Storytelling for Week 3: Hope

Hope 

Once upon a time there was a beautiful woman named Sita. She was smart, loyal, and liked by all who met her. She lived a simple life in the forest, going on adventures with her husband Rama and his brother Lakshmana. The three were on an important mission to rid the forest of the evil asuras who terrorized the holy men who lived there.

Rama in the Forest

The lord Rama portrayed as exile in the forest, accompanied by his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana

Found on Wikipedia

One day, while Rama was away and Lakshmana was on his way to help him, Sita was abducted by the evil ten-headed Ravana. He snatched her up and away they sailed in his chariot. Rama searched and searched for his beautiful bride, becoming more and more distressed the longer they were apart. 

Ravana approaches Sita

Painting by Nina Paley

Found on her website www.ninapaley.com

After searching and searching not only by himself, but with the armies assembled by Soorpanka and Hanuman; their search however was not yielding any results. Then, one day he meets a badly burned and charred bird named Sampathi who, with the simple mention of Rama’s name is restored to healthy and beautiful glory. He is Jatayu’s brother and at hearing of the news of his brother’s death, he decides to leave and take his place as the new ruler. However, before he leaves, he tells Rama that he saw where the evil Ravana took Sita.

“Look to the south, across the ocean. There, in Lanka, you will find your Sita.” He said before taking flight.

Immediately Rama looks to Hanuman who has been by his side for the search. He asks him to go forth and find his bride. Hanuman is, after all, a shape-shifter who could cross the ocean in a single step. After some encouragement, Hanuman agrees. He grows and grows, becoming taller than any tree and takes one big step over the ocean, landing him in Lanka. 

Hanuman

Retrieved from Pixabay

Han Hanuman searches, walking all over Lanka before arriving in Asoka Vana. Here, he finds Sita surrounded by evil rakshasa women. Ravana stands in front of her, trying to convince her to be his main mistress. He finds her incredibly beautiful and tries to persuade her with tales of power and with his many accolades. She is not impressed and refuses to betray Rama. Ravana becomes furious  and storms off, ordering the rakshasas to terrorize Sita until her will breaks and she realizes the mistake she’s making by choosing Rama. 

Ravana, Sita, Hanuman 

by: Harish Johari

found on Sanatan Society

Hanuman watches, hidden in the trees as the rakshasas throw themselves at Sita, frightening her. Sita cries out, and Hanuman fights his urge to run to her as she is tormented by the demon women. The torture goes on for what seems like forever, but finally the rakshasas retreat, leaving Sita curled up on the ground crying and pleading to the gods for salvation. She begs Rama to save her, losing hope that he will ever find her. She feels like there's no way out; she refuses to betray Rama and be with Ravana, but if Rama never finds her she will have to live the rest of her life in misery until Ravana finally decides to kill her. 

Sita comes to the conclusion that the only way to escape is death. Hanuman panics, and jumps out of the trees shouting, "No Sita! Rama is alive and near!" 

Hanuman's Visit

Retreived from Wikipedia

Sita's face lit up when Hanuman approached, but was skeptical of Rama's impending arrival. "How can I be sure that he is alive? Oh Rama!" Sita asked, pleading with Hanuman to prove his words were true. Hanuman simply told her to trust him and produced for her a ring. Sita squealed with happiness, a smile lighting up her beautiful face. It was Rama's ring!

"Oh Hanuman! He IS alive! When shall I expect him?" 

"Very soon, very soon Sita; but for now I must ask you not to harm yourself and to be patient. Rama will be here to rescue you and vanquish Ravana imminently."

With that, Hanuman turned to leave, but Sita stopped him. She grabbed his hand, opened it, and placed a small piece of jewelry that she'd had hidden in her sari. "Here," she said, "Give this to Rama, and please tell him to hurry!" Hanuman agreed and took leave. He couldn't believe such a small thing could give Sita so much hope.

 

On his way back to Rama's camp Hanuman stopped and suddenly grew in size again. He turned around, and destroyed Asoka Vana with one large stomp. Immediately, Ravana's minions charged Hanuman who let them take him captive. They grabbed Hanuman and rushed him to the capital where Ravana awaited his arrival. 

Ravana Statue by Indi Samarajiva 

Found on Flickr

Hanuman arrived before Ravana, his 10 heads and fearsome expression made Hanuman nervous but he felt strong in his convictions and stepped forward. He pleaded with Ravana to reconsider and let Sita go. "If you beg for forgiveness, i'm sure Rama will be merciful!" He said, hoping Ravana would change his mind, but slowly realizing there was no way to get around hi stubbornness. Ravana ordered Hanuman to be executed, but was convinced by his brother not to stoop so low as to murder a messenger. 

Hanuman was free to go, but he had one last thing to do before he left...

Hanuman Burns Lanka 

By: Fred Miller

Taken from "Sita Sings the Blues" by Nina Paley

Found on Flickr

Hanuman set fire to his tail and ran through the capital! Soon, all of the buildings were ablaze and Hanuman strolled away, pleased with himself and prepared to reunite with Rama against the evil Ravana. 

Author's Note:

This story is based on chapter 8 from The Ramayana titled "Memento from Rama." In this chapter, Hanuman wanders through Lanka before arriving at Asoka Vana where he finds Sita surrounded by evil Rakshasa women. He watches as Ravana (her captor) approaches and continues to try to convince her to become his main mistress, but Sita is loyal to Rama and has been terrorized by Ravana; she refuses to bend to Ravana's will and in response, he orders the Rakshasas to torment her until she breaks. Hanuman looks on as the demons make Sita's life hell before leaving her in tears and tatters, pleading with the gods. She cries and in her hysteria decides to take her own life. With this, Hanuman reveals himself to Sita, stopping her from giving up by giving her Rama's ring, a memento to help her make it until Rama can save her. This renews Sita's hope and she pulls out a piece of jewelry that she'd had hidden in her scrap of sari to give to Rama. Hanuman takes this and leaves, but as he does so he grows giant again and destroys Asoka Vana. He allows himself to be captured and taken to Ravana where he gives him another chance to let Sita go and beg for forgiveness from Rama or face destruction. Ravana orders that Hanuman be killed, but his brother steps in an reminds Ravana that it is improper to kill a messenger, saving Hanuman's life. Hanuman then sets Ravana's precious capital on fire and returns to Rama to deliver news on Sita's situation. In my version I decided to focus on hope and how important it is in bad situations while also sticking with the hero/damsel in distress element of the original story. I wanted to tell it like a fairy tale but with a twist because the Ramayana is an important story in India much like fairy tales are important in the US because they teach us about the world and lessons about things such as friendship, trust, humility, hope, etc. 

Bibliography:

Naryan, R.K. (1972) The Ramayana