but he could not accept the truth. I wanted to emphasize how in disbelief Bharata was because he always thought of his mother as a kind woman. He did not know she was so manipulative and sneaky just to make everything right for her. Most importantly, I added the fact that Bharata did not really want to be king and that the people of Ayodhya knew the crown was rightfully Rama's. However, due to Rama being in exile, Bharata had to step up and be king until his brother returned. I added the detail of how Bharata agreed to become king not because he wanted to but because Vasishtha, the priest told him to. Bharata had to think for the good of his people. I also wanted to emphasize the disappointment he had for his mother. He is uncertain of forgiving her even though Kaikeyi is his mother. Bharata respected Rama and so I focused on how Bharata agreed to become king until Rama returned towards the end of the story.

Bibliography: William Buck's Ramayana 1976

Week 5 Reading Diary B: Continuation of Buck's Ramayana

p. 162-218

This is probably the most exciting part of the book and such a cliff hanger after reading the last section of Hanuman. The chapter began with Maricha disguising as a deer to help Ravana capture Sita. I felt like Maricha was being manipulated by Ravana because his intentions were to leave Rama and Sita alone but Ravana would not listen. So then Ravana ends up capturing Sita by disguising as an old man. I thought it was really intriguing when Buck described the reason why Ravana didn't rape Sita. He was known to be a rapist and Buck added significant details of the reason why Ravana couldn't rape women anymore, it was because he was cursed and if he were to rape, one of his heads will fall off. So Ravana had to kidnap her instead.

Another interesting part of the book is the introduction of Hanuman and his birth. Hanuman was the son of Anjana but she abandoned her baby. I thought it was so adorable that Hanuman saw the sun thinking it was a mango and wanted to eat it. Does he only eats mangoes?

The death of Vali was a dramatic scene, when Rama stroke his arrow at Vali, his poor wife Tara couldn't bear watching her husband die and killed herself. I felt like in the book Ramayana, a lot of these women really love their husbands. Kausayla and now Tara, watching their husband die was really dramatic and painful for them. I feel bad for these women and especially Sita which I said several times throughout my reading diaries.

So then the story goes on finding Sita and trying to rescue her. Rama gives Hanuman a ring as a token to give to Sita when he finds her. I thought that part was really significant because the ring symbolizes the bond between Rama and Sita. The ring will let Sita know that Rama is safe and here to find her.

Rama gives Hanuman the ring: Hanuman accepts ring

Week 5 Reading Diary A : Continuation of Buck's Ramayana

p. 110- 161

The chapter starts off with Bharata returns and found out what his mother Kaikeyi had done in order for him to be the successor. Kausayla found out that King Dasaratha is dead and the news began to spread. Rama refuses to go back to Ayodha until his exile is over and Bharata agreed to rule until Rama's exile is done.

The story goes on with Rama's journey and how Shurpanakha (Ravana's sister) wants to marry Rama but he rejected her. I find it pretty disturbing that Laskashama had to mutilate her because she tried to attack Sita. I guess karma happens to those who are jealous. So after her being mutilated, she runs off and tell Lanka who then grabbed the demon army to attack Rama and Laskashama, which they ended up defeating. It's kind of strange that Shurpanakha told Ravana that Sita was the most beautiful woman and that is what urged Ravana to abduct her. I am not a big fan of Shurpanakha in this part of the book. She is kind of a snitch for telling Ravana what happened and is full of jealousy because she couldn't get Rama's attention. I could see why Ravana and Shurpanakha are siblings, they both want something they can't have and use force to obtain it. Poor Sita, she has done nothing so far in the story and gets attacked and abducted by people.

Shurpanakha trying to attack Sita: Shurpanakha