The One With Krishna as Rapunzel

***Check out the revised version of this story on my portfolio here!*** 

Long ago, on a rainy night, a demon named Putana slipped into the kingdom of Mathura and found herself in a room with a sleeping baby Krishna. At one point, he turned and yawned in his sleep and she saw the inside of his mouth. In it, was the entire universe, the stars and planets lined up, the past, present, and the future, and the existence of mankind. She knew he had special powers, so she took the baby in her hands and ran off with him unnoticed. Putana quickly learned of Krishna's magical powers to heal anyone when he played the flute. He could heal any wound and any pain someone suffered if he desired. He also unknowingly kept the beauty alive in demons, which is why Putana needed him. She took great care of him, for she needed his powers to keep her alive and well. When Krishna asked to leave his room, she always told him the outside world was dangerous and not for someone like him, who people could take advantage of. One day, as he was playing his flute, a young gopi by the name of Radha heard him. She began singing and dancing to the tune of his music until she reached the source of the tunes. When she looked up and saw Krishna through a little window from his tower, she was saddened. What was such a beautiful, talented musician doing locked up in a room? About the same time Radha looked up, Krishna stopped playing the flute and looked down. He was mesmerized. Down below, staring right at him, was the most beautiful and pure-hearted looking woman. Without even yelling so much of a warning to Putana, Krishna climbed down the side of the tower to greet Radha. The two spent the whole day together, and when Krishna finally went back to the room Putana kept him in, he was able to slide in without her even noticing he was gone. This became a normal thing for Radha and Krishna; they would meet up in the garden below Krishna's room and go to the forest, where Krishna would play the flute and Radha would sing and dance around him. They soon formed a special bond of love that everyone dreamed of having one day. 

Source: Krishna and Radha in the forest, as Krishna plays the flute.

When Radha mentioned to Krishna that there were other villages and kingdoms nearby, Krishna was awestruck. He didn't know anything about the world that awaited him outside of Putana's home because he was never allowed to go anywhere. He had always dreamt of living in a palace with his real parents, but according to Putana, they had abandoned him as a child.  One day, he asked Radha to take him to one of these nearby kingdoms. She told him that she would take him wherever he pleased, but in order to go to the kingdom, they would have to cross a river and the journey there and back would take longer than one afternoon. They wouldn't be able to go without Putana noticing Krishna was gone. So, one evening, Krishna pretended to break his flute. This immediately grabbed Putana's attention and she set out to fetch him another one right away. The nearest place she could go to obtain such a flute was Mathura, which was a three days' journey away. Little did Krishna know, that was his birthplace and that is where Radha was taking him the next day as well. The flute he played and pretended to break was his mother's, who had left it near him when he slept. When Putana took Krishna, she took the flute with him. She knew that her true self would be revealed if Krishna stopped playing the flute, so she set out to Mathura immediately in hopes of finding another one. As soon as she left, Krishna climbed down his window and ran to Radha in the forest. They also set out to Mathura, although neither of them knew the truth behind Krishna's birth and what Putana was up to. 

Upon arriving in his hometown, Krishna was filled with a feeling of unrecognizable joy. He didn't know why, but he felt like he had been there before. Radha could sense the excitement in Krishna as they walked around the city and observed the people hustling about. The two quickly found a quiet spot in a garden near the palace, and Krishna began playing his flute. The other women around him swooned as he played, forgetting their work. When the sound of his music reached the ears of Queen Devaki and King Vasudeva, they thought they were in a trance. They had played the flute and danced around to those same exact tunes long ago, but had stopped when Krishna was taken from them. They hadn't heard those notes since. When they heard their son playing, they rushed down and found a handsome, magical-looking boy with a beautiful, radiant girl right beside him. Devaki and Vasudeva felt as if they were staring at themselves from the past. The old couple ran to their son and embraced him immediately. Krishna was surprised, but at the same time he felt at home for the first time ever. Devaki and Vasudeva began telling him the truth about his birth, his kidnapping, and their life ever since he was taken. They told him he was an avatar of Lord Vishnu and his destiny was robbed from him when he was a baby. Krishna was immensely saddened by this, and vowed to make Putana pay.

He returned to the tower that Putana kept him in just before she arrived with a new flute. However, when she gave it to him, Krishna looked at her sternly. He would not play. Putana persisted and kept ordering him to play his music. When he would not, she finally asked why. Krishna revealed that he knew the truth about himself. As he was speaking, Putana began to see the true form of Vishnu thrive inside of Krishna's eyes. She sank back and apologized for what she had done, and her fear of seeing Krishna in his rightful form transformed her into her true form as well. The demon inside of her took over and she attacked. Krishna, with one swift motion, jumped as she lashed out, and was able to separate her head from her body. She fell to the ground, and Krishna was finally free. He picked up his flute, left the tower, and ran to Radha. The two went back to Krishna's home in Mathura and Krishna revealed that he had taken revenge on the demon that deprived him of his childhood with his parents. Devaki and Vasudeva were thrilled to be reunited with their son and agreed to marry Krishna and Radha right away. The family finally lived happily ever after in a kingdom full of peace, love, and happiness.

Source: Radha and Krishna's marriage upon his arrival in Mathura.

Bibliography: Epified Krishna videos.

Author's Note: I based this story off of Disney's Tangled; you can read the whole plot summary here. When I was watching the Epified videos about Krishna, I realized a lot of details about his birth and growing up with another set of parents were similar to other stories I have read/watched. I thought of Tangled and decided to make it a story in which Krishna is forcibly taken at birth, but he still finds his way to Radha and his actual parents. In Tangled, Gothel takes Rapunzel due to the magical powers in her hair. I made Krishna the person being held captive in a tower by a demon Putana who needed his flute-playing powers to keep her alive and healthy. In the original Krishna stories, Putana takes baby Krishna in hopes of destroying him for King Kansa, but Krishna kills her without even meaning to. Everyone slowly realizes that Krishna is something special, as he is stronger and mightier than everyone around him. In the actual story, Krishna's father Vasudeva gives baby Krishna to Yashoda and Nandu in Gokul because he knows Krishna is in danger if he stays in Mathura (which is under Kansa's rule). Krishna grows up different from the other kids, and Yashoda realizes that he is a divine being when she looks into his mouth and sees the universe. Him and Radha fall in love and eventually, he is told his true destiny to destroy King Kansa, who is keeping his parents in jail and sets out to Mathura to do just that. In the original stories, Krishna and Radha are never married because it is not in their destiny, but I wanted to get them married in my story because their love is one of the most epic bonds in the Hindu culture. There are a lot of little plot stories combined into one thing, so let me know if I need to clarify this author's note some more! Hope you all enjoyed :)

Week 12 Story; The One Where Rama Fights Back

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It had been 12 years since Rama ran away to the forest, where he met his amusing yet helpful monkey companions, Hanuman and Sugriva. Throughout the years, he had bonded with the two monkeys like no other creature had. The trio went on many adventures, finding more people to ally with and build an army with, including all of the monkeys that followed Sugriva. Rama oftentimes missed his family, especially his late father Dasharatha and his wife Sita. However, he knew he left his kingdom for a reason, and that when he came back he would be stronger than ever and be able to defeat Ravana at last. Sometimes when Rama was restless, he thought about running back to his home,  but realized that if he wasn't patient and didn't look at all sides of the situation before tackling it, he would lose. He wanted to go back to Ayodhya only when he knew he could defeat Ravana. Until then, he would brood about waiting for the right moment. He didn't know when it would come, but he knew he would recognize it when the time came.

One day, as the three split up to hunt for food, Hanuman and Sugriva saw the most beautiful woman they had ever seen in their lives. They were behind a few evergreen bushes and were immediately mesmerized and could not find the will to move. They stared at her from afar, just waiting to see who she was or what she was in the forest for. After some time, they came to their senses and grew suspicious. The monkeys did not believe a single person was made to be that beautiful, so they assumed she was a demon, covering up her true self with a beautiful mirage. The two came up with a plan to trap her and take her to Rama to see what they should do. So, when her back was to them, Hanuman and Sugriva rushed at her, trapped her in their tails, and carried her to Rama. Rama heard the woman's cries from far away, and immediately recognized their sound - they belonged to Sita. Sita, his wife, his first and only love, his other half, his partner throughout life. Sita, the woman he loved since the moment he met her. How could he forget her voice? He began running towards the sound, and as soon as he saw Hanuman, Sugriva, and a tied up Sita, he noticed tears in his eyes. Once the monkeys realized this woman was of great importance to Rama and not a random demon, they immediately untied her and apologized for their behavior. 

"SITA!" Rama exclaimed, at the same time Sita yelled "RAMA!"

The two rushed into each other's arms.

"Wh-what are you- How're you- Why are y- What are yo-" Rama stuttered.

"Rama, oh, Rama... My dear... How could you leave? How could you stray here, without telling anybody, without telling ME?"

"Oh, my beloved. I am truly sorry for what I have done. At the time I wasn't thinking. I wasn't thinking at all. I just ran. By the time I realized that I was actually running away and didn't want to be home, it was too late to turn around and warn people. I just panicked and left. I am sorry."

"Well don't apologize now, come back! Please! Rama, we need you. I need you. I tried looking for you day after day but Ravana had us locked away. I've been able to get away a few times but I never knew where to look for you. I finally had the chance to run here, and here you are! Please Rama, come back. The kingdom is in shambles, it is completely unrecognizable and Ravana will not stop conquering other kingdoms."

After hearing Sita's version of the kingdom, Rama officially introduced Sita to Hanuman, Sugriva, and their whole army that they had been planning on using against Ravana one day. Rama realized it was time. The moment he saw Sita, a fire lit up in his heart and eyes and suddenly had the urge to fight for his kingdom. He knew it was the right time.

As they gathered up the army and all their weapons, Rama hugged his wife Sita once more. She gave him strength, and he was happy to have her by his side as he fought for his rightful kingdom back. 

Meanwhile, at Ayodhya, Ravana had just noticed that Sita was gone, She was supposed to be surrounded by rakshasas at all times, but somehow she had gotten ridden of them again! "Idiotic demons," Ravana muttered. Just as the words left his mouth, he heard a commotion. He looked over the horizon and saw hundreds of warriors on chariots and animals charging at the kingdom, wielding their weapons as they came. Ravana immediately recognized Rama and called for his army to get ready and fight back, but Rama's army was too huge and too fast for his enemy. His army charged through the various rakshasas fighting back, and as his people were fighting Ravana's army, Rama decided to head straight for Ravana. The two circled each other for some time, before Rama finally made the first move to cut off one of Ravana's heads. The head immediately grew back. However, Rama knew that Ravana's heads grew back slower as he got more tired. So, Rama rode around the entire kingdom and through the massive palace, up the stairs through the windows, across the huge dining tables, etc., until Ravana grew a little weary. Then, one by one, he cut off all of his heads until one of his arrows pierced Ravana straight through his heart. As soon as he defeated Ravana, all the rakshasas slowly disappeared and left the kingdom altogether. Rama had forgotten what it was like to fight in a battle like this, as he had been living in the forest for the past 12 years. 

Soon, Rama, Sita, and the rest of the warriors with Hanuman and Sugriva had released all the captives of Ayodhya that Ravana had locked away. Everyone rejoiced when they saw Rama, as they knew Ravana must have been defeated. Finally, the people of Ayodhya were happy again. Finally, Rama was back as king.

Source: The Lion King scene where Nala finds Simba, but scares Timon and Pumbaa in the process, since no one knows each other yet.

Author's Note: I got a lot of good critiques on Part 1 of this Lion King themed story, The One Where Rama Runs Away. So I thought I would continue the story to the end. I decided to have Sita find Rama in the forest, just like Nala finds Simba in the Lion King. I even kept the little confusion Timon and Pumbaa have with Nala at first by having Hanuman and Sugriva think Sita was a demon. Although Nala in the Lion King is simply hunting for food and runs into Simba, I had Sita come looking specifically for Rama in my story. Also, just like Simba goes back to his home, fights Scar, and takes his rightful place in the kingdom, I had Rama go back with his army, defeat Ravana, and take on the position of king. I paralleled it with the actual Lion King, just changed the character names and switched around certain details. I also tried incorporating some of the Jataka Tales in the first paragraph. The End of the World story is about a rabbit that hears a coconut fall from a tree and thinks the world is ending so he immediately starts running, and as he is running, he tells all the other animals the same thing, so they all follow him. Eventually, they get to the lion and he figures out what the sound actually was, and teaches them a lesson to not be so quick to lose judgement. I had Rama kind of take on the role of that lion when I mentioned he was impatient, but that he had to keep the mindset of looking at all sides of the situation and assessing it before jumping to conclusions. Hope you all liked the rest of the story :)

Week 11 Story; The One Where Dumbledore Saves His Troop

A horcrux was located on the other side of a lake. Dumbledore, Parvati, and Padma all traveled across the lake in order to retrieve the horcrux and destroy it before Lord Voldemort could gain his full power. The trio knew that there were creatures that resided at the bottom of the lake, and as soon as they tried reaching for the horcrux, they would attack them. However, they were on a mission and they were going to see it through.

As they neared the land and found the spot where the horcrux was, they slowly circled the object. It was a golden necklace, at the bottom of a little fountain. They could sense the dark magic inside of it. Dumbledore, after much speculation, announced that they would have to drink all of the water in the fountain in order to take the horcrux out. Parvati volunteered to drink the water, but Dumbledore knew he had to do it. He had lived his life and he could handle not surviving this obstacle. Parvati and Padma, however, had so much more to do with their lives; they would be the ones that could find the other horcruxes and eventually kill Lord Voldemort. 

Before he began drinking the water, he mentioned that he might not be in the right state of mind after he takes the first sip, and that he might have hallucinations and never want to take another sip again, but that Parvati and Padma have to make him drink all of the water so that they can get the horcrux and leave the area. 

Just as Dumbledore said, he began stuttering and rambling on about dark thoughts as soon as he swallowed the first gulp of water. Parvati consoled him as Padma kept refilling the shell of water for Dumbledore to drink. With every sip, he got more and more distressed. Pretty soon, he was crying and begging for mercy. Though it pained them, the twins knew Dumbledore meant what he said earlier so they kept delivering water until the last drop was swallowed. Padma quickly grabbed the necklace and the twins jumped into the boat to get back to Hogwarts. However, Parvati's foot accidentally touched the water of the lake, which immediately prompted the creatures in the lake to  grab them as they were trying to row away. Dumbledore, who had still been sobbing until this point, suddenly told the twins to jump on his back. They did so, trusting their headmaster completely, and just as the boat was about to tip over, a phoenix flew above their heads. Dumbledore raised his hands over his head and clapped them on the phoenix's feathers, which transported the trio to Dumbledore's office within seconds and saved them from the evil they were surrounded by.

Source: The scene from Harry Potter where Dumbledore apparates with his phoenix. (Sorry about the weird quality and the long video - if I can figure out how to crop this I will update it)

Bibliograpy: Ellen C. Babbitt's How the Monkey Saved His Troop.

Author's Note: The Patil twins are back! So, I kinda based this off of one of the Jataka Tales, called How the Monkey Saved His Troop. The tale discussed how the King wanted to shoot the monkeys and gain all the mangoes for himself, but the Chief Monkey found a way to escape the King's men and save his entire troop. I used Dumbledore as the Chief Monkey because he is a highly respected character in the Harry Potter series. I changed a lot of the plot story in order to fit in the Harry Potter theme, but I kept the same theme as the previous story I wrote a few weeks ago (with Parvati and Padma as the main characters, instead of Harry). I think the ending was kind of abrupt, but I'm not sure how to fix that just yet; also, many Jataka Tales end abruptly so it kind of fits if you look at it in that regard. I hope you all liked the story! :-)

Week 9 Story; The One With the Ugly Ducklings

Gandhari and Dritarashtra bumped into each other as they were trying to drink water from a beautiful, pure lake nearby. Both ducks were blind, so they were not aware of the other one attempting to drink from the same lake at the same spot. Though they couldn't see, they immediately fell in love with the other's touch. They could feel each other's soft and luscious feathers and yearned for the other's embrace. Each day after their first encounter, Gandhari laid an egg. this occurred for 100 days, and finally the couple felt like they had their own little family they could be happy with. All of the other ducks nearby, who inhabited the same area around the lake, were very happy for the couple and even helped protect the eggs and sat on them when it was cold and when predators lurked nearby. 

Finally, the first egg hatched. Dhritarashtra had gone to get food for the couple, but Gandhari had immediately heard the first crack. SHe felt each egg until she came across the one that was less smooth than the others. as she grazed her feathers over the egg, she could sense movement inside. She was so ecstatic! Her first child was about to be born, and it was going to be perfect! All the other ducks gathered around quickly and waited for the big moment. Finally, a baby chick was born. Gandhari immediately cuddled her child and was so happy that the other ducks couldn't bear to tell her the truth. What they saw was the ugliest and scariest looking duck they had ever seen. However, they knew Gandhari and Dhritarashtra couldn't see, so they saw no harm in keeping this information from them, rather than ruining their perception of their first-born. When Dhritarashtra came back, he had the same reaction as Gandhari and could not believe it! He could sense the baby's little fuzzy body, but obviously couldn't actually see it, so he was oblivious to the true nature of his child as well. One by one, all the eggs hatched and each time, the other families around the lake exchanged a look with each other, signifying that they were in fact terrified of what the baby ducks were going to be like. Finally, they decided to tell the happy couple what they saw. As they imagined, the couple was not happy to hear their comments and believed the others to simply be jealous of their babies.

A few weeks had passed since all the eggs had hatched, and their first-born cried out his first cry. When Gandhari and Dhritarashtra heard it, they were in shock. Though they couldn't see the demon side of their children, they heard its cry and immediately realized that the others were right. No duck ever sounded like that; instead of the usual ca-caw, their offspring emitted a demonic shriek that chilled them to their core. A demon's cry. The happy couple was soon devastated. 

The couple was extremely terrified and decided to pray to the Goddess Ganga and help them cleanse their babies, hoping that bathing in the Ganges River would get rid of the darkness in their souls. After praying for 100 days and 100 nights, Ganga appeared before the couple. They explained their situation and after one look at the children, Ganga readily agreed to help. She placed each of the baby ducks in their own pot and took all 100 pots to the river with her. She spent days performing various rituals and after what seemed like forever to Dhritarashtra and Gandhari, Ganga finally returned with 100 smiling, beautiful, demon-less ducks who cried out in soft voices. The cleansing had worked! The couple was extremely grateful, and the other duck families around the area were relieved to know their home would not be soon invaded by demons.

Source: Gandhari surrounded by her one-hundred sons.

Bibliography: Epified Mahabharata, One-Hundred Sons. 

Author's Note:
I don't really know how I thought of this, but when I was reading the Epified Mahabharata videos, I was thinking about how 100 children is a lot and that their birth wasn't very normal. It explained how Gandhari had been pregnant forever and how she had many nightmares and bad experiences during the term, and when she finally gave birth, it was a huge lump of flesh. Finally, Sage Vyasa took the lump and divided it into 100 pieces and placed each one in a pot. After a while, the babies were finally born. However, their eyes were super dark and demonic looking. While the other people saw it, Gandhari and Dhritarashtra clearly didn't. I decided to keep that part the same, and at the end I decided to make it a happy story. I also made the characters ducks because 100 hatching eggs sounded fun to write about, instead of 100 lumps of flesh growing in pots. Since I wanted a happy ending, I had them realize their kids' demonic side and pray to Ganga and have her clean their babies' souls.  Hope you liked it :)

Week 7 Story; The Last Two

Fifty-eight people. Three months. One winner. 

It was time for the 42nd annual Dhamakas, and this time it was being held in Hastinapura, a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Two people from each state in India were randomly selected to compete in the Dhamakas, where they would have to live in a forest in exile for a year, fend for themselves, and do whatever needs to be done to stay alive. If a person who was selected was unfit to compete, or if someone else wanted to take their place, it was possible for someone else to volunteer to take their spot in this dangerous game.

One by one, names were picked from each state to compete in the Dhamakas. Finally, it was time for Dhritashtra, the ruler of Uttar Pradesh, to randomly select two people to compete in his kingdom's defense. He had a concoction of turmeric powder in his hand that he threw on the ground after chanting a certain mantra. The powder would reveal the name of the selected person on the ground, forming each letter in a yellow color. Dhritarashtra knew that one of his sons or nephews would be picked, as he had one hundred sons (the Kauravas) and five nephews (the Pandavas), so the chances of one of them getting selected was high. As he recited the mantra and threw the first fist of turmeric powder to the ground, everyone anxiously stared at the yellow mist forming. It revealed a name: Karna. He was the secret and illegitimate son of Surya and Kunthi. What everyone knew about him, however, was that he was an excellent warrior and would be able to defend himself and fight off others well. He also was considered one of the Kauravas, since nobody knew he was actually Kunthi's son. Now, it was time for the second name reveal. Dhritarashtra again recited the mantra and threw another fist of yellow to the ground. It seemed like it took years for the name to be revealed, but soon there it was: Yudhisthira.

It was the oldest Pandava brother. 

Dhritarashtra's own nephew. 

The king's favorite. 

The future king.  

Dhritarashtra had complete faith that his nephew was a great warrior, but he had never competed in a game such as this. He didn't want to give up the throne to his oldest son, Duryodhana, for fear that the power would ruin him. Meanwhile, Duryodhana and the rest of his brothers were pleasantly surprised, as they hoped one of their own would be king one day and having Yudhisthira out of the picture would mean just that. Yudhisthira calmly stood up and began walking to Dhristarashtra, but then someone else stood up. It was Arjuna, one of the Pandava brothers, and probably the best warrior India had ever seen. He could wield swords and shoot arrows better than anyone. Suddenly, he said "I volunteer as tribute. Let Yudhisthira stay here and guard our kingdom to his fullest. I will go and compete."

A sudden range of emotions and shouts immediately erupted. Most of the kingdom applauded Arjuna's bravery and loyalty to his brother. The Kauravas, on the other hand, showed their disappointment by charging at Arjuna. The rest of the Pandavas stood up and formed a circle around Arjuna while pulling out their weapons as if to guard their brother from any harm. 

"SILENCE." Dhritarashtra spoke. "If Arjuna wants to take the place of Yudhisthira and he is clearly fit to take his spot in the Dhamakas, he can. I have the utmost confidence in Arjuna and his ability to defeat anyone that comes in his path. Arjuna and Karna will both represent our kingdom.

Each participant had one month to prepare for the Dhamakas, and then it was time. The second that the fifty-eight warriors stepped foot inside of the forest, they were on their own. Some of the representatives from each state stayed together, while some split up immediately upon arriving in the forest. Karna and Arjuna separated immediately. They were incredibly similar in how they hunted food, made abodes with twigs and tree branches, and killed anyone that was about to shoot them. 

There were fifty-eight stars in the sky when the Dhamakas began, each representing one of the participants. One month later, there were thirty-two stars. Ten months later, there were only two. The last two.

One day, Karna looked up and saw those two stars. Could it be that Arjuna was the other? Or could it be that someone had defeated the mighty warrior of Hastinapura?

Deeper into the forest, Arjuna stood, also staring at the sky. Was he about to fight Karna again? They had been competing in a rivalry their whole lives, so why did this time feel so different? 

Finally, the day came. Arjuna was taking rest and had just begun drinking water from the lake, when Karna stumbled onto the scene. Immediately, the brothers pulled out their weapons and fought. They fought for two weeks straight. No resting, no giving up, constantly fighting. Karna was possibly the only person capable of fighting Arjuna for that long, possibly because both were the sons of Kunthi and a God. Karna stepped in an area of mud right after missing a sharp blow from Arjuna. The mud closed around his legs and wouldn't let him escape. In this instance, Arjuna pulled out the brahmastra, one of the most powerful weapons in the history of India. Just as he was about to use it, he faltered. He forgot the mantra in order to use the brahmastra!*1 This one mistake led to his demise. Karna weakened his stance for only a second, but Arjuna was able to get through. He quickly shot three arrows at once into Karna's chest, killing him almost immediately.

Arjuna finally defeated Karna. The Dhamakas were over. He could finally go home to his family, his kingdom. 

...Little did he know that Karna was his family. His own brother.

Source: This is what I imagine Arjuna to have looked like when he said he would take Yudhisthira's place in the Dhamakas. (I got the picture from the linked website, but I added the text myself)

*1 - The reason for this was mentioned in my version about the Mahabharata. Apparently Karna told Parshurama that he was a brahmin, so that he would train him in warfare. When he found out the truth, Parshurama cursed him and told him he would forget the words to the brahmastra when he needed it the most. As for the part where Karna got stuck in the mud, he was earlier cursed by a brahmin as well for accidentally killing his cow while he was practicing his shooting skills.

Bibliography: R. K. Narayan's Mahabharata.

Author's Note:

I thought of the Hunger Games theme when I was writing my reading notes for the Mahabharata. When I was reading the part where the Pandavas are exiled for 13 years and had to stay alive and hidden for the last year, I thought it would be cool to make it a competition. So many people die in the big battle at the end, which is not unlike the Hunger Games. I decided to have two people from each state of India, just like in the actual Hunger Games there are two people from every district that compete. I decided to revolve the story around Karna and Arjuna because I feel like they are extremely important and play an essential role in the Mahabharata. We see a lot of hatred between Duryodhana and Yudhisthira, but we never go into depth about the other brothers as much. I decided to keep their backgrounds the same, to where they didn't know they were brothers, as well as the part where Karna's chariot (in this story, his legs) got stuck and he forgot how to use the brahmastra. I kept that in there to show that Karna was just as good a warrior as Arjuna; the only thing that ended the battle was Karna's mistake long ago.

Week 6 Story; The One Where Duryodhana Takes Control

***Check out the new and revised version of this story at my portfolio here!***

Source: A mantra and song from the Indian TV show Devon Ke Dev Mahadev. It is centered around Lord Shiva, who does not appear in this story, but I love the music. I also think it sounds suspenseful, so I thought it would be good to listen to while reading the story!

I'm strong, I'm valiant, I'm an excellent warrior, and I have studied my father's rule over Hastinapura for years. I'm fit to be king. I am Duryodhana, after all. But who does old Dhritarashtra pick to ascend to the throne? The useless, dumbfounded, and clumsy Yudhishthira, who is also unfortunately my cousin.

Ugh, I'm sorry. Where are my manners? Let me introduce myself and my family. I am Duryodhana, the eldest of the hundred sons of King Dhritarashtra. I am also the strongest and most intelligent of my brothers, but that's besides the point. My family goes by "the Kauravas." Now, my father's brother, Pandu, has a wife named Kunthi. She had five sons, all from different gods. Those five, called the Pandavas, are the worst, and you're about to see why. But first, some background information about my archenemies. 

Yudhishthira is the oldest of the five, and everyone in the entire kingdom adores him like he's their son. Why, you ask? I DON'T KNOW. If you find out, let me know, because I've been trying to decipher that my whole life. Anyway, the next son is Bhima. He is the strongest of the five, and that's cool and everything, but like... how smart is he really? He can shake the ground so hard the weather changes, but that's one trait! Why everyone thinks he's the most amazing warrior, I will never know. Kunthi's third son is Arjuna. When he was born, he was normal. Suddenly, he got really good at throwing weapons around. But even then, our master Drona trained all of us, so we should have all been at the same level of weapon-throwing. But no. Of course Arjuna was Drona's favorite. Our master ended up gifting Arjuna with the brahmastra, a weapon capable of defeating any opponent if used with the right mantra. I could not believe it. Just because he's a Pandava? Ugh. The last two Pandavas are twins: Sahadeva and Nakula. Those two just follow the other three around and do whatever they say. Typical younger siblings doing typical childish things. 

All five of them made my life growing up a living hell. They thought they were funny, pulling all those pranks. Even my own father thought they were funny and sided with his nephews rather than HIS OWN SON. I should have guessed they would be his favorite. I remember when they came to live in our palace and the moment he saw the five of them and what all they could accomplish together. He immediately fell in love with the new family. However, I soon realized that as long as Dhritarashtra could see, he wouldn't ever side with me. He would always appreciate the Pandavas more than the rest of us. So, I made a plan with my uncle Sakuni and some of my other brothers: we were going to make sure my father could never see again. Now, there are many ways we could have gone about this. We could have shot an arrow into both of his eyes, but that would be hard without Dhritarashtra seeing us as we were doing it. We could have stabbed him in the eye when he sleeps, but again, that would be hard when he is in bed with our mother Gandhari and she would be able to see us stabbing our own father. Plus, that would put our father in a lot of pain and I'm not sure we would be able to handle putting him through that. I may have a heart of ice, but I do have one. Anyway, we finally came to the conclusion that the only way we could make our father blind was to steal the brahmastra from Arjuna. The weapon has great powers, and will perform any command if the mantra is spoken correctly. Only one problem with that - none of us knew the mantra to make the weapon do what we wanted. So here's what we did:

We stalked Arjuna for weeks to try to find out what the mantra was, because we did know that in order to keep the brahmastra "alive" and intact, the owner has to say the incantation once a week. So, we hid behind bushes around his bedroom, pretended to bring him food or water at random times at night, put our ears to the wall separating his room with an adjacent room, everything. We. Tried. Everything. He would not ever practice the mantra! At one point, we thought maybe he had forgotten he even had it and hadn't practiced the mantra in years and allowed the weapon to die slowly. But then, one night, I saw a dark figure leaving Arjuna's room and heading towards the forest. I had my suspicions, so my brothers and I followed. We walked for about an hour until the figure finally stopped in the middle of the forest and pulled out something from his bag. It was the brahmastra! So this is where Arjuna practiced his mantra all the time, and we never even noticed him leaving the castle at night... Gotta admit, it was a clever hiding spot. But anyway, right after Arjuna recited the mantra, one of my brothers made a sound of a dying deer. We knew Arjuna was soft when it came to animals and hoped he would go tend to it. Our plan worked! Arjuna kept following the sound of the animal, not knowing my brothers were leading him far away from his brahmastra. When he realized it, we had already taken the weapon and were halfway back to the palace with the mantra replaying in our minds.

I creeped into our father's bedroom, where he was peacefully sleeping with our mother. I held the brahmastra in my hand and slowly and softly sang the mantra. I then imagined a blind King Dhritarashtra in my head, and then I saw a bright flash hitting my father's eyes. He didn't feel it. 

...He also didn't see it. Ha. 

Don't ever mess with the Kauravas.

Source: The brahmastra, which is seen as one of the most powerful weapons.

Bibliography: R. K. Narayan's Mahabharata.

Author's Note:

So, this is a new style I tried out where it's all in first person. I picked Duryodhana to tell the story because I wanted to give his actions a reason. Most of the story is facts from the Mahabharata, such as the information about the Pandava brothers. One thing I changed was not mentioning Karna at all (this story could go on forever if I added every character). For this reason, in my story the Brahmastra was given to Arjuna instead of Karna. I thought it be best to portray the hatred between the two sides of the family by having Duryodhana steal a valuable possession from his cousin and turn it around as a revenge scenario to his own father. In the original Mahabharata, Dhritarashtra was born blind and Gandhari covered her eyes just to match her husband; nobody specifically set out to blind them. I chose to make Duryodhana blind his own father because I wanted to make the story interesting and have him act on his hatred, rather than complain about it to his father like he does throughout the Mahabharata. I hope you all liked it, and I would love any suggestions since this is my first time doing a story like this :)

Week 5 Story; The One Where Rama Runs Away

***Check out the new and revised version of this story at my portfolio!***

Dasharatha: Look, Rama. Everything the light touches is our kingdom. 

Rama: Woah...

Dasharatha: Just as the sun rises and falls everyday, the king's rule rises and falls every now and then. One day, the sun will set on my time here, and will rise with you as king.

Rama: And this will all be mine?

Dasharatha: Everything the light touches.

Rama: ...But father, what about that forest over there, just beyond the light?

Dasharatha: That is a tricky place, Rama. There are dangerous creatures there and illusions beyond our scope of mind. You must never go there. Never.

Rama suddenly woke up and found himself surrounded by large trees and two huge monkeys staring at him from above. His disappointment at being in reality again was clearly noticeable. He always had the same dream and he could never sleep past that last word, "never." It was one of the last words he had heard from his father, Dasharatha, before he was killed. Before Rama ran away. Before everything began.

*One month earlier*

Rama and Sita, who had recently gotten married, decided they wanted to get out of the palace and have a picnic in a beautiful park by the forest surrounding the kingdom in Ayodhya. They settled down for lunch and were enjoying the peaceful breeze when something immediately got Sita's attention: a perfect, golden deer. Rama could tell from the look in her eyes that she craved to hold the golden deer, and since he had vowed to always make her the happiest woman in the world, he began to call to the deer. When the deer trotted away from Rama, he went closer and attempted to embrace it. The deer kept backing away, but Rama was determined to make the deer his friend by sunset. He chased the deer farther and farther into the forest, when suddenly he heard a battle cry coming from the kingdom. He immediately realized his mistake: the golden deer was a diversion and both him and Sita fell for it. He knew he was never supposed to go into the forest, he knew there were many illusions that distorted reality, but he had not heeded his father's words of advice. He rushed back to the kingdom with Sita, and what he saw left them both speechless.

The streets of Ayodhya were flooded with Ravana's army and the palace was undergoing a stampede by Ravana's chariot and thousands of rakshasas. In the distance, Rama could see his brother Lakshmana in the middle of the fight with a hundred rakshasas surrounding him. Dasharatha was attempting to save him, while Rama silently stood, watching the fight. He did not carry his bow and arrow to the picnic with Sita, so he desperately watched as the entire kingdom tried to fight Ravana's army and as Dasharatha took Lakshmana's spot in the fight. As soon as Dasharatha picked Lakshmana out of the fight, a rakshasa stabbed him straight through his heart. Rama, Lakshmana, Sita, and the rest of Ayodhya's citizens suddenly dropped to the floor, surrendering to the demons that just slayed their favorite king right in front of their eyes. They could not believe it. As Ravana slowly got out of his chariot with an evil grin on all ten of his heads, all Rama could think about was his father's dead body and how the golden deer so wittingly deceived him. "I should have been more alert. I should have listened. This is all my fault. I did this." Rama muttered to himself as he slowly backed away, out of the palace. He could not handle it anymore. He turned on his heel and ran. Ran far away. Through the forest, into another, and finally collapsed on a piece of land close to the beautiful pond.

*Present time*

Now, when Rama tried closing his eyes again, the creatures began whispering.

"Do you think he can see us?" the smaller one asked.

"Hanuman, don't be silly. Of course he can see us. He is only pretending he cannot."

"Then why is he not saying anything, Sugriva?"

"I don't know, let's ask him."

"Oh, don't bother." Rama finally spoke.

Sugriva, the larger monkey, laid down next to Rama. "What brings you here? I haven't seen your kind around in a long time."

"I'm nobody. I just wanted to get away from my land." Rama answered.

As Hanuman also laid down next to Rama, his tail accidentally brushed across Rama's head and he immediately saw everything. He could see every minute of Rama's life and every person he cared about. He could even feel Rama's love for Sita, Lakshmana, and the rest of his home, as well as his grief over his father's death. At this moment, Hanuman realized it was his destiny to be Rama's companion for the rest of his life. After he explained this feeling and his purpose in life to both Rama and Sugriva, Sugriva decided that he too should help Rama in getting his kingdom back. Rama, for the first time since he ran away and exiled himself to the forests, finally had some hope. Hope that he might be able to enact revenge on Ravana and win his kingdom back.

Source: The ever-famous Lion King quote, when Mufasa tells Simba about the kingdom.

Author's Note: 

I'm sure most of you got the reference to the Lion King with the beginning quote, but in case you are not a Disney fan, just know that the Lion King is a CLASSIC. I love the movie so much, and when I read the part of the Ramayana where Rama is exiled into the forest, I immediately thought of the Lion King and how Simba runs away to the forest after his father Mufasa died in a stampede conducted by Simba's evil uncle Scar. I replaced Simba with Rama, Mufasa with Dasharatha, and Scar with Ravana. I decided to keep the main plot line of the Lion King, so that is why Rama decides to exile himself rather than someone else making him leave. I also love the characters Timon and Pumbaa in the Lion King because they are hilarious and good companions, so I thought Hanuman and Sugriva could be the two companions here, since Rama could not have beaten Ravana without them. I also decided to have Rama run away by himself, because in the Lion King, Simba runs away without telling anyone where he is going either. If I get a chance to finish the story, I'm sure you can tell how that would end: Sita would come looking for Rama, they would all go back together with Hanuman, Sugriva, and the rest of the monkey army, beat Ravana, and get the kingdom back. We'll see if I can do a part two to this :) Hope you guys enjoyed!

Week 4 Story: The One Who Betrayed His Brother

Ram, Lakshman, Hanuman, and the rest of Sugriva's army set out to rescue Sita from Ravana. As they're journeying across the lands and through the numerous villages surrounding Lanka, they see many beautiful lakes, at which they take rest once a day. One day at one of these lakes, Lakshman suddenly hears a woman singing. It is the most beautiful singing he has ever heard in his life, and without even thinking of telling the others, he goes in search for this voice. He drifts far away from Ram and the army following him, and finally reaches an ashram adorned with flowers, just how he constructs his. He can still hear the beautiful voice, as if it is calling to him and drawing him closer. Finally, when he reaches a pond behind the little house, he is awestruck. Before him is a woman so beautiful and so welcoming that he can't find the will to move. He is in love. Or at least, he thinks he is. Little does he know, he stepped into a large trap for him. The woman's voice and appearance was a disguise for her true self - Soorpanaka. Ever since he mutilated her for trying to strike Sita, she felt the need to get revenge. And she was almost done. 

As Soorpanaka got closer, Lakshman felt a drift of happiness come over him and immediately bowed down to her. Soorpanaka told him that she accidentally trespassed Ravana's land in Lanka while trying to get to her own home, and he banished her to this spot; the only way she can pass through Lanka is if she finds a man who can take her across without actually stepping on land (she knew Ram and Lakshman had a chariot that could fly). Lakshman, still in her spell, reassured her that he would always take care of her and invited her to come with his army to Lanka. Soorpanaka, still in her disguise, agreed. When they got back, Ram was extremely suspicious of Lakshman's situation, but he knew his brother had great judgment, so in the end he gave him the benefit of the doubt and allowed the woman to stay.

When they went to sleep, Soorpanaka transformed into her true self, and carried Lakshman to Ravana's palace. She had enchanted him so that he would follow her orders; slowly by slowly, he revealed Ram's location and his plan for attacking Ravana and rescuing Sita. No sooner had Ram and his army woken up from the sun's rays, did Ravana and his army attack their ground. The next few moments were ones of confusion, hurry, and realization of betrayal once they saw Lakshman driving Ravana's chariot. Ram could not believe his eyes, and his heart suddenly filled with anger. Soorpanaka and Ravana did not realize what would happen if Ram was in a rage. He slayed most of Ravana's army with only three arrows, jumped around from horse to horse, chariot to chariot, just swinging his bow, trying to kill Ravana and successfully dodging all the objects and people flying at him. The only people left to kill were Soorpanaka and Ravana. When Ram finally hit Soorpanaka with one of his arrows, Lakshman became free of her spell. He immediately jumped into action and stabbed her, while Ram focused on Ravana. His anger was still at a unusually high level, and he decapitated Ravana's heads one by one. The heads kept growing back, but his army around him suggested going for Ravana's heart, since that could not be replaced. Finally with a plan in mind, the entire army of Sugriva ran at Ravana and focused on tearing his heads from his body, while Ram shot arrows at his enemy. Finally, enough arrows hit Ravana to where he could not move and his heads began growing back slowly. Ram finally got off his chariot and walked over to Ravana, and with one swift move, he killed Ravana once and for all. The battlefield was quiet for a few moments, while everyone realized what just occurred; then, cries of victory all over sprang about. They had won! They had finally defeated Ravana, who had been terrorizing the lands for years!

Ram finally was able to cross the lake between him and Lanka, where Sita was being held. As soon as he saw her, he picked her up and immediately swore to her that he would never let her out of his sight again. Sita knew in her heart that Ram would always protect her, and they graciously welcomed each other. Finally, when Lakshman arrived, Ram stared at him coldly. Lakshman tried explaining what had happened to him, but Ram was not responding to him as a brother. He was looking at him through a different lens, as if he was the enemy now. Lakshman lamented for hours, but when Ram was clearly not satisfied with his explanation and continued to say his soul had been poisoned, he began to gather some wood and make a fire for himself. Lakshman cried out, "O Agni, great god of fire, be my witness." He threw himself into the fire, and less than a minute later, Agni rose from the flames and presented Lakshman to Ram with his blessing. Ram was finally convinced that his brother still had a pure heart, and welcomed him gracefully.

Source: A depiction of the battle between Ram and Ravana.

Bibliography: R. K. Narayan's Ramayana, The Battle.

Author's Note: 
I made this story pretty long, just as the battle between Ram and Ravana was. I kind of thought of Narnia and how Edmund betrayed his family for the Witch, but then realized his mistake and came back to his family. So in this story, I chose Lakshman to betray Ram's side, because I felt like that would have the biggest impact on Ram since he trusted his brother more than anything. I made Soorpanaka lure Lakshman to his side because of the earlier plot story about Lakshman mutilating Soorpanaka; this part was kind of a revenge story. At the end of the Ramayana, Ram tests Sita because he thinks she is impure after spending so much time at the enemy's lair. She jumps in the fire until the god of fire presents her to Ram with his blessings. Since Lakshman was the one that Ram thought was at fault here, I changed it to where Lakshman jumped into the fire until Ram accepted him. The one quote I had in there, when Lakshman jumped in, came straight from R. K. Narayan's story. 

Week 3 Story; The One At Hogwarts

***Find the whole and revised version of the story in my portfolio here***

Albus Dumbledore learned of Parvati and Padma Patil, the twins who had great potential to learn to use their magical powers at Hogwarts. He felt it necessary to go straight to their palace in India to persuade their father, the king, to let them come with him. He had also heard of the stories of Lord Brahma and his creations, Lord Shiva and his wife Parvati, and Lord Vishnu and his wife Lakshmi (who is also referred to as Padma, which means lotus). When he learned there was a set of twins named Parvati and Padma, he knew there was something special going on. So, he began his journey through the Forbidden Forest and the huge lake that stood between Hogwarts and the King's palace. When he got to the palace, King Daksha Patil was surprised to see Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, standing before him. Nevertheless, he greeted him gracefully and pondered what the meaning of this meeting was.

"Professor, I am rather intrigued by your visit. What can I do for you?"

"I want your daughters, Parvati and Padma, to come with me to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They have great powers that will be able to help me journey back to the school as well as help others once they arrive at the school, which is guarded by monstrous creatures."

Dumbledore was so straightforward with his answer and King Daksha was so surprised at it that he almost fell out of his throne.

"Excuse me-- you want what?"

"Your daughters have a great potential for magic; I have been able to sense their powers and ask your permission to let them come with me and allow them to explore this world they are attracted to."

"But they're just children! At only eleven years old, how will they go away and live without their family in an unknown land?! I'll send anyone else with you, anyone. My eldest nephews and nieces would probably be more than happy to accompany you."

At this, Dumbledore argued, "If you cannot send Parvati and Padma, I don't want anybody. I'll go back alone."

Dumbledore was rather upset, but he could see that he could not get Daksha to change his mind so easily. He began to retreat from the palace. Meanwhile, Parvati and Padma had been upstairs in their room, but they happened to hear everything. They quickly came running down.

"Professor! Please wait!" they cried out. "Father, Father! Please let us go join this man! He seems very knowledgeable and we can learn so much about these powers we have been wondering about!" 

After several minutes of begging and negotiating, King Daksha realized he could never deny his daughters the opportunity to grow. He finally agreed.

Dumbledore and the Patil sisters were all very excited for their journey, although Parvati and Padma had no idea what was to come or what they were capable of. 

They began their journey through the lake that Dumbledore had crossed earlier. While the twins were busy steering the boat in the direction Dumbledore had indicated, the professor exclaimed, "Oh, treacherous waters! How full of life they used to be, now stained with the darkness and evil that lives within!" 

At this, the twin sisters were a bit confused. "What is so special about these waters?" Parvati asked. "What do you mean by fulfilled by the good and the evil?" asked Padma.

Dumbledore had his story ready. "Well, long ago, there was a wizard called Lord Voldemort that seized rule over these waters. He convinced all the half-mermaid, half-human (merpeople, as I like to call them) inhabitants in the lake that his rule would bring them more wealth, so of course they followed him. He killed everyone in the surrounding villages until there was only one boy left. When he attempted to kill the last remaining human alive, he somehow failed and the boy's unknown power repelled the evil Lord. The merpeople, still loyal to Lord Voldemort, have now taken over parts of the lake and its inhabitants and eat anyone that swims in the water. Some parts of the lake are so bad that even touching the water can poison travelers. After this incident, I had a dream in which I heard a prophecy which stated that the boy would never grow up to realize his powers and get rid of the merpeople and their evil deeds, but only his children could defeat the merpeople once and for all. That boy grew up to be your father, and you two girls are the only people who can touch these waters without being poisoned."

After hearing this, Parvati and Padma were indeed stunned, but were able to pick up the courage to ask Dumbledore how they could help. Just as they asked, the merpeople swam to the surface of the lake and were about to attack their boat when Parvati and Padma both threw out her hands as if defending themselves. Bolts of piercing light came out of their hands and hit the merpeople straight in the chest. The sisters stared at their hands, mesmerized but also terrified, waiting for Dumbledore to say something.

"Ah, finally! Oh wondrous children! You have finally given the animals in the lake and the people around it hope and life! Bless you, bless you both. Now, as we are almost to land, we will walk through the Forbidden Forest until we arrive at Hogwarts. More stories to come along the way!"

Source: An animated version of Parvati and Padma.

Bibliography: Narayan's Ramayana, p. 1-53.

Author's Note:
This story is the one about Vishwamitra. He goes to King Dasharatha and asks if Rama can come with him. Dasharatha is reluctant at first and tells Vishwamitra that Rama will not go anywhere without his brother Lakshmana. Vishwamitra states that he will look after both sons, as long as Rama is there. He goes on with the journey and along the way, tells them the story of Thataka, Ganga, and Ahalya along the way. He also takes him to Janaka's palace where Ram breaks Shiva's bow and marries Sita (which I have not gotten to yet). I decided to place this story in India and Hogwarts (connecting the two with only a lake and a forest). I replaced King Dasharatha with King Daksha (which is Sati's father; Sati is another name for Parvati), Vishwamitra with Albus Dumbledore because they were both mentor-like characters, and Ram and Lakshman with Parvati and Padma. When I was writing about Lord Voldemort and the merpeople, I was thinking about the Goblet of Fire, where the merpeople are in the lake in one of the tournament challenges. I replaced the Death Eaters with the merpeople because it made more sense with the story of the lake. 

Week 2 Story: The Girl Who Gathered Respect

Sofia Hernandez saw her class schedule for the semester, and the first name she saw was Dr. Donald. Her heart nearly skipped a beat. He was the most difficult professor that she had ever heard of. He is known for belittling his students, especially women, because he does not think women should be in the engineering field at all. Her friends who had taken his class both warned her of him and his way of calling out female students on extremely difficult questions, that he knows are hard for everyone. 

Sofia began her first day of the Fall 2017 semester with a happy start and was determined to make the best of this year, whether her professors were helpful or not. Finally, the time for Dr. Donald's class arrived. Sofia walked in and saw Dr. Donald asking student's names as they walked in. However, not all the students' names. Just the male students. When Sofia decided to question it, his response was "you girls won't be in my class much longer, why would I bother learning your names?" When Sofia looked shocked at his rude comment, he replied with "I give it one week. It'll be too much for you to handle." 

Sofia was warned of his crudeness, but didn't think he would be outright cruel in front of the whole class. Nevertheless, she continued with the class and was determined to prove him wrong. She spent hours in her room studying, and when she needed inspiration, she would call her parents and stare at the motivational posters on the wall. She passed the first three tests with flying colors. Dr. Donald was actually shocked at this, and tried finding evidence that she cheated on those tests. Finally, when he couldn't find any (because there was nothing to find), he began to devise a final exam just for Sofia, which consisted of problems that were of much higher difficulty than the final exams that the rest of the class received. 

Sofia, knowing how unreasonable and cruel Dr. Donald could be and knowing how well she was doing in the class, was suspicious of what he may do for her final exam. She began studying a month in advance for her final exam, and spent hours every night going over the material. She read the entire textbook, including material that won't be covered until the next semester. Finally, when the day of the final arrived, Dr. Donald thought she would soon fail the class and have to throw her engineering dreams away. Much to his disappointment, she started working on it immediately. Dr. Donald thought to himself, "Surely she can't answer these questions, even I didn't know how to solve these until my last year of graduate school..." Sofia kept working on the exam until the last minute. When she turned it in, Dr. Donald read through her answers and immediately realized that her intelligence and maturity was far beyond his own. He was fired from teaching the next day, and Sofia received a great job opportunity before even graduating from the university.

Source: One of the many posters that Sofia has in her room.

Authors Note: 

This story is another version of The Monkey Who Gathered Lotuses. The original story was about a monkey king named Devadatta who had many sons. He feared they would take over his kingdom so whenever he encountered one, he killed him. Bodhisatta, however, knew of his father's tactics. He went to him and Devadatta asked him to bring him lotuses from a lake that an ogre lived in. Bodhisatta quickly figured out the trick, and ended up befriending the ogre, which killed Devadatta. Bodhisatta was then named the new king. 

I wanted to change the story, but keep the central plot of someone being underestimated and tricked, and having the plan backfire on the villain. I set the story on the OU campus, specifically the life of a female engineering student because I think they are highly underestimated all the time. I replaced Devadatta with Dr. Donald and replaced Bodhisatta with Sofia Hernandez. I decided not to kill Dr. Donald because I think getting fired from such an esteemed position after working so hard for it would be miserable enough.

Hope you guys liked it! Feel free to leave comments/suggestions since this is the first time I've done something like this :-)

Bibliography. Tayodhamma Jataka in The Jataka: Volume 1 translated by Robert Chalmers. Web Source.