Collected Short Works

Kooni's Trials

                                                        (a retelling from the Ramayana)

Key Terms:

Ayodhya - birthplace of Rama, the human avatar of the god Vishnu
Brahmin - priests in Indian culture that specialized in the teaching and protection of sacred learning in India
Kokilavan Dham - Temple for worship of the God of Judgment Shani outside the town of Mathura 
 Lord Krishna - an incarnation of the god Vishnu, known as a prankster
 vahana - In Hinduism, each god had a mount. This mount was known as a vahana
kopa gruha - "the room of anger" 

Provided is a link to the Wiki page for the Ramayana, for those that are not familiar with the story

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Before the birth of the great Rama, in a small village several days' walk from Ayodhya, lay the town Mathura. Here in this land was the birth of the unfortunate wretch Kooni. Lord Krishna, out of joy for the prosperity of his abode, blessed the town with a gift. Thus Kooni was born, possessing boundless beauty and a voice of silk. She would dance listlessly through the city, anklets jingling, relaying verses of Brahmin priests to raise the spirits of those whom resided there. Granting joy to whomever happened upon her song, she ran about free as a bird. Until one day, a man struck her eye.

Filled with lust that burned her belly, she approached the man. Her eyes dark with desire, she sang to him a song of promise and courtship, leading him deep into a path of sin. After she had had her fill of him, she cast him off. Not completely satisfied, she sought out another to quell the maddening fire that was bursting from her chest. No matter how many men she enslaved with her song and body, her fiery passion would not abate.

Before long, news of the torment caused by the comely maiden Kooni reached the ears of the gods. While visiting his temple Kokilavan Dham nearby the now troubled city of Mathura, the God of Judgment, Shani, happened upon Lord Krishna. Wanting to cause just a bit of mischief, Lord Krishna had approached him.

"So have you heard?" There was a brief pause. "The trouble that has arisen in my city? They say that it is all caused by one woman by the name Kooni, radiating beauty that could render even a god powerless at her gaze and a voice that could tame even the mightiest of warriors into doing whatever she pleased. All men fall prey to her whims, only to be cast off as soon as she becomes bored. This must surely be some sort of trickery. It must be!"

While Krishna, in keeping true to his mischievous nature, kept to himself his involvement in the wretched maiden's birth, Shani listened intently. He nodded respectfully and then crossed his arms, closing his eyes in contemplation of the news.

After some thought, he thus proclaimed his thoughts boisterously, "As the God of Judgment, I cannot let such reckless actions continue. I shall travel forthwith to Mathura, observe, and cast down Karmic judgment upon this poor wretch's soul."

Placing two fingers into his mouth, he blew hard. A sharp sound pierced the stillness of the jungle and from above the trees a dark mass began to descend towards him. Krishna watched amusedly as a large crow landed in front of Shani. The two blended in with each other, Shani's dark skin blending in with the shimmering wings of his vahana. Shani proceeded to mount the beast and rode off towards Mathura.

Before entering the city, he dismounted his crow vahana and assumed the form of a common villager so as not to cause too much alarm at his presence. Upon his arrival to the village of Mathura, he found it in an extreme state of disarray. Wives berated their husbands, slashing at them angrily with sticks. The men of the village appeared weak and fatigued from long nights awake fornicating to their hearts content. Work needing to be done was left untouched in piles around the city. The further Shani walked, the more enraged he became. Surely one woman, no matter how beautiful, would not be able to cause this much destruction!