Authors Note: This story was inspired by the story of Ramayana and the reading for Part A, found on PDE Ramayana. I told the same plot line in the reading and turned it into a dramatic plot between two planets and a battle between the Gods and a King. The kingdom of Koshala and the Gods would serve for the two sides in conflict (Echo and AI). King Dasharatha, the king in the reading is introduced as King Dash in this story. He has the super power to control fire, and he unleashes on cities because of his uncontrollable anger and pain. He battles with the Gods in return of asking for a child, a son to be specific. He learns and important lesson at the end. I wanted to focus in the plot line around the ritual with the Gods and the sacrifice of a horse in return for 4 sons.
Sacrifice of a Life
On a lovely cold morning on planet Echo, King Dash wakes up once again to his grueling job as a ruler of a kingdom. Several talks around his land of next heir has King Dash in a grumpy mood. He was well respected in his kingdom, but older generations saw him as a fool, because he is yet to pass his seed. The royal King did not have a son, despite him having three beautiful wives. As days and months went along with no success at birthing a son, the King grew in rage.
The King would often hide his superpower of his ability to control fire with his mind. He grew in rage and would destroy abandoned land to relieve anger. The Gods on planet AI did not like that the King has taken notice to his hidden power and is abusing it. The Gods would send angels down to his planet to ask him to control his rage before they take action. The angels would constantly negotiate with the king, till one day the Gods agreed to grant one wish in return for a sacrifice and an end to his rage and powers.
The King knew exactly what he wanted as it was his lifelong dream. However the Gods have asked for a life in return and an end to his rage and powers. This was a huge decision for the King. He pondered on the thought for days, till finally he could not bare but to chase his dreams. He ordered the guards to grab a prisoner in order to be sacrificed. He arranged for the ritual to be taken place in order to finally get what he has dreamt of.
One the day of the ritual the King meets the Gods on a high mountain away from any population. He demand the guards to bring out the prisoner, just to find out that it is a young adult. The King has never taken a life before and he realized how awful of an act he is about to do. The Gods look at the King with shock as the King stares back with confusion. The Gods explained to the King that he cannot leave the mountain top without performing the ritual with his chosen sacrifice. The Gods also taught the King of a lesson how lightly he took someone's life. The Gods were clever in their wording, and told the King that he did not have to chose a human life as it could have been any form of life, however ritual rules stands with the human sacrifice.
The King could not have the guilt of taking an innocent life despite his life as a prisoner. The King stepped down the hill, even though the Gods warned him of this act. The Gods could not take the young man's life, however the Gods punished King Dash for they knew that his anger would only rage further and would cause mass destruction. The Kings death was slow and he died with agony and pain.
Bibliography: Ramayana Online, Public Domain Edition -- Ahalya
Hi PB!
ReplyDeleteThis story was great to read. I enjoyed this because of your great creativity. You did a fantastic job keeping the story interesting. I think the best part had to be how specific you were on the person you chose to sacrifice. It was so interesting how the person being sacrificed was a prisoner. It reminds me of how Dasaratha was cursed for killing the young boy in the forest. Also, you did a great job showing how the king was becoming extremely impatient on having a son, just like Dasaratha. Furthermore, I wonder what Dasaratha would have done if he really was never gifted sons from the Gods. I like how you made the king die when he leaves the mountain. What made you have him die rather live? Dasaratha was still gifted his sons. What made you retell the story with no sons? Nonetheless, I wonder what would happen if the king did kill the prisoner? Would you have gave him sons then?
Hey PB! I wholeheartedly enjoyed reading this story and was amazed at how detailed it was as well as how you told the story of the King and the lessons that he learned. You told the story of King Dash a different way than he was presented to us in the Ramayana and it was refreshing to read this version! I wonder how, if at all possible, king Dash could deal with his anger and become less angry and frustrated. Seeing him grow in this aspect would be fascinating to read more about! Overall, I really liked your attention to detail here and I look forward to reading more of your stories in this course!
ReplyDeleteHi PB! Your story was super entertaining and interesting to read. I think my favorite part of it was how the person who was sacrificed was a prisoner, and how it serves as sort of a punishment, although he never ended up following through on it. I also found it interesting how the King would take out his anger by burning abandoned lands, thats intense!!
ReplyDelete