The Death of Aksha

Hello children! Today I want to tell you a story—the story of Ravana’s son Aksha. Who am I? Haha, I completely forgot to introduce myself- I am Yama, the god of death. Now you might ask why the story of Aksha? It is because it was he who was the first casualty of the war that was to come in Ramayana.

Long ago, when Ravana was keeping Sita at Ashoka Grove (against her will, of course), the son of the wind god- Hanuman- came bearing Rama's message. A message of hope, that Rama will rescue her, that she will be safe. Hanuman showed Sita Rama's ring. It meant she could trust him. Sita was delighted that her husband finally found her!

While she was daydreaming about getting reunited with her husband, she heard Hanuman clear his throat. "What is wrong, Hanuman?" Sita asked. She, then, suddenly realized that it was not Hanuman's throat but his stomach that was growling in hunger. Sita discerned that Hanuman had made a long journey and was hungry. After all, it was Hanuman. That kid flew to eat the sun. Now you could understand how the Pavanputra had zero tolerance for hunger. Sita chuckled a bit, but she didn't have any food to offer him. She looked around at the grove, and there were fruits, a lot of fruits. Sita offered Hanuman all the fruits at the Ashoka grove. Hanuman was so excited being finally offered food. He thanked her and started jumping from tree to tree and eating fruits.

One Rakshasi noticed Hanuman. "Look, a monkey," she said. "How cute," said another. "Cute?" Hanuman thought. "Who are they calling cute? I will show them that I am no ordinary monkey." It looked like the comment hurt little Maruti's ego. He started throwing fruits at the Rakshasis, and they were getting noticeably angry. Soon they were shouting and shooing him away, but Hanuman was not playing (even though he was having fun). It was chaos. When this was happening, Ravana came by the grove. He said he wanted to take a walk, but we all know he was just trying to impress Sita. He had his royal guards with him, and he bought his son, Aksha, around. Ravana saw Hanuman creating turmoil and said, "I will kill you." Sita was relaxing under the shade of an Ashoka tree when she looked up at Ravana and smirked. "How can you call yourself a king," said Sita, "when you are the one doing trivial jobs around your kingdom like killing or shooing a mere monkey?" Ravana was embarrassed and ordered his son, Aksha, to kill the monkey, and he walked away from the grove. Aksha took his sword out but Hanuman was stronger, moved swiftly, and killed Aksha first. I knew what was going to happen, so I was there, patiently waiting behind an Ashoka tree, to take Aksha with me. After all, time is money, haha! Also, because I wanted to see Hanuman in action.

It took Aksha a few moments to realize that he died. He was sorry he disappointed his father. "Hop on," I said. I usually don't let anyone ride my Buffalo, but this kid looked really sad, so I let him. I do hold a grudge against his father, but that does not mean I would mistreat the kid now, would I? I would never forget how Ravana declared himself the conqueror of death while I literally held my sword against his throat. If it were not for Brahma, he would have been long gone. This was the reason I was very invested in the war. I really wanted Ravana to get what he deserved (none of it is good). When we were flying away, I realized the kid had a weak smile on his face. I guess he had sorted his emotions out. What emotions, you ask? I do not really know. After all, I am only a god of death; I barely know how psychology works. Maybe you all can help me out, down in the comments?!

Author's Note: Yama, who tells this story, is the God of Death in Hindu Mythology. I thought that it would be really cool if Yama told this story. I also incorporated the aspects of the enmity between Yama and Ravana. This story was the story of Aksha's death. Aksha is Ravana’s son and was supposedly the first casualty of the war of Ramayana. He died at the hands of Hanuman. I have used "Pavanputra" and “Maruti” in the story, which are just Hanuman’s nicknames. (Pavanaputra means the son of the wind). I did not change a lot of things from the original story but just added Yama in the scenario. In my head, I would like to think that Yama was very eager to see the events of the war unfold, as he really wants to take Ravana down to Naraka (Hindu equivalent to hell, where Yama resides). To me, the realization Aksha had was supposed to be that his father was on the wrong side of things. The fact that he was let out of all that chaos early is supposed to bring comfort to him- the reason for the faint smile, but you can really make it whatever you want. I am very excited to know what you guys think.

Bibliography: Tiny Tales of the Ramayana by Laura Gibbs

Image Source: Wikipedia