A crowd followed Vali through the streets of the village as
he set out to fight Mayavi. They sang songs of his battle with the buffalo
demon Dundhuvi, and carried the demon’s head on a spear. The procession arrived at the base of the
mountain where the battle was to take place. The field where they gathered
ended at the base of the mountain, where cliffs rose out of the ground. Vali
walked through the crowd and found his brother Sugriva. “Sugriva, if I fall to
the demon Mayavi you must avenge my death and look after my family”. Sugriva
agreed, and helped Vali put on his armor. As Vali finished preparing for
battle, the demon Mayavi came into view atop the cliffs. Mayavi let out a
tremendous roar, and jumped from the cliffs. He came crashing down to the ground,
leaving a small crater where he impacted. Some of the people who came to watch
the fight became frightened, and they ran back to town. As the crowd thinned,
Mayavi spotted one of the people carrying the spear with his father’s head on
top. He became furious and rushed at the man holding the spear. Just before the
demon reached the man, Vali emerged from the fleeing crowd and stepped in front
of the man.
The monkey king Vali, Wikipedia
Vali and Mayavi began to fight, and what was left of the
crowd formed a circle around them. As
Vali and the demon were fighting, Mayavi knocked Vali to the ground. While Vali
was down, Mayavi rushed at the nearest villagers and chopped off their heads.
Everyone but Sugriva fled the field and hurried back to the village. Mayavi
smiled and laughed at them as they ran. Vali got back on his feet and charged
at the demon, cutting off his tail. Mayavi recoiled from the blow, and then ran
towards the cliffs. Vali gave chase, followed by Sugriva.
Mayavi ran into the mouth of a cave and taunted Vali, then
retreated into the cave. Vali stopped and waited for Sugriva then asked, “I
don’t know if I should follow him, it could be a trap”. “Vali, you are the
mightiest warrior I know, you can defeat whatever lies in the cave”. Vali was
emboldened by his brother, and charged into the cave after the demon. As Vali
moved deeper into the cave, Mayavi called out to him from further deeper in the
cave. Soon enough, Vali began to have trouble seeing in the dark. “Come and
face me”, barked Mayavi. As Vali struggled to find the demon in the cave,
Mayavi snuck around him and headed towards the entrance. Mayavi then struck the
wall of the cave so hard that the ceiling collapsed and blocked Vali from
leaving.
Author's note: This story was inspired by Buck's Ramayana: King Rama's Way. I wanted to write a story where Mayavi tricks Vali and defeats him.
Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way.
Hello Barclay,
ReplyDeleteI like the descriptiveness of your story. Sad that Vali was defeated and will presentably remain in the cave forever. I'm glad he made future preparations for his family to be taken care of. This story was very short but everything you needed to know was told.I like how you wrote this and look forward to reading more from you.
Barclay, the detail you use in your story is truly remarkable. I almost felt sucked in to the story as I was reading it. I really like the story you chose to tell because I feel like you had a great understanding of it that aided you in creating such a detailed scene. Although the story was short, the detail provided a clear picture of what was going on.
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