“He must be killed at once!” exclaimed Mareecha. “Not a soul
on this earth can kill my mother and get away with it.” These were Mareecha’s
feelings following Thataka’s death at the hand of Rama in the forest of
Sidhasrama. Just before Mareecha was set to pounce, Rama pivoted and released
an arrow, catapulting Mareecha into the sea of Madartha with the force of the
strike. Unconscious, Mareecha was guided by the current onto the sandy cove. At
the break of dawn the next day, Mareecha awoke to the screech of feral baboons.
Startled, he jolted up and looked around – there was nothing but water his east
and jungle in remaining directions. “I can’t survive in there,” he remarked, “I’ll
be eaten by some voracious beast before sundown.” He panicked and called upon
the one being that could help him out of his situation – Yatha, overseer of the
jungle. “Yatha,” he pleaded, “return me to my village and I promise to live a
life of rectitude.” “No.” Replied Yatha. “You must live in the jungle AND carry
out good works for those in need.” Mareecha, frayed by the approaching sounds
of the jungle creatures, agreed. Abiding by the commands of Yatha, Mareecha
lived on the outskirts of the jungle practicing goodwill and spirituality.
Source; Mareecha's cove
Meanwhile, Ravana, insatiable because of the description of
Sita, burst into Mareecha’s living accommodation. “Mareecha! My uncle, I am in
dire need of your help.” said Ravana. “I know that under your agreement with
Yatha you can assist only those in need. And, well, I’m in need.” Ravana
pleaded, “The love of my life is being held captive by two mortals. Won’t you
aid me in liberating her?” Mareecha, fulfilling his oath to Yatha, obliged. “Present
yourself as a fox of the forest and draw her away from her captors and towards
me” said Ravana. Mareecha lauded the idea for its feasibility, “What a fantastic
idea!”
Upon arrival near the
camp, Mareecha noticed just who her captors were – Rama and his brother. “I can’t;
I can’t do this,” he quipped. Just the
look of Rama’s face made Mareecha frightened. “He’ll surely take my life if he
catches me and realizes who I really am,” said Mareecha. So he darted for the
thick of the forest and Rama chased shortly behind. “I just wanted a life of
tranquility,” thought Mareecha as he pondered in what would surely be his last
moments. Rama, realizing that this was no ordinary fox, drew a spear and hurled
it in the path of Mareecha. It grazed Mareecha in the tail but not such it
would do him any harm. “Yatha, please help me out of this!” claimed Mareecha. “I
thought this was an innocuous instance of help. Rama tricked me!” Yatha, understanding
the nature of what unfolded, granted Mareecha his wish and whisked him back to
his hut. “Surely now you know who and who not to help, right?” said Yatha. “Your
nephew wanted nothing more than to use you in order to fulfill his lustful
desires.” Ravana made away with Sita and arrived back home with a new woman in
hand. Because of the wrong he did to a harmless Rama, Mareecha felt compelled
to reach out to Rama and offer his services in recapturing Sita.
Source: Narayan, R. K. (1972) The Ramayana.
Authors note: I chose to write this story in a third person style in order to provide more depth to the character Mareecha. It seemed as if he was forced to comply in the actual story and I wanted to provide more details as well as his cognitions moving forward. In my story I altered the animal that is pursued as well as Ravana's character -- I made him more of a deceiver in this retelling.
I think that you are a really good writer! This story flowed really well and was definitely interesting! I remembered this story from the reading and I actually nearly chose it for my story this week! I got a little confused when you started talking about a fox, but your author's note cleared that up! I like that you changed the animal. It definitely caught my attention! Good job!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this story! It was full of detail and exciting. I like how you chose to elaborate on this story, giving us more insight as to what Mareecha went through. The addition of dialogue gives the characters more personality, and individuality. I also liked how you changed the animal, to add a little difference from the original story. Overall I really enjoyed this. It was well written, and very easy to follow! Good job!
ReplyDeleteYour retelling of this story is great. Your use of detail and imagery is good, but could be a bit more vivid in some descriptions of scenery. I really like how you show Mareecha’s transition from anger towards Thataka’s death to peace and helpfulness. Yatha may have played a large role in Mareecha’s transformation, but ultimately Mareecha came to see that peacefulness is a better way to live. You did an excellent job portraying that.
ReplyDeleteYour word choice is appropriate for the story you are telling, and your sentences flow very well. I didn’t see any major grammatical errors, and everything is easy to read. You did a great job focusing the emotion of this story starting with Mareecha becoming tranquil and then to the betrayal of Mareecha by Ravana. Your use of direct speech was very effective, but in a few places I think it could have flowed better within the sentences. Overall, great job!