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This first set of 100-word stories comes from the first book of the Ramayana, called Bala Kanda. I begin with the poet Valmiki and the invention of poetry (not exactly about Rama, but important for the Ramayana), and then there are two stories about Rama's birth, one story about baby Rama, and finally one story about Rama's first call to adventure when he goes with Vishvamitra into the wilderness to slay demons.
VALMIKI AND THE First Verse
VALMIKI AND THE First Verse
Two cranes, devoted to one another, lived by a river near the sage Valmiki's hermitage.
One day as Valmiki watched the couple mating, a hunter shot an arrow from the bushes. One of the cranes fell to the ground, dead, and his mate screamed in grief as she gazed at his blood-spattered corpse.
In anger and sorrow for the birds, Valmiki cursed the hunter in verse:
O Hunter, because you killed one of these birds
In the midst of their love, you will be infamous forever.
This was the first poem in the world, and Valmiki was the first poet.
Dasharatha's SON
Dasharatha's SON
As King Dasharatha of Ayodhya conducted a sacrifice in order to obtain a son, the devas beseeched Vishnu in heaven.
"The Lord of the Rakshasas, Ravana, persecutes us," they cried, "and he torments the earth."
Brahma explained how Ravana won protection from devas, asuras, rakshasas, yakshas, and gandharvas. "But in his arrogance," Brahma added, "he did not request protection from humans."
The gods then made their request. "We beg you, Preserver-of-the-Universe: take birth as Dasharatha's son in order to save the world from Ravana."
Vishnu agreed, and thus he was born on earth as Dasharatha's son: Rama, Prince of Ayodhya.
Kheer from Heaven
Kheer from Heaven
As King Dasharatha completed the sacrifice, a celestial being appeared, bearing in his hands a bowl of kheer. Dasharatha gave the bowl to Kaushalya, chief among his three wives.
"We must share it," she said. So Kaushalya ate half, and gave the bowl to Sumitra.
Sumitra ate half, and gave the bowl to Kaikeyi, Dasharatha's favorite.
Kaikeyi ate half, and then gave the bowl back to Sumitra, who ate what was left.
And so Kaushalya gave birth to Rama, Kaikeyi to Bharata, and Sumitra had two sons: Lakshmana, who was devoted to Rama, and Shatrughna, who was devoted to Bharata.
Rama's Cosmic Form
Rama's Cosmic Form
Kaushalya left Rama in his cradle and then went to offer prayers. She was amazed to find him there, eagerly eating the burfi and other puja sweets. "How can he be both here and there?!"
As she stared, Rama displayed his cosmic form: infinite beings, millions of universes manifesting in every part of his body. All of time, all of existence radiated from him.
Kaushalya bowed her head. "O Lord, I beg you to let me forget you have shown me here."
So Kaushalya forgot, and in obedience to his mother Rama never revealed his true form to her again.
Tataka's Revenge
Tataka's Revenge
Tataka was once a beautiful yakshini on whom Brahma bestowed the strength of a thousand elephants.
So when the sage Agastya killed her husband, Tataka vowed revenge, but Agastya in turn cursed Tataka, turning her into a monstrous rakshasi.
Enraged, Tataka and her sons, Maricha and Subahu, attacked every sage and defiled every sacrifice. That is why Vishvamitra brought Rama into the forest.
"You must kill Tataka and her sons!" he commanded, and Rama obeyed. Rama killed Tataka, and he killed Subahu, but Maricha escaped.
Later Maricha would take from Rama what he loved most.
Was that Tataka's final revenge?
Rapheal asked me a really interesting question a comment about whether present tense would work better for these stories. I always write in past tense myself, but it would be easy to use present tense for these short stories. If you can let me know what you think, that would be really helpful, especially if you can manage to pinpoint just what it is that gives you a preference for past tense or for present:
Past Tense
Kaushalya left Rama in his cradle and then went to offer prayers. She was amazed to find him there, eagerly eating the burfi and other puja sweets. "How can he be both here and there?!"
As she stared, Rama displayed his cosmic form: infinite beings, millions of universes manifesting in every part of his body. All of time, all of existence radiated from him.
Kaushalya bowed her head. "O Lord, I beg you to let me forget you have shown me here."
So Kaushalya forgot, and in obedience to his mother Rama never revealed his true form to her again.
Present Tense
Kaushalya leaves Rama in his cradle and then goes to offer prayers. She is amazed to find him there, eagerly eating the burfi and other puja sweets. "How can he be both here and there?!"
As she stares, Rama displays his cosmic form: infinite beings, millions of universes manifesting in every part of his body. All of time, all of existence radiates from him.
Kaushalya bows her head. "O Lord, I beg you to let me forget you have shown me here."
So Kaushalya forgets, and in obedience to his mother Rama never reveals his true form to her again.
Author's Notes.
1. Valmiki's First Verse. In addition to being the first poet in the world, Valmiki also composed the a version of the Ramayana. Here is a link to the Sanskrit of the verses that Valmiki spoke to the hunter; there's even audio you can listen to. This famous episode is from Sarga 2 of the Balakanda, the first book of the Valmiki Ramayana.
2. Dasharatha's Son. The gods go to Brahma in Sarga 15 of the Bala Kanda. The backstory of how Ravana got that boon of protection comes in the Uttara Kanda of the Ramayana, a book added on at the end which gives backstories for many of the main characters; you can read that story here: Ravana and Brahma.
3. Kheer. The sharing takes place in Sarga 16, but I changed it to have it be the queens' idea to share with one another; in the Valmiki Ramayana, Dasharatha organizes the sharing. You can usually find kheer, which is a sweet rice pudding, on the menu of most Indian restaurants. It is called by different names in different parts of India: kheer, payasam, firni, etc. Find out more at Wikipedia.
4. Cosmic Form. This episode does not occur in Valmik's Ramayana, but it does appear in Tulsidas's version of the epic (English translation), and it such a great scene! Krishna makes a similar revelation to his foster-mother Yashoda, who sees the cosmic manifestation of Krishna when she looks inside the baby's mouth. Vishnu's cosmic form is called Vishvarupa, All-Form; learn more at Wikipedia.
5. Tataka. The story of Tataka occupies Sargas 24-25-26 of the Valmiki Ramayana. Tataka's surviving son, Maricha, does not directly take Sita from Rama, but he is involved in the deception: he will take the form of a golden deer to lure Rama away so that Ravana can abduct Sita.
Bibliography. I chose these stories from the Bala Kanda while reading the Amar Chitra Katha Ramayana, and then I worked with the English versions of the Bala Kanda of the Valmiki Ramayana online, plus an English translation of Tulsidas as linked in the notes.
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