Topic Research: The Demon Brothers

The demon brothers Ilvala and Vatapi tricked and killed many brahmins after one refused Ilvala the boon of a son. Vatapi has the power of transformation and Ilvala knows a special mantra that allows him to call Vatapi back from death. They both end up dying at the hand of the sage Agastya who sees through their tricks. The follow are possibly the three stories I'd tell for the project.

1. First, a story to show why the two brothers are staying together and ruling together. And because I couldn't find anything on their past but I was thinking I'd write a story telling the reader that they were close since they were young but they ended up abandoned by their parents (maybe they wake up and they are alone with no trace of their parents) and swear an oath to let nothing separate them.

2. The next story would be something to show that even tho they are demons they are not evil. At least not yet. This could start off with them getting attacked by regular humans because of what they are but then they are saved by a brahmin. Here they decide to always show respect to brahmins and help them if they are in need of it. After separating from the brahmins the brothers see a child crying due to being separated from his parents. The brothers decide to help but because they are demons Vatapi transforms into a friendly dog to lead the boy home. I'd like one of them to point out how unfair their life is being born demons at the end of this story.

3. In the last story I'd like the beginning to show that even though they are demons they have worked hard to live a life they are happy with when the two start thinking about wanting to pass on their experiences. Then a brahmin visit them at the palace and after a meal Ilvala asks for the boon of a son. But the brahmin refuses saying something like "Boons such as that are not granted to demons." And this is the turning point where everything just becomes too much and they snap killing the brahmin. And then they start killing all brahmins that come visiting until the sage who saved them in the earlier story come and they are defeated. This would be the retelling of the story found on the wikipedia page on Ilvala.

The conclusion of these stories would show that often evil is created from the treatment and expectations of men.

The picture below could be the "palace" they live in at the end of their life.

The home of Vatapi and Ilvala

(image source)