The One Where Rama Runs Away

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

Rama: Whoa...

Dasharatha: Just as the sun rises and falls every day, 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 died. 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 he 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, the King of Lanka, and his entire army. 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 off. Dasharatha suddenly found an opportunity to leap into the middle of the battle, where Lakshmana was standing. The two, together, tried to fight their way out of the circle. Lakshmana jumped to the other side through a small space in between two of the rakshasas and just as Dasharatha turned his back to jump through the same opening, a rakshasa stabbed him straight through his heart. Rama, Lakshmana, Sita, and the rest of Ayodhya's citizens suddenly dropped to the ground, 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 unwittingly 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, until he 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. Why don't you ask him?"

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

Sugriva, the larger monkey, lay 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 lay down next to Rama, his tail accidentally brushed across Rama's head. As soon as this contact occurred, Hanuman 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 exact revenge on Ravana and win his kingdom back.

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

Bibliography: R. K. Narayan's Ramayana. 
To find the plot of the original Lion King, click here.

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. After Simba in the Lion King goes to the forest, two funny, witty side characters named Timon and Pumbaa find him and help him. 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.

My version of King Dasharatha's death is very different from the one in the Ramayana, but I wanted to show why Rama felt guilty enough to run away. I also changed the part where both Sita and Lakshmana go into exile with Rama, because if that happened, he would already have two companions, rather than Timon and Pumbaa. 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!