|
Tell Me a Story: | |
|
By Amy Friedman |
|
|
Long ago, Prince Rama, known. as The Azure because the blood of the sky god flowed in his veins, lived in India with his wife, Princess Sita. She was his most beloved treasure, but one day she disappeared. She left behind only a trail of jewels. Rama called upon his brother, Lakshmana, and the brothers searched the forest. Alas, they saw no trace of the princess and heard only the chattering of monkeys. The monkeys persuaded the brothers to follow them to their kingdom to see their all-knowing god, Hanuman. In the shape of a monkey, but large and .powerful, Hanuman had the heart and spirit of the greatest of gods, and he was pleased to greet the brothers. "Ravana, king of the demons, has captured Sita and has her in his castle," Hanuman told the princes. "He has fallen in love with her, and we must join forces to overcome him." The brothers knew Ravana had threatened to destroy the whole world, and they were grateful to the monkey god for his offer. They nodded, and Hanuman called out in a voice like none Rama had ever heard before, and soon animals from every comer of the country had gathered. Led by the princes and Hanuman, the army of animals marched toward India's southern shore. In his palace on Lanka, the island of evil, Ravana laughed. With his dozens of eyes in his many heads,he saw the army approaching. He called upon his own demon army.
|
And a terrible army it was. Softie of the creatures were invisible, some were many-headed, some were homed. All were as fast as the wind.
When Hanuman's army reached the shore, they tossed rock upon rock into the ocean to form a bridge that would reach Ravana's island." When the bridge was finished, they crossed to Ravana's shore, but they were not prepared for the demon creatures. Before long their army was collapsing. Seeing this, Hanuman soared into the the clouds. He flew to the mountains where healing herbs grew, and not wanting to waste time picking them, he tore off the entire mountaintop and flew with the speed of wind back to Lanka. As Hanuman hovered above, the scent of the healing herbs drifted down and cured his army. With new strength, they charged against Ravana's army. When the demon king saw his forces failing, he dashed into battle, his many arms flying, his teeth gleaming. He set loose arrow after arrow, and each one slithered through the air and fell to the ground, turning into terrible, hissing serpents as they did. Hanuman's army fled from these monstrous creatures. But Prince Rama was more determined than ever. Running through the sea of serpents, he flung his spear into the air, and with Hanuman's magical blessing, the spear set loose a flock of vultures that swooped down upon Ravana's serpents. Ravina screamed, and his scream echoed throughout the world, sending shudders through all good men and women. Once more Ravana surged forward in his golden battle chariot, but. as he did, Rama's spear pierced his many heads. Then set loose I from their body, began to sail into the sky. At the sight of the floating heads, Ravana's demons turned and ran in fright. And so mortal Rama and his friend the monkey god saved Sita from the terrible castle, and they saved the world from Ravana's curse of evil. For the, rest of their lives, Rama and Sita and Hanuman I remained the closest of companions, always looking after each other. All who heard the tale of Hanuman's rescue were blessed from that day on with his virtue, bravery and strength.
|
