Week 2 Storytelling: Rama The Brave Warrior

There once was a two-headed dragon named Vishvam who lived in a kingdom called Shamballa. Vishvam had to endure several quarrels throughout his life to prove himself and remain in high power in his kingdom. There was only one higher than him and that was the grand Dragon Dasharatha. Vishvam had heard from the kingdom folks that his arch enemy, Zinyak was sending two of his best fighters to rip him from his throne. Zinyak appears in numerous forms, such as monsters and phantoms, or in his human form. Zinyak and his two hellions had caused Vishvam trouble before, but they had trained strenuously for the upcoming battle and Vishvam knew that he could not endure this battle alone. Therefore, he must get the help of Dasharatha to defeat the evil enemies.

Quietly enjoying his evening, Dasharatha was just about to call it a night when a loud chatter followed by a loud knock at the castle door made him stop in his tracks. Dasharatha flew over, and sputtered “Who would it be”? Looking through the tiny hole in the castle door, Dasharatha could see that it was the great Vishvam, but what could be so urgent at this time of night? After a brief conversation, Dasharatha knew that this could not be avoided. Vishvam was about to have the fight of his life and knew that without his son, Rama, Vishvam stood no chance in beating Zinyak. As much as it saddened Dasharatha, he gave permission for Rama and his other son, Lakshmana to escort Vishvam to the fight. Vishvam felt like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders and assured Dasharatha that he would protect his two sons and would return with a victory. Off they went, deep into the forest, with chains and swords in hand. Vishvam was right, that was harder than any other battle he had fought in, and after ten long days, they had finally defeated the likings of Zinyak. After resting to regain their strength for a couple of days they could return to Shamballa and give Dasharatha the great news.

Meanwhile, back in the kingdom, the worst had happened. The fierce leader Dasharatha had grown very ill and none of the old remedies that had been used for many of years were working to rid him of this unknown disease. It was not long before Dasharatha had fallen victim and passed away without his beloved sons by his side. Word was quickly travelling from kingdom to kingdom and finally made its way to Dasharatha’s long lost son Bharata. Even though there was still bad blood between the two, Bharata knew that he must go pay respect to his father.

Upon arriving in Siddhashrama, Bharata was informed that his brothers had left for battle with Vishvam and had not yet returned. And it was for this reason that Bharata would not only hold all of the power but he would have to put his father to rest. This was devastating for Bharata, as he knew that he did not deserve this power, he had betrayed his father when he left years ago. He had no choice though. Bharata carried out his duties and then dared the forest alone to find his brothers, tell them the horrific news, and urge them to come back to the kingdom. Bharata knew that it was only fair for the eldest and most knowledgeable brother, Rama to take the place of his father and reign in power. The people of the kingdom were on their knees, praying to the gods. Dasharatha’s wives yowled with tears flowing down her face and would continue to do so for the next 10 days.

Bharata had left the kingdom and was making his way to the forest to find his brothers and Vishvam. He went from tree to tree, valley to valley, searching when he stumbled upon the forest monsters known as deathclaws. These dinosaur-like creatures can appear out of nowhere and jump on you, sucking your blood. Luckily Bharata was quick on his feet and slayed these creepy creatures with his fire powers, scorching them to death. Two days passed and there was still no sign of his brothers. He prayed to queen Ghoma, the spirit god for guidance and strength – asking her to show him the way to his brothers. She appeared to him in a cave and steered him on the correct path. He soon found his brothers in a deserted swamp and broke the bad news to them.

They made their way back in a hurry and Rama would have to go through great lengths and rituals to take over the power and reign over the kingdom. When Rama arrived back in Shamballa, the folks cheered and he was greeted by Chopra, his father’s counselor. It was Chopra that would make Rama swear to the oath of protecting the town’s people. The cheers humbled Rama, as he was the chosen one. He swore that he would exert all of his efforts to make sure that the wicked witch, known as Daedra would pay for what she had done…..poisoned his father.

         Rama and Lakshama shooting the evil raksha. Source; Junglekey

Author's note: I based my story off of the Indian Epics, Ramayana Public Domain Edition. More specifically, I focused on the story of Vishvamitra and Rhama and Bharata.  In the original stories, Vishvamitra went to king Dasharata to ask for his sons' help in defeating rakshas. The story of  Rhama and Bharata focus on Bharata finding out that his father passed away and he had to find his brother to perform the funeral services for their father. The plot in the story is the same, but I decided to change a few things in order to give it a twist. Some of the character's names also got changed to make it a bit more interesting. A few of the character names are based off of video games. 

Bibliography: Ramayana Public Domain Edition