The Princes of Ayodhya-The Ramayan Through Short Stories

The Shakti Saga-Part 1

"Bhaiyya, I will die for you. I will die for them all. And if I do not die for them, I will fight for them. And if I cannot fight for them, then I will work for them. And if I cannot work for them, then I shall drown myself because I cannot live useless."

Once the twilight reached, once the sun began its steady fall, Ram pulled his bow down. That was enough for one day. Turning around, his black hair tickling the base of his neck, he strode towards the camp site proudly. Something, some weird feeling nagging his mind, popped up. No one, not Hanuman, Sugriv, not Lakshman, not even the enthusiastic Nal and Neel had walked up to greet him. Ram smiled. He truly was getting spoiled by them. They all must be tired after the long battle.

But as he neared the place where the tents would have reflected their light onto even the dark shadows, he was received with nothing but destruction. Those stretches of cloth they had brought from Kishkindha, were on the ground, strewn, torn, and dirty. 

Bars of wood portruded through the tears. Splinters and broken pieces littered the ground. It was as if what had once been a prosperous site had been ransacked and looted, and then left for Mother Nature to decompose.

Ram stopped abruptly. His face filled with shock as his eyes hooked onto ground 0. Somehow, he was alert of the presence of all the generals, surrounding the tent site, talking in hushed whispers, or avidly pulling it apart. The Leader of the monkey army wondered what had happened? Had there been a strong wind of some sort that had knocked it down? No, Lakshman's building was known to be reliable. What had happened? What could have possibly brought upon them this?

If Ram knew something, it was that standing was useless. He walked closer. Closer, even closer, and though his heart throbbed, unable to bear the sight, his mind filled with hope. Perhaps everyone had gotten out? Perhaps they were fine? Everything was okay, right? 

Ram's eyes snapped open, and he grasped Lakshman's arm, pulling him back from the rubble. "Lakshman, what? What happened? I-" he looked at Sugriv, then Hanuman. "Someone, tell me what happened?"

"Prabhu," Hanuman finally whispered. 'That vile Indrajit. He-he-he-" Pawanputra cut himself off, furiously rubbing the tears which spilled out of his eyes. "He was about to start another massacre, and we went out to encounter him, and he-he-" 

Something seemed to strangle the mighty monkey, and he fell silent. Silence was all it seemed Ram could encounter these days. Was it shock that brought upon this? Was it silent simmering? Or was it that such good men refused to speak about these unimaginable crimes?

Indrajit had struck again, it seemed. Ram, never one to lose hope, thought that it had finally disappeared. "Oh God. Someone should have-They were fine, right? I can't see any-" Sugriv shook his head, collapsing on the ground, rubbing his head, and Angad set a hand on his uncle's shoulders. Ram, Ram didn't know what he was expecting. Was he expecting there to be survivors? In this rubble? With such large debris?

What had he done to bring upon this? What did anyone do? They were all fighting for the same thing, right? Dharma, righteousness, truth. So why did it seem that adharma was winning here? Why did it seem as if evil was going to take the trophy? It couldn't be so. 

The Gods wouldn't allow such a preposterous thing to happen. First Sita, then Meghnad took these innocent vanars. Ram begged the Gods for answers now. He could not afford to emote anymore, for the future was bleak if he did so. He needed answers to the ever increasing flurry of questions. What would he take next? Was everything an illusion?

Ram's eyes flew open like he was possessed. "Illusion," He whispered. "Illusion! No wonder we can't find any bodies. No wonder it happened so suddenly. No wonder there are no signs of death, anywhere! No wonder Lakshman's building suddenly fell, the building which did not fall for thirteen years for us. How mysterious would all these things be otherwise? It all makes sense."