Microfiction: Two Small Stories on Humanity and Rakshasas

What Defines Humanity?

Humanity is loving, laughing and living.

Demon or Rakshasa?

Are rakshasas truly demons? They are not innately evil, there have been rakshasas who do good. Vibhishana, for example, turned on his rakshasa family and joined Rama. Because of him Rama won the war and was able to defeat Ravana. They can love, laugh and live just as we do.

Vibhishana bowing before Rama

image found here

Author's Note:
The idea of these two stories (a 6 word story and a 50 word story) was from thinking about the different rakshasas we have read about who are obviously not evil. For example Vibhishana in the Ramayana tries to prevent the war at the end of the story by telling Ravana that he should return Sita to Rama. There is also the part in the Mahabharata where a rakshasi wants to help the Pandavas (after falling in love with one of them). These really show that rakshasas are not evil and so I picture them to be just like any other people, just a different race.

Bibliography:
Ramayana, Public Domain Edition by M. Dutt, R. Dutt, Gould, Griffith, Hodgson, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Oman, Richardson, and Ryder. Web source

Microfiction: Two Small Stories on Bows

The Craftsman's Creation

Mighty bows for the mighty princes.

The Bows of the Princes

There are five bows for five sons of Pandu created by a skilled craftsman. The bows are given to their owners in the coming of age ceremony of each prince. One bow has elegantly carved elephants to symbolize the wisdom of its wielder. Another is strong and sturdy like the stature of its wielder. The next is tall, flexible and gold tipped to showcase the great skill of its wielder. The last two are twins in might and strength to parallel their wielders. The bows are perfect matches for their wielders and will be most loyal companions on their journeys.

Five bows for the five princes 

image found here

Author's Note:
The inspiration for both the 6 word story and the 100 word story above is the scene in The Five Tall Sons of Pandu where Arjun has the prince of the kingdom they are staying in take him to a specific tree. In the tree are some wrapped sacks that contain the weapons of Arjun and his brothers including 5 bows. I found it interesting that this story specifically shows us that each of the Pandavas has their own bow. This also got me thinking about the craftsman behind the bows (forgetting the part where they are supposed to be created by the gods). And that's where these two short stories came from.

Bibliography:

The Indian Story Book: The Five Tall Sons of Pandu by Richard Wilson found here

Microfiction: Two Small Stories on Good and Evil

Love and Betrayal

The demoness protected love through betrayal.

Good or Evil?

Is a demon automatically evil once born? Or can a demon choose to be good or evil through their actions? I have heard of a demoness who betrayed her brother to protect the human she fell in love with. So I ask you, is she good? Or is she evil?

Yin-yang image

Author's Note:
Both the 6 word story and the 50 word story are inspired by the story in the Mahabharata about the rakshasi who fell in love with Bhima. She decides to warn him of her rakshasa brother who wants to eat them instead of bringing them to her brother. The two of them actually get married afterwards and have a child. I used this story to convey the idea that no one is born evil which I whole heatedly believe. This little message also happens to go along with my storybook which I found interesting when I originally read the story.

Bibliography:
Mahabharata by Arnold, Besant, Devee, Dutt, Ganguli, Kincaid, Macfie, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Seeger, and Tagore.

Microfiction: Two Small Stories on War

War's Oath

It demolishes bonds and guzzles blood.

Conflict and Carnage

War is chaos. Friends and enemies lay injured and dying; and, those who survive become mad from war. War's conflict and carnage spare no one.

What is left after war?

(image source)

Author's Note:

Both the 6 word story and the 25 word story above are inspired by the war between the Pandavas and Kauravas in the Mahabharata. In this there are cousins against cousins, brothers against brothers, and even fathers against sons. I wanted to convey how horrible a wat really is. I've never seen war first hand but history is a lesson on how horrible war can be. The war in the Mahabharata really made me wonder why they would consider fighting each other when it just causes even more death and destruction.

Bibliography:
Mahabharata by Arnold, Besant, Devee, Dutt, Ganguli, Kincaid, Macfie, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Seeger, and Tagore.

Microfiction: Two Small Stories in Lanka

A Surprising Event in Lanka

Monkey and demon sit down for a chat.
Demon then points where the damsel is at.

The Lanka News

Damsel found: kidnapper reported by brother.

Rock Fortress in Lanka - Palace Ruins on Top

(image source)

Author's Note:
The two sentence story is inspired by Hanuman's meeting with Vibhishana in Lanka. In the original, Hanuman discovers Rama's name painted on a wall and there he meets Vibhishana who is able to tell Hanuman where Sita, who he came to find, is. The first sentence just kinda popped into my head and so I came up with a second sentence that fit. It sounds like it could be in iambic pentameter but I'm not completely sure if it is. I did match the number of syllables in the two sentences though and made them kinda rhyme.
The 6 word story is also inspired by the same event mentioned above. For this one I had started off thinking about how Sita was found easily because someone on the inside wanted to help. While playing around with the wording it somehow morphed into what sounds to me like a news article headline which seemed interesting.

Bibliography: Divine Archer by F. J. Gould

Microfiction: Brothers or Not?

The Worst Betrayal is a Brother's Betrayal

There once was two brothers who fought every fight together. But one day a misunderstanding that lead them to fight each other also left only one still standing.

A Brother's Devotion

Sugriva anxiously waited for any sign of his brother. But no sounds came from the cave. Was Vali dead? Could he have truly lost? Sugriva shoved that thought aside. No, there's no way he would lose. He's my big brother and I'll wait here for him until either he or the beast comes to get me. And so he waited, anxious but refusing to give up hope. Then he heard it. The was scuffling sounds from the cave. Out of the darkness approach Vali. He's alive! Of course he is, he's my brother. They greet each other, then head home.

The cave entrance (image source)

Author's Note: These two stories are both inspired by Sugriva and Vali. In the Ramayana Sugriva leaves his older brother behind in a cave. Thinking he's dead, Sugriva blocks the entrance and then takes over their kingdom as the new king. Vali was not dead however and ends up thinking he had been betrayed by his brother and exiles Sugriva.
For the 2 sentence story I wanted to focus on the boiled down event. And that is that there was a misunderstanding that ended with one brother dead. And that is the worst betrayal because neither one even tried to talk it through once the challenge was made.
The second story is a 100 word story. This one I decided to show what should have happened (in my opinion). Instead of leaving the cave and blocking it, I feel like a brother would wait even if there was a possibility of some monster coming out instead of his brother. So I wrote this one in Sugriva's POV to show his thoughts on that.

Bibliography: Ramayana, Public Domain Edition by M. Dutt, R. Dutt, Gould, Griffith, Hodgson, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Oman, Richardson, and Ryder.

Microfiction: Two Small Stories Inspired by the Ramayana

Aftermath of Brothers, Battles and Bonds

"Rejoice, brother! We vanquished those fiends."

A Parent Always Worries

A worried Dasharatha sits on his throne, waiting for his sons to return. They had left for battle days ago and, if everything went well, should be home soon. So when the doors open he glances up in hope. Is it his sons? It is! He jumps up and rejoices.

Dasharatha worried for his sons

(image source)

Author's Note: These two stories are inspired by the very first part of the Ramayana but I also had my version of it in mind. (You can find that version here). In both versions Dasharatha cares deeply for his sons and so sending them away to fight against demons worries him. In my version, I expanded on the first fight with a demon that occurs in the Ramayana and then they return home after defeating a group of demons who were harassing some sages, unlike the original in which their journey continues.
For the 6 word story above I wanted to try and convey what the brothers, Rama and Lakshmana, would be feeling once they defeat the demons and eventually came up with the idea to do that with a quote one of them might say.
For the 50 word story above I focused more on their father and what he would be feeling. All he can do is sit back and wait for them to come home so I chose to write about how his feelings of worry would turn into feelings of joy once his sons are home.

Bibliography: Ramayana, Public Domain Edition by M. Dutt, R. Dutt, Gould, Griffith, Hodgson, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Oman, Richardson, and Ryder. Web source

Microfiction: Two Small Stories on Karma

Karma Through Claws

Claws closed, karma killed the crane.

The Termination of the Trickster

There once was a trickster who loved false promises. However, in the end he met his match, was outwitted, and would never again make a false promise.

The crab who dished out Karma

(image source)

Author's Note: For these two microfictions I chose to write the same original story. The original is about a crane who tricks some fish into getting eaten by promising them to move them to a bigger lake. In the end, the crane tries to do the same to a crab but is outwitted and the Crab uses his pincers to chop off the cranes head.
For the 6 word story I wanted to make sure I used the word karma since that is what got the crane in the end and then I noticed I could used alliteration and keep the message of the story so I did so just for fun. I the two sentence story I wanted to try being vague about who or what the characters are to focus the readers attention on the events.

Bibliography: "The Cunning Crane and the Crab" from The Giant Crab, and Other Tales from Old India by W. H. D. Rouse. Web Source