Storytelling, Week 6: Krushka

There once was a demon warrior named Krushka who served under the evil demon king Ravana. The warrior was one of Ravana’s most trusted soldiers and friend. There was a great battle going on because Ravana had stolen a man named Rama’s beautiful wife. Rama was a prince and a reincarnation of the God Vishnu. He had pure intentions and was loved and followed by many, but not welcomed in the kingdom of Lanka. Once Ravana’s son had seemingly killed the greatest threat to Ravana and the whole demon blood line, Ravana was able to let loose. After the defeat of Rama, Ravana celebrated with all the warriors of his kingdom and drank and drank until he passed out into a deep slumber for three days. During the second day of King Ravana’s rest, Krushka woke up from his own drunken sleep.  He bathed in the blood of the fallen and then left the palace to find some rodents to eat. After his breakfast Krushka went to fetch the body of Rama since Indrajit did not want to give any respect to this human he had slain. Indrajit expected Rama’s body to rot on the hill outside of Lanka so his bones would serve as a warning to not mess with any demons, for they cannot be defeated. Krushka had other plans for Rama’s body though. He wanted to bring it to Ravana so he could cast it into the sky and hang above the city like a trophy and a reminder to all that the demons defeated by Rama did not die in vain. When he arrived to the site of Rama’s body, Krushka could not find it. He saw the arrows that were still wet with blood but no sign of the trophy he intended to wake Ravana with. Krushka was confused and started to walk back to the city when he caught sight of Rama and Hanuman talking to one another a couple leagues from where he stood. Krushka hurried back to the city and told all his fellow warriors of Rama’s life being restored and to leave their celebrations behind them. The dreadful task of telling Ravana this horrible news laid on his shoulders. All he could do was wait for him to wake. Krushka did not want to dare wake Ravana from his peaceful sleep to tell him because he knew how much sleep his friend had lost over worry of this Rama. So he sat by his bed along with Ravana’s many wives and waited. He wanted to be the first one to tell him but he was also afraid of Ravana’s anger once he knew of this news. He waited. And waited. Then on the third day of his slumber, Ravana awakened.

Author’s note:

I chose to fill in some blanks left by Buck about the time that passed in Ravana’s sleep when he believed Rama to be dead. I made up the character of Krushka- and the name obviously- because I wanted to explore a possible scenario of reason for sleeping, finding out Rama was alive, and who could have told Ravana the truth. I did not want to go into the dialogue between them though, which would have been cool to think of but this way I got to have a cliffhanger ;)

Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way. 
Image Information: What would be a cool rendition of Krushka if he were a character, found at deviantart.net by Simone Delladio

Reading Diary B: Week 6

-Jambavan sounds like a good warrior and I am glad he pumps Rama up to go into battle and try to get Sita back

-Jambavan also sounds like he knows all the demons they have to face that are ahead, he is a good asset to have in battle

-it is sad that so many lives are being put on the line just for Rama and Sita and Rama ends up not even with Sita

-It is very convenient that Nala has the power to float stones in the ocean, making the bridge to cross to Lanka possible for the troops of Rama

-I think this time apart from Sita has changed Rama’s character somehow, he seems less compassionate and more stone cold in his emotions and actions

-Vibhishana is one of many people who warn try and warn Ravana and tell him to give back Sita, but Ravana does not listen and he is idiotic in this so it is his own fault that his family members die

-welcoming Vibhishana shows more of the Rama I had known throughout this story and not killing him or deeming him untrustworthy right off the bat like Sugriva had

-it is weird how Sita is fooled by the fake head of Rama on an arrow in this version and she cries and wants to die instead of showing little emotion then brushing it off as surely an illusion, this further makes me feel like Sita in this version is kind of a ditz or at least has less composure to stand tall

-Trijata is a good person, demon, woman, friend, whatever she is to Sita I think that her presence in this epic is great

-“Someone said that already” – Ravana to Anagada when he is giving him advice like many before him have, I found this quote humorous

-The mentioning of Dharma by both the armies of Rama and Ravana make them seem like similar people under the same rules and ethics but they are too prideful to come to an agreement, mainly due to Ravanas stubborn ways

-Prahasta seemed like a pretty mighty warrior

-Kumbhakarma also warns Ravana he is making a mistake but agrees to fight for him anyways, it is clear there are very loyal family members of Ravana to fight for him against Rama for a reason they themselves do not see as right. “He put sympathy aside and put his heart into the stone age” then he fought, its interesting how feelings can be manipulated easily when done by own self

- Indrajit, in my opinion was good then he seems horribly bad. His ability to kill almost all the warriors including Rama was awful and I was really surprised at the sadness that was in this part of the story. I could see how Hanuman’s inability to die comes in handy for the lives of everyone when he goes to the mountain and is able to bring their lives back to health.

- at first I thought Sita was really killed, if I had not known the outcome already then I would be really biting my nails at this point

Reading Diary A: Week 6

-Sampati appeared and his story was easier to understand, it made me happy that he could regrow wings after eating and was able to tell Hanuman where to find Sita
-Hanuman's great leap across the ocean was a great example of his 'power' and the story with the mountain coming up from the sea and he would not stop to rest shows his loyalty and determination
-Defeating Sinhika by changing his size and forcing his body down her throat was interesting, I did not know he could change his size or his form as we see him do with the cat in Lanka
-Lanka as a woman caught me off guard, I guess really anything can happen in this epic! Not sure if Lanka as a woman was just in Hanuman's mind as a metaphor or if she was an actual woman to be defeated
-Pushpaka had a lot of detail, must be a very important chariot since it was so ornate and decorative made by the architect god who makes a lot of things
-The amount of women in that room with Ravana is quite impressive, especially since he has that curse with him, they must really not have respect for themselves if they are always naked and chasing after the same man drinking all the time, they could learn from Sita yet they think she is the crazy one not taking Ravana's offer of love for her
- The demon women who arise in the morning were horrendous in detail, I wonder if that is how the normal woman looks in that city if they are not beautiful and taken by Ravana
- The woman who tells Sita of the dream she had seems to be a nicer lady in this city and hopefully she is shown mercy later on, it would be very scary in Sita's position with women all around her threatening to kill and eat her closing in with weapons...I don't know how she held up and did not go crazy
- Sita seemed a little too friendly with Hanuman than I believe she would have if she had not been away from Rama or a caring person so long, asking him to stay the night with her was kind of out of character in my opinion when Hanuman calls her beautiful she says "Oh Hanuman" like she was swoon or something and when her shoulder is exposed it was an awkward atmosphere that was kind of sexualized I think
-Hanuman I think has feelings for Sita, based on his decision to stay and unleash fury and cause chaos on the city which gets him ultimately caught by Indrajit when he comes out of meditation
- This city seems to bring out the worst in people somehow so it makes sense why Indrajit would be secluded in silence from the rest of the people and have a clear mind on what to do as far as fast and intelligent decision making goes with the capture of Hanuman since he knows he can not be killed
- Vibhishana still saves Hanuman, or at least defies Ravana enough to get exiled
- Flames taking the city is a perfect death I feel since it is the city of the demons
- does everyone including animals drink ??
-Hanuman's description of Sita to Rama is very detailed and gives me a better vision of her as well after this whole book I feel like I know what she looks like in a better way
- Hanuman is a great monkey/man for sticking up for Sita to Rama, it is weird that Rama is so weird toward Sita now though ... I guess time made his love fade which is sad but at least Hanuman convinces him to go kill Ravana!