Storytelling, Week 6: The Story of Mankanaka: Final

When almost always surrounded on all sides by the eruption of lush green grass, why is it then that we just let it lie and leave it to be consumed by animals? One would think that such a resource ought to be utilized by the likes of men. However, there once was a man who only indulged himself with heaping piles of grass, never straying from the consumption of the sweet savory stalks. This is the story of Mankanaka and his power over the world.

Mankanaka was a common man, choosing to live a spiritual life within the forest, always trying to find a path towards enlightenment. From a young age, Mankanaka believed that the best way to achieve his goal was to truly become one with nature, never taking the life of another and only eating what the Earth provided to him. This idea started off well for him, but after some time the man developed a taste for only one item in the world. He loved the taste of grass and the spirituality that he believed it brought to him. In the spring the grass was a vibrant green, tasting sweet and succulent. In the fall it began to brown, giving it more of an earthy quality in both taste and appearance. In the winter Mankanaka had to find ways to rejuvenate the grass that was now dried out and brittle, most often stewing it back to life. The changes in seasons continually kept Mankanaka on his feet, never growing tired of the taste of grass. One day while he was in a field of tall grass, harvesting his lunch, Mankanaka accidentally swung his sickle a little too far and gashed his left arm. Expecting to see a red gush begin to flow, he was quite surprised when instead of red, a green fluid began to drip out. Wondering what exactly was occurring, he dipped the tip of his finger into the substance and tasted what lay below. To his amazement, the substance tasted exactly like the grass he was surrounded by. He became enamored with this realization and began to dance around in pure bliss, believing that he had finally achieved true enlightenment. Other creatures and people began to notice Mankanaka's happiness and followed in the pursuit of his joy. All began to dance and all became enthralled with joy. As this occurred, the gods began to notice what was happening down on Earth. The world was beginning to spin violently out of control and the only hope of stopping it was to end the dancing of Mankanaka. Shiva was sent down by the gods to do so.

As Shiva approached Mankanaka, those around him began to stop dancing, enchanted by the beauty and power of the god. Mankanaka, however, didn't even notice the presence of Shiva and continued to rapidly spin round and round. As with a coin spinning on a table, Shiva quickly and abruptly placed a finger atop the head of Mankanaka and stopped him in his tracks. As he looked the god in the eyes, he knew that he had created trouble in this world. Shiva explained to him what it was that he was doing and that if he continued his dancing, the end of the world would come at the movement of his feet. Then, just as quickly as Shiva had appeared, the god was gone and all eyes were on Mankanaka. He told all to go away and he returned to his quest for enlightenment, only sometimes indulging in his favorite feast of springtime grass.

Shiva, The Savior of Mankanaka 

Source: Wikipedia

Author's Note: This is based off of The Story of Mankanaka, a tale in the Mahabharata written by Buck. In this tale, Mankanaka only eats grass, which causes him to bleed a green substance. This causes his happiness and continual dancing that disrupts the Earth. His dancing threatens to destroy the world so the gods send Shiva to attempt to stop his actions. Unlike the original story I have Shiva come to Mankanaka in his true form because I believe it better conveys the seriousness of the issue and his power to those dancing. Also, in the original story it is ash that flows from Shiva's veins when he is cut to show his power to Mankanaka. I thought that having the grass ooze out from Mankanaka better exemplified the connection he had to nature and the amount of grass he had consumed. I chose this story because it revolves around food, a very common topic within the Indian epics. I plan to continue finding stories with aspects of food lying within them and further elaborating on this topic. I will also begin to add various recipes for Indian dishes that I have found along the way well researching this topic. Food, as in most cultures, plays an important role in not only to the history of India but also because of the impact it plays religiously. As I continue on with this story theme I would begin to add various culture tips and/or fun facts regarding their food culture. The Story of Mankanaka was a very basic start of the stories that I hope are to come continually improving on the content and knowledge that will be passed unto the readers.

Buck, W. (1973). Mahabharata. University of California Press.

Reading Diary B, Week 6

Rama uses the abilities of the monkey Nala to build a bridge across the sea to Lanka. Vibhishana, the brother of Ravana urges him to give Sita back to Rama to avoid a war. Ravana doesn't appreciate the advice of his brother and kicks him out of Lanka. Once he is kicked out of the city, Vibhishana and his 4 loyal guards fly over to the camp of Rama and meet up with Hanuman. Most of the camp wishes to turn away Vibhishana but both Rama and Hanuman trust his intentions and allow him to join them.

They cross the bridge to Lanka and make camp on the hill. The group is watched by Ravana's spies, first by Shuka who Angada captures but is let go to return a message to Ravana. Second by two of Ravana's best spies who take the form of monkeys in order to mingle within the camp. Both are spotted by Vibhishana who is able to look through their disguises and then captured.

Ravana attempts to trick Sita with the use of illusions in order to gain her love before the war even begins. He has his magicians create a bow identical to Rama's and his head parted from his body. Ravana brings these items before Sita, claiming that his general raided them during the night and killed them all. Sita begins to breakdown but is consoled by Trijata and told the truth.

First battle: During the day which weakens the strength of the demons. Rama and his men defeat the first wave and cause Prahasta's retreat. The demons then attack at night and are once again defeated. During this second battle Prahasta is killed.

Kumbhakarna, Ravana's brother is awoken from his sleep and consults with Ravana about the war. He suggests that Ravana return Sita to Rama just as Vibhishana did. However, in the end he aggress to join the battle and face Rama. Rama is able to destroy the giant with well placed arrows.

 Indrajit basically kills everyone but they are all revived after medicine hill is brought over. Rama tries to get everyone to leave him because he realizes that he is placing them in a lot of danger. However, none of his followers will leave and stay by his side. More illusions that don't work. Indrajit and Lakshmana go into single combat and in the end Lakshmana is the victor. Ravana now must go to battle for himself.

Reading Diary A, Week 6

I enjoyed hearing another version involving Jatayu's brother Sampati. In this story he has not eaten since he had burned his feathers saving his brother and as he is given food his feathers begin to grow back rather than at the spoken words of Rama as in the previous story. 

In Buck's version of the Ramayana the crossing of the sea by Hanuman is much different than the previous reading. In this version Hanuman is able to jump the sea and his journey and description reminded me of a space shuttle launch. There is a great build up of power before he is able to spring off the ground then he continually builds his speed causing the water and air to ripple around him. Once again I really enjoyed the elaborate detail contained within Buck's stories especially with his description of the city. I also enjoyed the being that represents the essence of Lanka herself that Hanuman must get past in order to gain access to the city. I thought this was a nice little twist and added an extra element to this portion of the tale.   

As in the previous version Hanuman explores the city in search of Sita however, in this tale he takes the form of a cat in order to disguise himself. Once again he struggles to find her and at one point thinks that Mandodari may be Sita. Hanuman finds Sita and tells her of the plan to let Rama know she is safe and true to him. Hanuman once again starts trouble and allows himself to be caught. When he gets his tail set on fire he runs through the city setting the whole place ablaze and then returns to the other side of the sea to inform the party of what he has learned.