Week 4 Storytelling: Little Rama's Play-Arrow

“After twenty years you cannot forgive gentle Rama for once shooting a play-arrow at your hump” (65). So Kaikeyi jeered Manthara upon her suggestion of Rama’s exile. At this, Manthara was reminded of the day little Rama lost her favor.

When Rama was just a young boy, he spent many afternoons running around and playing outside with his brothers. One day when he was chasing his brother Lakshmana near the forest, a wild-looking, little man from the woods startled them with his booming laughter. The man Guha, as he was called, had been hunting a deer all the way to the very edge of the woods when he noticed the two city boys hunting each other. Guha was amused by their play and charmed by Rama’s vibrant, radiating spirit. Upon hearing his laughter, Rama and Lakshmana abandoned their game to greet the stranger.

“I know everyone in the kingdom, and I am sure I do not know you. I am Rama. Welcome to Ayodhya,” Rama said to him.

“Thank you, young one. I am Guha the Hunter King. I live in the forest, and your games intrigue me,” he replied.

Lakshmana spoke up. “And why is it that our games would be so entertaining to a hunter from the forest?”

Guha chuckled and replied, “To be sure, your youthful play is a delight to behold, but your clumsy maneuvers and artless tactics betray your isolation in such a tame, domestic environment. If you would like, I can teach you real hunting skills.”

(A Man Greets Rama and Lakshmana)

And so Rama and Lakshmana became acquainted with the hunter. He would often return to the boundary of the city to teach the young boys—who he rightly assumed had never left the Ayodhyan metropolis—about the forest and its inhabitants, as well as how to hunt properly.

One day, as gifts for his eager little pupils, Guha brought with him to the city two small bows with soft toy arrows. He taught Rama and Lakshmana how to use them and what was involved in skillful archery, a lesson that would serve them well for many years to come.

When they returned to the palace that night, they were so enthralled by their new toy weapons that they couldn’t put them down. They ran around shooting at everything they saw—bedposts, statues, chairs. Little Lakshmana made the mistake of shooting at a delicate vase their step-mother Kaikeyi had brought with her to Ayodhya from her home country. His aim was perfect, and the vase hit the ground hard, shattering instantly. To his great misfortune, Kaikeyi’s loyal, hunch-backed servant Manthara had just turned the corner to witness the accident. She took it upon herself to immediately reprimand the prince. She was harsh and unforgiving, and Rama felt bad watching his brother’s chastisement.

The boys followed Manthara to the courtyard, where the king and his wives were playing with their brothers, Bharata and Shatrughna. As Manthara began to report Lakshmana’s misadventures, Rama had an idea to take some of Lakshmana’s blame.

“Don’t worry. Watch this!” he told his brother as he took aim at the old woman.

In the middle of her account, Rama shot Manthara in the hump with his toy arrow, ending her speech and eliciting laughter from everyone in the courtyard. Lakshmana’s misdeed was forgotten straightaway, and for this he was grateful to his brother. Manthara, however, was enraged that young Rama would be so unkind as to mock her deformity.

Twenty years later, on the eve of Rama’s coronation, Manthara reflected on this cruel trick and the embarrassment she endured, and her resolve to disrupt his coronation hardened. She refused to quit the subject until Kaikeyi conceded and agreed to make use of the two wishes King Dasaratha promised her, ensuring Bharata’s place as king and Rama’s banishment from the kingdom. It was Manthara’s bitter resentment toward Rama’s childhood mischief that spurred Kaikeyi’s betrayal.



Author’s Note: 
     While reading both versions of the Ramayana, I found myself wondering why Manthara was seemingly the only person in all of Ayodhya who did not like Rama. I thought with this week's story, I could explore the story behind her bitterness. I also wanted to write about Guha because I thought he was a very fun character, and I was able to include both with this topic. I began my story by trying to elaborate on Kaikeyi’s sentiment, restated at the very beginning. I thought it would be interesting to tell the story of the play-arrow she alludes to, and from there I was able to incorporate some detail as to how Rama and Lakshmana became friends with Guha.
     I had a hard time finding a good picture of Guha, but I was able to find this photo in which an unnamed man is greeting Rama and Lakshmana near what looks like a forest. I thought it would go well with my story and I could make the unnamed man Guha.
     My goal for this story was not so much to change anything as it was just to elaborate on something I was left curious about—the reason behind Manthara's treachery. So the part of my story in which Rama is a little kid is all made up based on some things Guha and Kaikeyi referred to in brief when he was an adult.


Bibliography: Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way.