Week 2 Story: Hanuman and the fruit
The story begins 7000 years ago on the banks of the river Tungabhadra in the kingdom of Kishkinda. The kingdom was that of the vanaras (ape like humans) that thrived there for hundrerds of years. Among them was a brave warrior Kesari, who wandered from place to place meditating and praying to Lord Shiva. Frustrated with his inability to have children, he prayed to Lord Shiva and has a child Hanuman , through his wife Anjana.
Hanuman was no ordinary child. He had extraordinary abilities and a curious mind. He liked to eat fruits and sweets like any other kid. This tempted him to go for the sun one day! Growing in size for Hanuman was no big deal so he tried to get close enough to the sun to swallow it. However, as soon as he got closer, he burnt to ashes. The gods of the heavens couldn't let the happen because Hanuman was a living embodiment of Lord Shiva. Hence, all the gods in the heavens blessed him with a skill. Now he was immune to all the elements on earth and considered immortal. He could increase his strength on will.
Hanuman was still a kid and hence caused a lot of trouble around town . He would use his abilities to cause havoc ( as kids do), but to a larger scale. This annoyed a group of monks and they cursed him to forget his own abilities until someone reminded him. It only happens so in adulthood that Hanuman uses his abilities to help Lord Ram.
Author's Note
The story is taken from Valmiki's original Ramayana that my grandma recited me.
I made a few changes to the story but mainly stuck with the structure and characters. A major change is the ending for Hanuman's sun adventure. I made it so that he would turn into ashes because he wasn't immortal yet. The original version of the story includes him fighting Lord Indra ( King of the Heavens) and finally losing to one of his most powerful weapons. Being a Physics major, I had to side with the Sun Lord ( Lord Surya )
posted by Siddharth Hegde @ September 25, 2020
4 Comments
4 Comments:
Siddharth, great job! I really like how you changed the ending of Hanuman's sun adventure and turned him into ashes due because he was not considered immortal yet. I think ashes are the perfect way to decipher immortality in this story because of the presence of Lord Surya. the Sun Lord. I wonder what would have happened if he did not inch closer to the sun? Would he have done something else to become immortal, like winning the fight against Lord Indra? If you switched to the battle with Lord Indra, maybe Hunuman could rise to the heavens OR maybe even fall to underworld, to be reborn. This could add a complete new component to your story. Additionally, you could elaborate on the powers that he gains after he turns to ashes and becomes immortal, for example, how does he use his abilities to help Lord Ram? Does Lord Ram appreciate his help, or does he think that Hunman is using him as an advantage?
Hey, Siddarth! I think that you did a fantastic job with this story! It was interesting to hear things from your perspective, as someone who has heard the Ramayana passed down verbally. I did this story a while back, and I was able to see things from this perspective that helped me. You mentioned that you wanted to side with Lord Surya, and I think that that makes for a great revision of the story. However, I wonder... what would this story look like with more dialogue and thoughts from Lord Surya? I think that it would make an interesting plot development to give the perspective of Surya, maybe even like one of an annoyed adult contending with the child Hanuman?
Suddarth, I found your story to be really interesting! I'm glad that you were able to write a story from a story that your grandma recited to you about. I feel like using that story would have been really personal to you because your grandma was involved in helping you out. I think that it would be really nice to have someone verbally tell me their version of the Ramayana. I look forward to seeing more of your work in the future!
Hi Siddarth!!
This story is awesome! I think it relates so well to the source material, and it is even cooler that it is from Valmiki's original Ramayana and that your grandmother had recited it to you. I feel like that just adds another layer to the story and makes it just that much more interesting. I really hope to read more of your stories in the future, given that you have a unique perspective on the course content. Have a great rest of your week!
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