Week 4 Storytelling: The Development of Manthara's Plan

As the perpetually angry Manthara entered the palace gates, she immediately took notice to the lively, festive atmosphere. All around her, people were smiling, laughing, and partaking of the king’s favorite wines. “Look at all of these ridiculous people, what right have they to be so happy?” she grumbled to herself. When Manthara arrived at Queen Kaikeyi’s room, she noticed three servant girls wearing extravagant jewelry. “Thieves!” she declared as she struck the nearest girl with her cane. “How dare you steal from guests in the king’s palace!” As Manthara reared back to assault another servant, Kaikeyi rushed to intercept the blow. “Subdue this rage!” Kaikeyi insisted. “These jewels have been given as gifts in celebration of Rama’s coronation.” “This can’t be!” she thought to herself, “How could that little demon that once shot toy arrows at my hindquarters be elevated to a position of authority in this great kingdom? This will surely bring an end to our people.” Manthara silently took a seat, with a look of utter dismay painted on her face as she pondered solutions to this catastrophe.

“How can these fools express so much joy when presented with such terrible news? If nobody else will stop this madness, then I must take these matters into my own hands. Unfortunately, it is too late to slay this monster. I am old and weak, while he is a trained warrior protected by numerous guards. Oh, how I should have responded when Rama first wronged me! I cannot simply approach King Dasaratha and beg him to reconsider. His unwavering love for his son will surely cloud his judgment, and I can’t waste time trying to convince an old man who cares more about his son than the people of his kingdom. That’s it! I may not be able to persuade Dasaratha, but my queen has been granted two wishes. If I could just convince her of Rama’s evil ways, then he may be banished and the more respectful Bharata can take his place on the throne.”

 

(Manthara Persuading Kaikeyi: LiveIndia)

 

“My dearest queen, how can you celebrate when such a threat has been imposed on your life?” “To what are you referring?” asked Kaikeyi in confusion. “You don’t understand the events that are to unfold. Rama’s spirit is but a serpent, hidden within a garden. His body is beautiful and his ways seem noble, but once he is installed as king of this earth there will be no power above him, no reason to hide his oppressive and malicious ways.” “What reason have I to believe these accusations? Rama has never wronged me. His ways are noble and his actions are just. Your words are treason!” Kaikeyi responded, baffled by such bold statements against a man that she regarded as a son. “I see now that my words have fallen on a closed mind. If this is how you truly feel then I must go, but please consider this: All your life, you’ve been in a position of authority over Rama, yet you act as though you understand how he treats those who are subordinate to him. By the time that you realize his true nature, I fear that it will be too late.” These words weighed heavily on Kaikeyi’s mind, as she began to fear for what might happen to Bharata and herself. Just as Manthara opened the door to leave her chambers, Queen Kaikeyi shouted, “What would you have me do?” and Manthara’s plan was set into action.


Author's Note: Manthara's (or Kooni's) actions were one of the most sudden and underdeveloped parts of both versions of The Ramayana that we've read. I wrote this story to elaborate on Manthara's thoughts upon learning about Rama's upcoming coronation. I chose not to provide a more logical incentive for her actions because I think that she is a highly irrational character. I also tried to provide better dialogue between Kaikeyi and Manthara to expose how she might have instilled fear into Kaikeyi to motivate her to go along with such an absurd plan.

Bibliography: Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way

Week 4: Reading Diary B

The Two Wishes:

• I find it kind of funny that Dasaratha takes offense to his advisors' celebration upon learning that Rama is to be crowned king.
• Manthara's character definitely seems more likely to persuade Kaikeyi than Kooni did in the last story.
• It was nice to hear about Rama's childhood prank much earlier in the story. It's good to have some understanding of the incentive behind Manthara's actions, regardless of how petty the prank was and how unjustifiable her response seems to be.
• Regardless of how much I dislike the situation, I did think that the interactions between Rama and Dasaratha are much better in this version of The Ramayana.
• "A wrong thrown at Rama seems to bring out no anger in him; it is like a seed thrown on stone." What a great simile to describe Rama's response to the situation! It amazes me how little he seems to care that not only his crown, but his entire way of life is being taken away from him.
• One thing that I preferred from the previous story over this one is that Lakshmana took up arms against anybody that would try to force Rama to leave, opposed to setting out to kill their father, who obviously feels terrible for what is happening but feels bound by his word to fulfill Kaikeyi's demands.

The Lord of the Wild Trees:

• I thought that it was really funny that Guha was so committed to kicking the Shiva statue everyday. Even when he was hungry, and wolves had surrounded the statue, he waited patiently for any opportunity to kick the statue and was disappointed when such an opportunity did not arise before the next day.
• It was pretty cool that this ritual ultimately saved Guha's life since Shiva regarded it as a form of worship to which Guha was completely dedicated.
• I do not understand why Dasaratha feels so strongly bound to his word when he has already refused one of Kaikeyi's wishes in the past.
• Although I appreciate the added detail in this story, sometimes the descriptions can be unnecessarily long. For instance, Sumanthra's description of the grieving kingdom drags on for almost a full pages.
• Dasaratha's story of the young boy that he killed was much better in this version of The Ramayana. I liked the older man's wisdom and how he didn't actually curse Dasaratha. However, the foreshadowing of Dasaratha's faint still remained evident.

Bibliography: Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way

Week 4: Reading Diary A

Before I started reading this book, I was a little worried that I would have trouble paying attention as I read the same story for the second time in a row. Fortunately, this was not at all the case! Buck's recreation of The Ramayana almost feels like a completely different epic with so much more detail and provides vivid imagery of almost every character and setting. The relationships between characters are also much more explicitly defined. Here are a few of my thoughts, separated based on the chapter in which they occurred:

Born As A Man

• How is this story going to start out by telling us that Rama ultimately banished Sita from his kingdom?! After all that he went through to get her back, I never would have expected him to leave her. I wonder what she could have done to make the kingdom's residents speak ill of her.
• We are informed that Valmiki has created The Ramayana as one of the earliest forms of poetry, and that Rama's life has been revealed to him in great detail such that all of his words are true.
• This book refers to Vishnu as Narayana, who agrees to descend from heaven in the form of a man in order to slay Ravana.

The Thorn In The World's Side

• Here, we learn that the first of the rakshasas convinced Viswajarman, Heaven's Architect, to create the city of Lanka as their kingdom.
• We also hear the tale of how Ravana came to earn his immortality. Apparently, Ravana was once very devoted to serving the gods. When it came time for him to sacrifice his last head to the gods, he was begged not to and offered a gift in exchange for his loyalty. It seemed strange to me that the gift that came immediately to mind was immortality and protection from the gods, who just saved him. Nonetheless, Brahma granted his wish without hesitation and the belligerent demon that we know him to be was born...
• It really amazed me how little thought the gods appeared to put into the gifts that they gave the rakshasa. Did it not occur to them that Ravana and Meghnaad were able to capture Indra without any special powers, so invisibility and that special chariot will only make it easier if they ever try to attack again?

Taste This Water

• One thing that stood out to me in this chapter was Buck's depiction of how Indra deceived Ahalya. In the previous story, Ahalya did not realize that it was not her husband until it was too late. However, in this story Ahalya knowingly betrayed Gautama. The ending of her punishment was definitely happier in this story. I like how Gautama knew when Rama would pass by and returned for her.