Week 3 Story: The New King
Bharata at last returned from his escapades outside of the kingdom. His travels mostly included partying and gambling--Bharata had been taking advantage of the riches that came along with being Dasharatha's son since he had come of age. He was spoiled by his mother Kaiyeki since his birth, and this caused him to become a very entitled young adult. His brothers Rama and Lakshmana were always telling him he needed to grow up and uphold the honor of their family name. This caused Bharata to hate his brothers. Bharata would often think that they looked down upon him because he was not as heroic as they were. Bharata would often scoff thinking about them--they were complete showoffs! All they ever want to do was make their little brother look bad, Bharata would think to himself.
When he arrived at the gates, Bharata knew that something was off about Koshala. Normally the kingdom was vibrant and warm, though on this day it was very somber. As he approached his quarters, he saw his mother come running to him.
Kaiyeki exlaimed, "The king is dead. However, Rama has been exiled and Lakshmana left along with him. From my doing, you have been made king, my son."
Though this came as a shock to Bharata, he quickly warmed up to the idea of being king. After all, Dasharatha only cared about Rama anyway. Bharata was glad to have his older brothers out from under his skin. In Bharata's mind, they had it coming! Bharata decided that he would run the kingdom much different from his father--he decided he wanted to leave his mark on Koshala. He would be remembered as a king like no other! He began to plan a party unlike any other the kingdom had ever seen. He ordered that the kingdom spend a fair amount of their gold on this celebration--he wanted the whole kingdom to celebrate his becoming king! This will make everyone love me! thought Bharata.
"I will be even more popular than my father," Bharata confided to his mother's servant Manthara.
It was at this point in time Manthara broke the news to Bharata: Rama was exiled, though only for fourteen years. He will be back, and at that time he will have a claim to the throne...
Bharata was furious at this news. He quickly gathered the most elite of his guards, and tasked them with a special mission.
"I want you to find my brothers Rama and Lakshmana...and make sure will never return to Koshala."
Bharata was determined to be rid of these two meddlesome brothers once and for all.
I will make sure nothing stands in my way of being king, Bharata thought to himself.
When he arrived at the gates, Bharata knew that something was off about Koshala. Normally the kingdom was vibrant and warm, though on this day it was very somber. As he approached his quarters, he saw his mother come running to him.
Kaiyeki exlaimed, "The king is dead. However, Rama has been exiled and Lakshmana left along with him. From my doing, you have been made king, my son."
Though this came as a shock to Bharata, he quickly warmed up to the idea of being king. After all, Dasharatha only cared about Rama anyway. Bharata was glad to have his older brothers out from under his skin. In Bharata's mind, they had it coming! Bharata decided that he would run the kingdom much different from his father--he decided he wanted to leave his mark on Koshala. He would be remembered as a king like no other! He began to plan a party unlike any other the kingdom had ever seen. He ordered that the kingdom spend a fair amount of their gold on this celebration--he wanted the whole kingdom to celebrate his becoming king! This will make everyone love me! thought Bharata.
"I will be even more popular than my father," Bharata confided to his mother's servant Manthara.
It was at this point in time Manthara broke the news to Bharata: Rama was exiled, though only for fourteen years. He will be back, and at that time he will have a claim to the throne...
Bharata was furious at this news. He quickly gathered the most elite of his guards, and tasked them with a special mission.
"I want you to find my brothers Rama and Lakshmana...and make sure will never return to Koshala."
Bharata was determined to be rid of these two meddlesome brothers once and for all.
I will make sure nothing stands in my way of being king, Bharata thought to himself.
Manthara advises Kaiyeki to have Rama banished in order to make Bharata king.
Source: Commons
Author's Note: I took inspiration for my story from a section of the PDE of the Ramayana called "Bharata Returns." This story details Bharata's return to the kingdom. I definitely switched the personality of Bharata up significantly; in the original story he was heartbroken by the death of his father and the exile of his brother. I thought it would be interesting if perhaps Bharata wasn't such a great guy. I wanted to rewrite the story in a way that made Bharata long to be king.
Bibliography: "Indian Myth and Legend" by author Donald A. Mackenzie
Wow, great job Christian! I enjoyed reading the Bharata as an evil character compared to his heartbroken persona in the original. I like the way you a lot of adjectives to describe what was going on in the the story and Bharata's character. It is great that you provided background as to why Bharata grew jealous of his brothers and why he is the way he is and italicizing when you switched from the narrators point of view to Bharata's. Your story made me actually be more interested in the character because before I just passed him as another side character in Ramayana.
ReplyDeleteHello Christian! I really like how you modified the story. I feel like most people are not changing the personality of the character, so that is GREAT! I really enjoy reading about monsters and bad guys because it is more complex than just always reading about the good guy all of the time. I really enjoyed reading your story, but to take it to the next level it may help if you could add some more show not tell in to your story telling though. For example, when you say “He was spoiled by his mother Kaiyeki since his birth, and this caused him to become a very entitled young adult.” You could give examples of how he was spoiled then say an example of how he acted entitled. It makes for more intriguing story telling. Also, in other peoples’ stories that I have read adding super small details can make a huge difference on a story. So, maybe you could go back and just add small details throughout your story to really add some depth.
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