Week 13 Story: 100 Word Story

Satyabrata's Pleasure 

 "Mom, how come we never get to eat meat?"said Satyabrata. His mother replied, "I can barely afford to feed you vegetables, how am I supposed to get meat?"

Satyabrata took matters into his own hands. He went out and killed a goose to eat.

Later, the King's army came looking for the missing goose. Angered, the King had Satyabrata arrested.

Satyabrata wondered what food they would serve him in prison. Goose, chicken, maybe lamb? He thought prison might not be too bad after all. The prison food was not that bad after all. 

"I like it here" said Satyabrata happily. 

Gander 

Author's Note - I based this story on the Sacred Tales of India story titled "The Gander Eater" where Satyabrata desires meat but his widowed mother cannot afford it. He goes out and kills a gander, or a goose, and the King comes looking for him. In the story he is imprisoned and eventually is freed by his mothers prayers to the goddess Subachami. He is freed from prison and is then married to the king's daughter to live a life of wealth. In my story, since I only had 100 words, I changed it to where Satyabrata was happy in prison because they fed him meat, something he always wanted. I also thought to have him stay in prison because he was unhappy with his mother for being unable to afford meat. 

Bibliography - The Gander Eater

Week 11 Story: Kamsa Microfiction

Kamsa the widely hated king woke from his slumber to a voice calling him from the sky. It was a voice he did not recognize, but he could tell it was holy. 

The voice called out, "The eighth son of Devaki will bring upon your demise. Tread lightly."

The son was Krishna.

Kamsa at once commanded his army to imprison his cousin Devaki, monitoring each birth closely. The King slept in fear that one day a baby would be the one to dethrone him. He was so worried that he fled the town and resigned as king, in the end he did not want to bring pain upon his cousin by killing her child. He was a misunderstood king, one who had compassion for others. 

Kamsa being attacked by Krishna 

Bibliography - Krishna Epified

Author's Note: I did a small microfiction and retold the story of Kamsa finding out that his nephew would be the one to kill him. In the original story, when Devaki gets married, a voice from the sky tells Kamsa that her eighth son would be the one to kill him. This leads Kamsa to imprison his cousin and have guards monitor each of her births. He kills all of Devaki's children as he does not want to take any chances at being killed. The eighth son however, gets away. Kamsa is also perceived as a bad King and everyone wants to get rid of him. In my story, I portray Kamsa as a misunderstood and compassionate King, who does not want to harm his cousin by killing her son. He instead escapes into the forest for hiding. 

Week 9 Story: Dhritarashtra's Vision

Vyasa entered the room and Ambika immediately shot him looks of disgust and remorse. His hair was in knots and he was covered in dirt, his odor could be detected from miles away. Ambika was not looking forward to having a child with Vyasa, so when he took her in his arms, she closed her eyes and plucked her nose. 

Ambika called out, "Vyasa, I cannot look at you nor can I smell you, your utter presence is making me nauseous, let alone your horrid appearance." 

Ambika closed her eyes and and Vyasa told her that their child will be born blind. Ambika could not bear opening her eyes to see the sickening view of Vyasa, so she continued with them closed.

Their son was born blind just as Vyasa had predicted. The son's name was Dhritarashtra. Dhritarashtra later wondered why he was blind, and his mother told him that his father was so unbearably ugly, that she was forced to close her eyes while he was being conceived. Dhritarashtra was upset, as he became self conscious about his own appearance. He feared kids in school would bully him for looking as ugly as his father. Dhritarashtra grew angry with his mother and blamed her for all of his life struggles. For being blind, for not knowing what he looks like, for being bullied in school, everything. 

Later on in life Dhritarashtra became the King of Hastinapur. He hated his mother so much, he decided to banish her from the kingdom. He believed that finally he could get rid of his mother Ambika and punish her for all his hardships. 

Ambika had left Hastinapur deeply saddened. She ran far away where nobody could ever find her again. Never was she seen by another human.

A few days later, a friend of Dhritarashtra named Raj asked him, "Why would you banish your mother?"

Dhritarashtra replied, "She was responsible for all my struggles. She was the reason I was blind."

Raj replied, "You understand she went blind for you too, right? She had her eyes poked with needles to destroy her vision. She did it because she loved you. How could you do this?"

Dhritarashtra, unaware that his mother sacrificed his vision to be like him, was struck with everlasting guilt. He looked far and wide for his mother, but she was nowhere to be found. Dhritarashtra lived the rest of his life in pain and regret about how he had treated his loving mother. 

Dhritarashtra

Bibliography - Mahabharata Episode 7 by Epified

Authors Note: I took inspiration from the Mahabharata Episode 7 where Dhritarashtra is born to Vyasa and Ambika. He is born blind because his mother did not want to look at his father, Vyasa. The ugliness of Vyasa was too much to handle. I tried to retell that story in this piece while adding my own twist at the end. In the original story, Dhritarashtra is aware that his mother has sacrificed her vision for him, but in my retell he is unaware. I believe that it was necessary for bringing a neat twist to the story. 

Week 7 Story: Kubera's Tale

The Pandavas then departed for their exile to the Himalayas, a land filled with beauty from the mountain tops down to the valleys, overflowing with life and prosperity. When trying to find a place to rest for the night, they came across an enormous palace covered in gold and jewels that erupted in the middle of two mountains like a hot volcano. The brothers decided to knock on the door, and met the being who lived there - a man by the name of Kubera.

Kubera showed them around the palace ridden with the most expensive and rare jewelry they had ever seen, and offered the Pandava brothers a place to stay. 

He asked the brothers, "For why is it you all have come across this desolate land where nobody has visited in centuries? Not even the Sherpa's that work on Everest stop by to say hello."

The brothers told him the story of their exile, and then asked about Kubera's own history.

Kubera went on to tell them about his life and how it led to where it did.

"It all began when I was born. My father had two wives, one happened to be my mother, but the other woman happened to be the mother to the well-known demon named Ravana. Ravana was a demon and did no good in this world, always causing trouble and ruining lives. He attempted to steal Rama's wife, Sita. A foul act, something nobody could ever imagine doing."

"Ravana and I used to be friends when we were younger, but our mothers having fought over the love of our father had developed a disliking for each other. Ravana's mother and my mother were never happy to see us hanging out with each other, and my mother would often remind me that he is a demon. She told me I should not surround myself with his company, as it can only lead to bad things. Later on I became the King of Lanka, ruling the lands far and wide. A truly beloved ruler. Ravana's mother told Ravana that Gods and demons should never be hanging out together, and that Ravana needed to do something to prove his status."

"Ravana then departed to the forest to pray to Brahma, seeking the throne of Lanka in hopes to overthrow me. I personally do not believe that Ravana wanted this, and it pains me to see my friend and half-brother wish on my demise, but he was being persuaded by his ravaging mother. Brahma, after hearing Ravana's prayers, sent demons to fight me off and take me far away from Lanka. A group of demons came and defeated me, dropping me far away north in the Himalayas. Ravana was now the ruler of Lanka, and I had been exiled from the lands by the commands of Ravana's mother. I then built this palace in these mountains and have resided here ever since, not a soul knows that I am here now, other than you brothers."

The Pandava brothers were in shock of Kubera's life story and how his own half brother could betray him. 

The brothers asked Kubera, "That's cool...but why do you have such a large palace filled with rich jewels and coated in layers of gold if you are the only one here, and why are you considered the God of Wealth?"

Kubera answered, "Oh.....I just have really expensive taste."

Then Kubera along with the Pandava brothers lived happily ever after.

The Himalayas

Author's Note: My story is based on the Mahabharata story titled "The Himalayas" where the Pandava brothers are leaving for exile and come across Kubera. In the original story, the brothers do not spend time talking about Kubera and his origins on how he is the God of Wealth. They merely mention him and then continue on with the story. I wanted my story to focus more on the story of Kubera and his origins as I believe his relation to Ravana is important in the bigger picture. I was also just fascinated with Kubera and wished to know more about him, so writing this story allowed me to do further research on him and his life. Some parts of the story have been adjusted slightly, but a majority of his life's story is accurate. 

Bibliography - PDE Mahabharata - The Himalayas

Week 5 Story

The rakshasa sat there questioning if they should really do what they needed to do. They feared the mighty Kumbhakarna, as he was one hundred times their size. He had the capabilities of eating an entire village's people, their animals, their food, and their food's food. And it would only serve as an appetizer to his ferocious self. They sat there questioning if this was the right idea and all they could think about was his rage and anger, more importantly his desire to eat. 

"go and wake thee, before Rama kills us!" 

So a rakshasa went. 

"Wake up! Wake up! Rama is coming to kill us and we need your help!"

Kumbhakarna did not budge. The roar of a hundred lions could not wake him. The only thing to wake the giant was the smell of his favorite food, goat stew. 

The rakshasa went and told the tribe he would not wake.

"He will not budge! We need goat stew, his favorite food!"

Unfortunately in the town there was a shortage of goats, as they had all migrated due to changes in the climate. There was no other option but to create a fake stew, and let the aroma wake the beast. 

"Go make stew of some other animal, bear, deer, I don't know! Otherwise Rama will turn us to stew!" cried one rakshasa. 

"Let's just create deer stew and have the spirit turn its smell to goat. We have no other options." 

And so they did. 

The rakshasa went to wake the mighty beast, a barrel of his "favorite" stew propped up on his back. Kumbhakarna immediately woke to the aroma. 

"Ah you have woken me from my slumber with my favorite food, you know I do not enjoy being awake, but for this I will never mind."

The rakshasha was filled with fear that the beast would know it was all an illusion. His suspicions were correct, the beast in fact knew. The rakshasa informed him of Rama's intention to destroy the village, and how his mighty powers were needed to combat him and his army. He told the rakshasa to gather his army and meet him on the other side of the river. 

The entire village, loaded up with armor and weapons to fight Rama met with Kumbhakarna at the river and found him sitting at a massive table, one only a giant could sit on. Kumbhakarna called out to the people, "Play with my food, and I play with you. You all have come here to die."

Kumbhakarna sprinkled salt all over the villagers and they had nowhere to run. He grabbed all of them and placed them in a giant pot. From the river he got water and added it to the bowl, lighting a fire beneath the pot letting it boil. 

"Deceieve me with my favorite stew, and you will end up as stew yourselves. Never play with a hungry man, especially if you do not plan to feed him. You all tried to take advantage of me, thinking I was a fat hungry fool! Alas! No goat stew, but rakshasa stew will do!" 

And with that the villagers cried out for help, burning one by one in the pot. Never again did anyone mess with the Kumbhakarna. 

The mighty Kumbhakarna 

Bibliography - Kumbhakarna from PDE Ramayana 

Authors note - I wrote this story based on the story of Kumbhakarna, as I was fascinated at how he was such a large being and how all that went through his mind was to satisfy his belly. The Kumbhakarna was actually said to be a smart being, so he tricked the rakshasa into thinking he did not know the stew was fake and lured them over to his dinner table. The Ramayana that we read did not focus too much on Kumbhakarna and he interested me more than any other character, so i decided to write a little extra story on him. 

 

Week 3 Story

 The avatar ran aggressively deep through the dense and thick forest, chasing after the cursed demon who posed a threat on his wife. 

"Thee won't receiveth her o'er mine own dead corse!" the avatar called chasing the demon. The demon had run down to the river waiting for the avatar to arrive so he could kill him.

"Thee doth not standeth a chance 'gainst me, thy existence is a disgrace and thou art not fit to beest a king.  Cometh h're to kicketh the bucket!" called the demon, holding three large spears and a mouth full of fire.

The avatar attacked the demon from behind, propeling the two into the flowing river. The demon's fire was extinguished but he was still stronger than the avatar. The avatar stole a spear from the demon and attempted to lodge it into it's heart. A demonic spirit came sweeping through, taking the spear out of the avatar's hand and picked up him in mid air right above the water. 

"Thy fath'r hadst curs'd us, that gent wast a filthy sir! anon i planeth to killeth thee since i wast unable to killeth that gent!" 

The people of the forest had been cursed by Dhasharatha previously for attacking an innocent boy for trespassing onto their lands, in seek of divine medicine. The curse had stayed with them for centuries.

The avatar's companions had come and distracted the spirit, releasing him back into the water with the demon. He had landed right on the demon's head, stole his spear, leaped up into the air with the spear pointing down and came right down through the center of it's skull, his body passed down through the river bank. The spirit was now on a mission to abduct his wife, so he faked the avatars voice and cried for help.

"Help me! help me please for i am in grave danger!"

The avatar's wife heard his plea for help and her heart sank. 

"I am coming f'r thee my love! Stay putteth!"

And with that she set out into the hands of the cursed spirit.

The Rakshasa or Demon 

Authors Note: The story I retold was The Chase from the PDE Ramayana. The avatar in the story was Rama, the demon was Rakshasa, and the wife was Sita. The story focuses on the fight between the demon and Rama, and results in a holy spirit trying to lure in Sita in the hopes of punishing Rama by taking away his love.  

Bibliography: PDE Ramayana, The Chase

Week 2 Story: The Malnourished Forest

My Portfolio  

Deep in the dense forest there lived a community of the most respected grasshoppers, beings that were widely respected all across the lands far and wide. The grasshoppers had been there for centuries, far before any other animal had lived there. Being veterans of the forest, they had become friends with all other species that resided there. One day an intense storm hit just above the forest, leaving many animals displaced with some of them arriving in the forest, a peculiar place for any foreign species. Of the displaced animals, one was a colony of green tree frogs. In their previous habitat, they were the most feared species, partly due to the fact that they were such talented hunters, using their green bodies to hide within the depths of trees and shrubbery. The frogs came into the forest, and encountered a family of pythons. Initially worried that they would be swallowed up, they decided that they first should try to befriend them.

The leader of the frogs, Jeffrey, called out to the pythons, “Hey! My colony and I are new here, I’m Jeffrey, do you mind showing us around?” To his surprise, the python called out “Welcome to the forest Jeffrey and friends! It would be an honor!” The python showed them around, but when Jeffrey laid eyes on the grasshoppers, he felt a rush of excitement knowing that he and his colony would be eating good tonight. The grasshoppers had heard tales of these frogs and how their favorite meals were grasshoppers, but they thought “surely these frogs will respect us just as every other predator in this forest.” Jeffrey called out to the grasshoppers, “Hey! So nice to meet you, I have heard many things about this beautiful forest.” The grasshopper called back, “Welcome! We hope you find comfort in our beautiful forest.” As the night went on, the python was becoming seemingly hungry. The python pulled his friend, the leader of the grasshoppers aside, “I am getting hungry, and I do not believe the colony of frogs has good intentions for you and your people.” The grasshopper replied, “I hope you are not planning to eat those frogs, my friend. We have become so respected in this forest, do you know how? Because we respect every creature that we come across, predator or not, our kindness for them blinds them from their hunger.” The python and the grasshopper carried on. At dusk, the Jeffrey informed his colony of his plans to murder and eat the grasshoppers for dinner. The colony of frogs was taken back, shocked with Jeffrey’s intentions, especially after how kind the grasshoppers had been thus far. The rest of the frogs did not tell Jeffrey they were against his plan, but everyone in the colony had felt the same way. But Jeffrey was overcome with hunger. The colony had set out to go to the house where the grasshoppers had resided, but a couple of the frogs had snuck out before departure and informed the grasshoppers of Jeffrey’s intentions. Jeffrey and the frogs had reached the estate, and Jeffrey was keen to eat the leader of the grasshoppers that had shown him such a pleasant time earlier in the day. Jeffrey asked to speak to the leader, and the younger grasshoppers had told him to head up into his secluded home above the leaves of the tree. As the other frogs had not agreed to take part in such evils and eat the grasshoppers, they stayed down on the ground. He exclaims “Grasshopper, I came to tell you how beautiful your forest is, thank you for showing my colony and I the warmest welcome!” he replied, “you are very welcome Jeffrey, the whole forest is excited to have you here.” The grasshopper had noticed that Jeffrey was inching closer with every word. The grasshopper had known Jeffrey was getting ready to eat him, so he exclaimed, “I heard you were hungry!” Jeffrey, now confused replies “ah yes, I had just come to ask you what the best restaurant in the forest was” still inching closer and closer. The grasshopper, “oh Jeffrey, I was not speaking to you, you don’t need to worry about that anymore.” Behind Jeffrey in the room was the hungry python, his mouth watering at the sight of a delightful and tasty grasshopper. “That is right, I am!” exclaimed the Python. With a blink of an eye, Jeffrey was in the stomach of the python, shredded into pieces. The grasshopper said, “stupid frog, never trust an animal who cannot control his stomach, let alone his mind.”

Authors note: The story is based on one written by W.H.D Rouse, with some various differences. 

Bibliography: The Giant Crab - W.H.D Rouse

Green Tree Frog