Story: An Unexpected Love

Lakshmana stopping Shurpanakha from attacking Sita

(Source: Exotic Indian Art)

Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana traveled through the forest as they were deep into their exile. Moods were surprisingly positive given the circumstances. Rama was at peace with his exile and his wife and brother followed this with ease. There was a sense of comfort flowing through Rama as he was with his dearest loved ones. He knew that this stretch of inaction would not last, but he was sure to enjoy every second of it until the next surprise was enacted upon him. Demons? Not a problem. Rama was more than skilled at this point at utterly destroying any demon that crossed him.

Just as Rama had predicted, an absolutely gorgeous woman appeared before them. She instantly eyeballed Rama and gave him a soft smile.

"Hello, travelers, my name is Kamavalli," the woman said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Kamavalli. My name is Rama. I'm traveling here with my brother, Lakshmana and my wife, Sita," Rama replied.

The group embraced the stranger. They began to converse with her with stories of their pasts and how they ended up in this exact spot in the forest. Kamavalli was shocked to hear of Rama's exile and commended him on his bravery.

"I must admit. Rama, when I first laid eyes on you, I knew I was in love with you," Kamavalli confessed to the group.

"While I am flattered by your compassion, I mentioned before that I am married to Sita," Rama said gently.

"Well then, I'm sure there's something we can do about that," Kamavalli said.

Kamavalli charged at Sita but was suddenly met by the strength of Lakshmana. Kamavalli looked into the eyes of Lakshmana and begged him to let her through so she could kill Sita and be with Rama. Lakshmana, who is nothing but loyal to his brother and his wife, began to draw his sword. Violence would ultimately be the way to warn Kamavalli not to mess with his family. As Lakshmana was about to strike Kamavalli, he looked her straight in the eyes. He could see the pain in her eyes as she longed to be loved. Lakshmana knew he could be the one to fill her desires.

The two suddenly locked lips and compassionately showed their love in a physical nature. Rama and Sita looked at each other with absolute confusion. Kamavalli and Lakshmana confessed their love for each other and made plans to marry. Rama figured love could cause no harm and he was happy for his brother and his new found love.

As the four of them made their way through the forest, Kamavalli revealed her true name was Shurpanakha and she was the sister of Ravana. Rama was hesitant of the woman after this fact, but Shurpanakha assured him that she was sincere with her love for Lakshmana and would bring no harm to him or his family.

The two couples went to meet with Shurpanakha's brother. Contradictory to popular belief, Ravana was so thrilled with his sister's new found love that he decided to put aside his hostility with Rama and completely support the marriage between the two. After the marriage, Ravana had several conversations with Rama that ultimately ended his evil nature. Rama taught Ravana the beauty of the world and how to channel his anger. For the rest of time, there was peace in the land which was the result of an unexpected love.

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Authors note: For this story, I thought I would use the Ramayana in a somewhat loose sense. I altered the meeting between Shurpanakha and the three (Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana) for simplicity. I really like the idea of having Lakshmana fall in love with Shurpanakha instead of violently attacking her. I also thought it would be entertaining if the love was completely genuine between the two and this ultimately caused a happy ending.

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Bibliography: Narayan's Ramayana
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