Rama, Lakshmana and Sita continued their journey deep into the forest when they ran into a gorgeous woman named Shurpanakha, sister to the King of Lanka. Thus far Rama has been a very noble and loyal friend, son, brother and most importantly, husband. Shurpanakha approached the trio and introduced herself. Immediately, Rama was taken back. He only ever thought he could have eyes for Sita but for some reason he felt drawn to the strange woman. Rama, his wife and brother decided they would set up camp for a little bit where Shurpanakha was staying as they felt safe there. That night Sita went to sleep early while her husband and brother-in-law stayed up by the fire with their new friend. Lakshmana noticed very quickly that his brother found interest in Shurpanakha and warned him to stick to his good character. Lakshmana became worried and went to wake Sita to tell her what he had observed. Not happy at all by this, Sita marched over to the fire, grabbed her husbands bow and struck Shurpanakha! Rama was furious! Why would his wife do such a thing? As Rama stood to confront his wife he felt this power come over him. He no longer wanted to get mad at Sita, the spell had worn off. As Shurpanakha dissolved into the floor of the forest the three all looked at one another as they realized the spell the woman had put on Rama. Rama thanked and apologized to Sita and his brother for being so foolish. The three packed up in the middle of the night and continued on ward into the forest.
Author's Note: After reading the story on how Shurpanakha fell in love with Rama and became furious when he denied her, I decided to take that and make it my own. In my version Shurpanakha puts a spell on Rama when she first sees him with his wife and brother. Rama starts to fall in love with new woman. Sita never having to deal with a husband who had wondering eyes was blind to her husbands new found feelings. She would later become aware of the situation by Lakshmana and fix it the only way she knew how, kill Shurpanakha. After doing so the three realized that the stranger had put this spell on Rama and continued on with their journey.
Source: Ramayana PDE
As I started reading your story I was like no! Because thus far I like the story of Rama and Sita, though I think she’s slightly stupid. Then it was revealed that it was a spell cast and I loved it! I think it gave the story more of backbone. It wasn’t just “oh here’s this other woman that’s not going to catch my attention,” but there’s was some conflict there.
ReplyDeleteLike Aleshia, I liked your twist on the original story. It would have been great if you had let us spend a little longer in your alternative scenario though and fleshed it out a little further -- I wanted more! (Also, it's a bit technical, but I always prefer to read text that's been broken out with paragraph breaks, regardless of length. It adds visual appeal, I think, and can also serve as a great artistic tool for controlling rhythm, pacing and flow.)
ReplyDeleteHi Madison!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your take on the scene with Rama and Shurpanakha! It kind of reminds me of a classic love spell story, and, for some reason, also reminds me of something Hermoine would do for Harry or Ron from Harry Potter. The only comment I have would be that, even though the focus of the story included Shurpanakha, there is not much action or dialogue from her, besides the part where she introduces herself. I think if you add a little bit more of action for her, then the audience can get a better understanding of her alluring facade.
Madison,
ReplyDeleteYour story was great because it provided so much suspense! I wanted there to be more. I ponder why it is, that although Rama supposedly said to have eyes on only Sita, is allured by the mysterious Shurpanakha? What does she possess that makes her irresistible compared to Sita or any other woman? Additionally, if Rama's liking for Shurpanakha was so strong, but he loved Sita, why did he choose to put himself in a predicament that would knowingly jeopardize his relationship with Sita? I think him sitting by the campfire with her, without his wife, was a step in the wrong direction. I was very wowed by the part where Sita is informed of the feelings between Rama and Shurpanaka, and takes actions into her own hands. This leads me to question Lakshmana's true intentions. Was it really his place to talk to Sita about his concerns regarding Rama? Would you say he overstepped boundaries, or was it his duty? Lastly, was it worth the bloodshed of Shurpanaha? I cannot wait to read more of your stories, Madison!
Madison,
ReplyDeleteAs "Rama" I am grateful for your explanation in your story of what really happened. I was so confused whenever I was put under Shurpanakha's spell, but your telling of the story did a great job of explaining how I was powerless in that situation. I had no idea what was going on. I appreciated how you were able to change up the original story and make it more interesting. It was such a fun twist and I liked how "my" character isnt ruined by falling in love with some random, but you show that it was actually just a spell and not my fault. Of course, I really like the happy ending in this story. Sita is not angry with me for my spell-bound feelings for Shurpanakha and Lakshmana understands what happened as well. I am happy that we were able to defeat Shurpanakha and move on. Great job!
Hi Madison,
ReplyDeleteThis was such a clever and unique twist to the original story. It reminded me of mythology stories of sirens putting a spell on men to make them fall in love with them and stray awat from their good morals and character. I loved the way that you told the story because as an audience we didn't realize that Rama was under a spell until he was out of it. You did a really good job with this one!