Week 9 Story: Soorpanaka's Love

"That man will be mine," said Soorpanaka.

Soorpanaka was the wild and deceitful sister of Ravana. She was given her own forest to rule and Soorpanaka made sure to greet her guests with open arms. There was one major problem with Soorpanaka. She greeted people by eventually killing everyone who entered her territory. One man caught her attention though. Someone she may have just loved and no it is not Rama. That would be such a predictable story. That is a different story. The man she wanted before Rama was named Kabir.

Kabir had built a house within her forest territory. Soorpanaka was quite displeased because she that people cut her trees down and built houses. She was on her way to kill the unwanted guest until she who built the house. She saw a handsome man, Therefore, Soorpanaka transformed herself from an unwanted hideous creature to a beautiful woman. She went up to the man and welcomed him.

"Hello, how are you doing today?" said Soorpanaka. 

"Oh, hello there. Am I trespassing in your territory?" asked the man.

"Oh, of course not", said Soorpanaka. 

From their conversation they began flirting and grew attracted to one another. Soorpanaka found out that the man's name was Kabir. They got along quite well. Everyday Kabir would meet Soorpanaka and go fishing, hiking, hunting. There was only one problem, Soorpanaka was still disguised as a beautiful woman. 

One day Kabir decided to show Soorpanaka his home. When they went inside he thought maybe she could stay with him for the rest of his life. Kabir asked Soorpanaka to marry him. Soorpanaka became excited; however, she knew that it would be difficult staying in the form of the beautiful woman her entire life. However, Kabir quickly interrupted her thoughts.

"I think I am going to get some tea," said Kabir.

Soorpanaka said, "No, let me get it for you."

As Soorpanaka got the tea, she accidentally spilled it on Kabir.

In rage, Kabir went and slapped Soorpanaka on the face.

Soorpanaka did not know how to react. Never before had a man done that to her before. However, she knew if she married that man he would probably do worse to her.

Soorpanaka knew who she was and would not stand for that abuse. 

"Go, get more tea clumsy woman," said Kabir.

Soorpanaka then grabbed another cup of tea and spilled it on Kabir again.

"What are you doing you dumb woman?" screamed Kabir.

Soorpanaka then changed form and showed her true self. 

She stated, "You will not yell at me, you will not hurt me, and you will not disrespect me. I thought you were a kind man, but you showed your true nature, just as I am showing you my true form. I am the sister of Ravana and I thought I would spare your life; however, I thought wrong. Swine such as yourself deserve to be eaten."

Thus, with her long nails Soorpanaka killed Kabir. She later ate him for dinner. 

A few days later, news came that a man named Rama was in exile and about to enter her territory.

"Looks like there will be more fun for me," laughed Soorpanaka. 

                                                                         

This is a picture of Soorpanaka. Source: Wikimedia

Author's Note: I decided to write a story about a character who I really enjoyed reading about within the Ramayana. Narayan's Soorpanaka was very evil, selfish, but also a great character who kept the epic entertaining. I want my Soorpanaka to be in love with someone before Rama. I did not want to use Rama within the story though because there was already a lot of Rama. I wanted people to see a side of Soorpanaka who has much respect for herself and will make the "right" choice but also still kill people. Soorpanaka is a character that can make any story great! 

Bibliography: R. K. Narayan, Ramayana