Week 4 Story: Indrajit's Glory
Indrajit looked around him, his eyes widening from the sheer brutality of what he was looking at. His army of demons was being defeated, and on their home turf no less. For the first time since his demon brethren began battling Rama and his army of monkeys, an unfamiliar feeling started to creep up deep from within Indrajit...fear. Not only fear, but doubt as well. How is this possible? My father was so sure of a one-sided victory... the demon prince thought to himself. An accomplished fighter in his own right, Indrajit had never lost a battle. The confidence that Ravana had going into this epic fight was contagious to Indrajit; it would be impossible for them to lose. But watching his demons get slaughtered mercilessly from a seemingly endless onslaught of monkeys is not what Indrajit expected in this war. And Rama...he was as fearsome and powerful as the stories told. He truly was a warrior of legend. Perhaps Vibhishana was right...maybe Ravana is in over his head. Maybe this is all a mistake... Indrajit's thoughts began creeping to a dark place. A place of defeat. Just as Indrajit was giving up hope, an idea popped into his mind.
He grinned; Indrajit knew it was not the most noble or honorable way to defend his home of Lanka, but at this point what did it matter? Using his magic, the demon prince made himself invisible. He began aiding all of his allies, tearing through the enemy like a mystical wind. The monkeys were confused at this sudden change of pace; how were so many of them going down? And who was this new assailant? Collectively, the army of monkeys began to panic. This completely turned the battle in favor of the demons. The monkeys were retreating, allowing Indrajit's generals to make a charge. After taking out several thousand monkeys, Indrajit was starting to get his swagger back. He began frantically looking through the crowd, with only one thing on his mind. Finally he found the two legendary brothers at the front-line of the monkeys. They were trying to restore order. Indrajit wailed out an evil laugh, knowing that this was his moment. Using his magic, he drew back tens of thousands of invisible arrows. While the brothers had no trouble blocking Indrajit's attacks when he was visible, he knew that this was a different story. The demon prince took a deep breath, relishing his moment, and then...he fired.
He grinned; Indrajit knew it was not the most noble or honorable way to defend his home of Lanka, but at this point what did it matter? Using his magic, the demon prince made himself invisible. He began aiding all of his allies, tearing through the enemy like a mystical wind. The monkeys were confused at this sudden change of pace; how were so many of them going down? And who was this new assailant? Collectively, the army of monkeys began to panic. This completely turned the battle in favor of the demons. The monkeys were retreating, allowing Indrajit's generals to make a charge. After taking out several thousand monkeys, Indrajit was starting to get his swagger back. He began frantically looking through the crowd, with only one thing on his mind. Finally he found the two legendary brothers at the front-line of the monkeys. They were trying to restore order. Indrajit wailed out an evil laugh, knowing that this was his moment. Using his magic, he drew back tens of thousands of invisible arrows. While the brothers had no trouble blocking Indrajit's attacks when he was visible, he knew that this was a different story. The demon prince took a deep breath, relishing his moment, and then...he fired.
Indrajit attacks both Rama and his brother Lakshmana.
Source: Commons
Author's Note: This story was inspired by the story called Indrajit from the Public Domain Edition of the Ramayana. In the original story, we hear an objective point of view that glosses over some details within the fight, particularly the thought process of Indrajit. I thought Indrajit was a really important character and I wanted to know more about what he was thinking throughout the fight, so I decided to rewrite this battle scene from his point of view.
Bibliography: Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by author Sister Nivedita.
I loved the point of view that you took in this story. I also felt that some of the action scenes in the the Ramayana were a little lacking on detail/drama. Like, I kind of forgot that Indrajit becomes invisible during the battle. I think you're focus on this thoughts made the story really memorable. I also laughed at "Indrajit got his swagger back" lol.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if there was a reason Indrajit didn't think to use his invisibility earlier. I'm assuming this is the way it was in the original story, but maybe you could think of a reason he waited so long to use it- maybe he was charging up or something??
I think it would be cool to start the story either earlier or continue it further. What if you wrote more about his reaction to getting some hits on the brothers. I bet he felt great about that!
I enjoyed your version of the story!
I really enjoyed your story from Indrajit's point of view. Especially when Indrajit's thoughts when he begins to doubt his father and their ability to defeat Rama. I wonder why Indrajit followed his father so blindly instead having doubt like Vibhishana did. Also, I thought using "swagger" to define Indrajit while he was using his magic as funny. The story mentioned that using magic in the battle wouldn't be the most honorable way to defend Lanka. I wonder why using magic isn't considered honorable during a battle, and if it was considered fair if Indrajit would've used it sooner in the battle. What if Indrajit's thoughts were continued as he returned to his father as the victor until Garuda came and healed Rama armies. I think it would be interesting to hear Indrajit's thought process as he realizes he has to battle Rama again. I wonder if he was as confident in his ability to defeat Rama the second time as he was the first time.
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