Week 2 Storytelling: Kaikeyi In The Kopa Gruha

Kaikeyi had been waiting for this moment since the birth of her son Bharatha. She knew her husband to be a man of great honor, the type of honor that would prevent him from breaking his promise to her. She had waited patiently for Bharatha to come of age, and for the king's mind to decay. She knew Rama to be a man of great honor also, and he would not challenge her plan if executed properly. Ever since Kaikeyi saved the King after a battle, she felt that she was owed a great debt. Her marriage to the King and all her worldly possessions were not enough, she felt that her son must sit on the throne.  As she waited for the King to arrive in the Kopa Gruha, she kept reasoning with herself that she had the right to usurp the throne. The minutes she spent waiting for the King seemed like hours to her.

A servant of Kaikeyi's came to her and notified her that the King was about to arrive. She thanked the servant and dismissed her, then began preparing herself for the King. Kaikeyi put on her saddest face and tried to appear as upset and possible. However distraught she might appear, it was only a front. On the inside, Kaikeyi was cool, calm, and collected. The King was already caught in her trap, he just didn't know it.

The King arrived in the Kopa Gruha and looked upon his wife. He wondered what could have upset her this much, and tried to comfort her. The King's mind had been slipping for some time now, and he was unable to sense the treachery lurking in Kaikeyi. As the King tried to comfort her, he fell deeper into her trap. After a few minutes of this, the King began to feel personally guilty for the emotional state of his wife. Kaikeyi noticed this and jumped on the opportunity. She asked the King if he remembered the promise he made all those years ago, after Kaikeyi had saved him. The King recalled him promise to grant to wishes to Kaikeyi, and was eager to grant them in order to appease his distraught wife.

Kaikeyi in the Kopa Gruha, Wikipedia

The King's wife sensed this eagerness in her husband, and spoke her two wishes to the King while sobbing. Upon hearing the wishes of his wife, the King realized there was nothing he could do. He refused to break his word, and told Kaikeyi that her wishes would be granted. The King also called her out for being deceitful and treacherous, but Kaikeyi felt no guilt upon hearing them. She continued with her sobbing facade, but behind this face she was smiling from ear to ear.


Author's note: This story was inspired by Narayan's The Ramayana. I wanted to illustrate Kaikeyi's plot as a premeditated attempt to usurp the throne from Rama. She wishes the throne for herself, but she knows that this can never happen. Instead, she aims to put her son on the throne and rule vicariously through Bharatha.

Bibliography:

Narayan, R. K. (1972) The Ramayana

Week 2: Reading Diary B

Rama's senses of honor and duty seem to know no bounds. He selflessly accepts his exile, and doesn't resent his stepmother at all when Rama was informed it was her idea. He even offers to let his wife, who is his soulmate, stay behind at the palace. I wonder if anything can get a rise out of Rama, or if he is even capable of doing wrong. When Rama learns of his father's death, he becomes very emotional. This is only the second time Rama has displayed such strong emotion, the first being after he first saw his wife. Even when showing emotion, Rama shows great restraint when compared to his peers. His brother Bharatha spent five days in the palace mourning his father's death, while Rama takes only a short while. Rama even acts kindly towards the demon Soorpanaka when first meeting her, even though the destruction of evil entities is the entire purpose of his incarnation.

I was surprised that Kaikeyi told Bharatha the truth about Rama's exile. Bharatha seems to be an honorable man, and Kaikeyi must have known that Bharartha would be very furious with her. He only spared her life because he knows Rama would hate him if he killed Kaikeyi. He also refuses to become King on account of Rama's honor. Rama seems to not only be a paragon himself, but inspire the quality in those around him. Bharatha only accepts the crown after seeming to understand that it is divine intention that he rule for the time being. Even in accepting rule, he renounces it as much as possible. He places Rama's sandals at the throne and declares he is only ruling in Rama's place until he returns.

I was confused by the demon Soorpanaka. She arrived a wolf in sheep's clothing, so to speak, but quickly revealed her true nature to Rama and Sita. I don't understand why she would fall in the with Rama when she is a demon, the very thing Rama is supposed to rid the world of. She shows her true colors after being mutilated by Rama's brother, and scorned by Rama.

It seems that Rama cannot be bested by demons when confronted directly. He coasts through two battles with the demons, emerging untouched. The demons must use trickery to get the better of him, and so Ravana hatches his plan after hearing of Sita's beauty from Soorpanaka.

Week 2: Reading Diary A

Rama is a very interesting character from the beginning. He seems to be a messiah of sorts, in the sense that his mission is to rid the world of evil. Although at this point he does not seem to be aware of his life's purpose, and he is certainly not aware that he is an incarnation of Vishnu. This is an interesting situation with respect to Thataka, who can only be defeated by a human. Perhaps if Rama was aware of who he really was, he would be unable to slay Thataka and start his journey.

In the beginning, the reader doesn't know what Rama is thinking, or how he feels about his life or his journey. He simply follows the sage and defeats demons on demand. This first glimpse into his mind seemed to be after he first laid eyes upon Sita. He is destined to fall in love with her, as she is an incarnation of Vishnu's wife. Rama wrestles with her existence and his feelings for her, which is very different from his matter of fact approach to his journey so far.

I really enjoyed the plot involving Shiva's bow. I have read The Odyssey, and was instantly reminded of Penelope challenging her suitors to string Odysseus' bow and shoot an arrow through the twelve rings. The fact that these two epics, created by such very different cultures, share such a specific subplot is remarkable.

I found the scale of the wedding caravan to be quite spectacular. The procession of elephants with golden head decorations sounded quite marvelous. At first I was astonished by Sumithra's two thousand attendants, which was nothing compared to the sixty thousand beautiful attendants that escorted Rama's mother.

As someone who is not familiar with the culture of the epic, and only slightly familiar with Hindu theology, I wonder about the daily duties and religious practices that characters engage in. The author only declares that a character has done these tasks, and gives no actual description of what is occurring.

I was entertained by the human qualities of the deities. They are not immune to emotions like jealousy and lust, and seem to be quite fallible. I was perplexed by some sages' ability to curse others at will. The sage who cursed Indra was certainly not more powerful that Indra, but nonetheless cursed him.