I’m pretty done with Rama, if we’re being honest. I was giving Vishnu the benefit of the doubt, hoping that he might be able to do something about our demon problem; ultimately, though, I realized that I just don’t like Rama. He’s got everything going for him and it’s just annoying. He’s kind, he stays bound by his own unique code of honor, and everyone seems to be giving him a celestial weapon. Why is everyone giving him a holy weapon? Flooding the non-celestial world with celestial weapons just seems like a mistake to me.
By the way, I’m Brahma, the god that keeps rewarding everyone for their severe self-restrictions and austerities. Not sure why everyone thinks that’s what I want them to do, but it’s pretty entertaining.
 |
| 15th-Century Statue of Brahma from Thailand Source: Wikipedia |
Anyways. Rama is currently in the hermitage that the women Shabari resides in. I don’t quite remember why the building is stuck in a time-loop, but I’m feeling bored. Being all-powerful and omniscient can get old pretty quickly, so let’s see how Rama can get out of this.
*Brahma instantaneously expands the scope of the time loop to include Rama, trapping him until such time as either Rama breaks free or Brahma gets bored*
Shabari was such a wonderful person to break bread with. I feel as if I have learned much from her, and I look forward to continuing my education as I move forward on this journey. Sleeping in the hermitage will be a special treat; if only Sita was by my side… O Sita, how beauteous she is! Anyways, it is time for sleeping.
*next morning*
I had the strangest sense of déjà vu this morning. I met a woman named Shabari, who keeps a deserted hermitage. I feel as if I’ve met her before, and yet I don’t know where. Perhaps a restful evening will clear my head.
*next morning*
I have the feeling that I am currently being tested by the gods above. I can only imagine what sin or indulgence I must have engaged in to deserve this trial! Alas, I shall rise to the challenge! Somewhere in my stockpile of magical weapons I should have something to help me out. After all, I’ve basically only gotten through all of these trials because I was using holy weapons! Now, let’s see what we’ve got here…
Ah! A magical key! I remember when, long ago, the gods foretold that I would have to use this magic key to escape from an endless time loop.
*waves key around in the air*
*time loop ends*
*Rama just continues on*
Brahma back. That wasn’t nearly as fun as I wanted it to be. Seriously, where does he get all of this magic stuff from? Who planned his life out? He might not be able to return to his kingdom for a bit, but otherwise, he has just about every possible heavenly boon he could want. I need to make sure his life is just a bit harder, because I really can’t handle all of this self-righteousness and moral superiority. Bleh.
Source: PDE Ramayana- Shabari
Author's Note- The original source for this story is the 40th story in the PDE of the Ramayana, discussing Rama's visit with Shabari. The hermitage that Shabari keeps in the woods is stuck in a time loop, and I thought it'd be fun to see what happens if the time loop ran amok or, more specifically, if Brahma expanded the time loop. I also decided to use it to express how frustrated I get with Rama for always finding the perfect solution at the last second. He has very few feats that he undertakes by himself... everything seems to be done with the help of some kind of magic weapon that is given to him by someone else. I think this concept is also replicated in a lot of stories, both epic and not. For example, Harry Potter almost always seems to succeed over Voldemort due to the sacrifice of someone else (Diggory, his parents, Sirius, etc). Elizabeth Bennett relied on Mr. Darcy to swoop in and save the day. Those stories were all slightly romantic at least... this one certainly was not, especially considering how Rama treated Sita near the end.
I also really enjoyed the concept of putting Brahma at the center of the story because he isn't a character that you hear from very often. In this story, even his omniscience is not enough to overcome the main problem of the story, which is that Rama gets whatever he wants through the use of celestial weapons. In this story, an interesting addition might be to question who is granting the celestial weapons their power if Brahma is not consenting to it. How does a god grant a celestial weapon? Is there a limit? Is the power of the weapon tied innately to the god, and if so, will a weapon granted by a powerful god overcome a weapon granted by a lesser one? All of these would be super interesting to explore.
Finally, I added Time Warp from Rocky Horror for two reasons: Rocky Horror is one of the queerest things imaginable (far more to do with the author than with the story) and the lyrics fit perfectly with the story.
Source: PDE Ramayana- Shabari
Author's Note- The original source for this story is the 40th story in the PDE of the Ramayana, discussing Rama's visit with Shabari. The hermitage that Shabari keeps in the woods is stuck in a time loop, and I thought it'd be fun to see what happens if the time loop ran amok or, more specifically, if Brahma expanded the time loop. I also decided to use it to express how frustrated I get with Rama for always finding the perfect solution at the last second. He has very few feats that he undertakes by himself... everything seems to be done with the help of some kind of magic weapon that is given to him by someone else. I think this concept is also replicated in a lot of stories, both epic and not. For example, Harry Potter almost always seems to succeed over Voldemort due to the sacrifice of someone else (Diggory, his parents, Sirius, etc). Elizabeth Bennett relied on Mr. Darcy to swoop in and save the day. Those stories were all slightly romantic at least... this one certainly was not, especially considering how Rama treated Sita near the end.
I also really enjoyed the concept of putting Brahma at the center of the story because he isn't a character that you hear from very often. In this story, even his omniscience is not enough to overcome the main problem of the story, which is that Rama gets whatever he wants through the use of celestial weapons. In this story, an interesting addition might be to question who is granting the celestial weapons their power if Brahma is not consenting to it. How does a god grant a celestial weapon? Is there a limit? Is the power of the weapon tied innately to the god, and if so, will a weapon granted by a powerful god overcome a weapon granted by a lesser one? All of these would be super interesting to explore.
Finally, I added Time Warp from Rocky Horror for two reasons: Rocky Horror is one of the queerest things imaginable (far more to do with the author than with the story) and the lyrics fit perfectly with the story.
4 comments:
Hi Jake, this is a really interesting story. I love how you used the story of Shabri and changes it to Bhrama's point of view. Usually when you think of him, we all think of this great god that is all knowing but we usually don't hearstories about him. He's just kind of there, usually all the stories are about Vishnu or Rama from the trio. So this is a nice change especially becuase you've shown him in such a normal way.
This is a really fun twist on the original story! I like how you had Brahma annoyed with how Rama always succeeded at everything, with the help of his weapons, rather than how everyone else praises Rama for his success. The way that you wrote the story was really awesome too! It almost reminded me of a teen movie from the '90s/early 2000s. It was very fun to read!
I love the idea of this story! It reminds me a novel called Fifteen Dogs in which the Greek gods give dogs the gift of human intelligence just because they are bored and betting on the outcome. I especially like how you tried to make Brahma the narrator. I only wonder where Rama got the key that saved him. He always just seems to have someone there to help him. He was most annoying when he couldn't figure out how to cross the ocean to Lanka, so he just started threatening the god of the sea like a toddler.
This is the second story of yours that I've read, and you seem to use your disappointments with the text as inspiration for writing which I think is really cool. You also seem to have a very distinct style that is heavy on dialogue. Have you ever thought of writing this story and others in more of a playwright style? I feel it would be pretty easy to convert this story into that style, and then it would be more clear to the reader who is speaking at which points of the story.
Hey, Jake! I thought you did a great job with this story! I especially loved the characters you used for this. I think Brahma was my favorite because he just sounded so hilarious. I don't know if you intended for this but he sounds so sassy in my head. I loved it! I especially liked how he says that giving the non-celestial world celestial weapons is a bad idea. Reading through all the stories this semester, that thought never actually crossed my mind. That is pretty ridiculous and makes humans way more dangerous than they need to be. I also liked how you put Brahma in the center of this story. I thought that was a cool idea.
The second character, Rama, was well written too. I like how he was somewhat aware of what was happening to him. It showed his godly side, and he proves Brahma right when he just finds the magical key that solves his problems. Life was pretty good to Rama, wasn't it? Well, besides the being banished and losing his love and stuff...
Post a Comment