The
Demon's Dream
"My friend, may I have a word?"
At the queen's voice, the ancient demon looked up from her embroidery.
Her upside-down eyes sparkled at the sight of her beloved friend, the
queen of their city and, indeed, her own race. "Yes, my queen?" Trijata
answered, her voice raspy with disuse. "How may I be of service to you?"
The queen smiled and motioned at the old demon, and Trijata set her
needle and thread aside and walked out with her into the surrounding
forest. The queen spoke quietly, telling Trijata all about the king's
latest woman. "You see, my friend," the queen murmured, "this new woman
is..." She seemed to be searching for words, and Trijata unfortunately
could not help her, not having met this new woman herself. After a
moment, the queen finished her sentence, "different. Strange, even. She
is married to a mere mortal, and yet I am convinced that she will bring
us bad luck." The queen turned her large dark eyes on Trijata and
implored, "My friend, the king has set up some of our worst rakshasi
women to torment this new woman. Will you join their group and care for
this woman?" Trijata looked confused, and the queen rushed to explain.
"You see, Trijata, I fear that this woman will bring about our
destruction, because she did not come willingly and she is so certain
that her husband will ruin us."
At this, Trijata's upside-down eyes widened. "You worry," she
creaked, "that unless we show her that we can be kind..." The
queen nodded, confirming Trijata's fears. The ancient demon sighed and
shook her head. "My queen, I will do what you ask. But I must say, I do
not believe that this woman has so much power." Trijata glanced at her
friend. "After all, her husband is only a mortal."
Some time later, Trijata awoke in a cold sweat, her mind racing. She
had spent a few days in the new woman's company, and had still been
skeptical of the queen's fears. This dream tonight, though; she bolted
from her pallet on the ground and raced to the tree where the new woman
was being held. The other demons, still scornful and cruel, were
jabbering away about eating the new woman, and Trijata worried to
herself as she ran: her voice was old and atrophied from years of
silence, and the demons would need to be screamed at. Finally she
neared the tree and opened her mouth. From her lips came a loud, clear
voice she hadn't heard since her youth: "You, rakshasis! Silence!" 
The horde scattered at her voice, and sulked silently as she recounted
her dream. As she ended her story, Trijata turned to the new woman and
smiled as best she could--it was hard to look reassuring, she knew,
when her fangs were showing and her eyes upside-down. "Young lady," she
murmured, her voice having returned to its rusty timbre, "I promise, I
will make certain that these..." she glared at the cowering demons,
"rakshasis mind their manners with you from now on." The new woman
sighed with relief and smiled nervously at Trijata. The old demon bowed
and turned away, shooing the rakshasis away and treading back to her
pallet on the ground.
A few days later, as Trijata sat on the ground with a needle and
thread, the new woman spoke to her for the first time. "What is your
name?" she asked in a voice like honey.
Trijata turned her head slowly, gazing at the new woman in wonder.
After a slight pause, the old demon replied, "I am known as Trijata."
She turned her head away again, staring pointedly at the needle and
cloth in her hands. The new woman murmured to herself for a bit, and
Trijata worried that she had somehow offended the honey-voiced
prisoner. She turned her head back to the captive and creaked, "And you
are?"
The bound woman smiled, as radiant as the first bright flower of
spring. "My name is Sita. You, Trijata, have been a wonderful boon to
me; I promise, you will be spared when my husband destroys this place."
At this pronouncement, Trijata's upside-down eyes widened; after a long
silence, she nodded once and turned back to her sewing. To herself,
however, the old demon was rejoicing. Her dream of destruction and
death would come true, she knew, and now this woman would keep her safe
from it. Trijata hummed quietly to herself as she continued to
embroider an ashoka tree on the cloth in her hands.
Image Information: Trijata. Web
Source: Flickr.
Author's Note: I loved the idea
of having the character of Trijata presenting a quite different
perspective on the abduction of Sita. Trijata is the rakshasi who
becomes a friend to Sita during her captivity: not only does she
protect her, as I showed, but during the war she helps Sita keep up
hope even when rumors and illusions of Rama's death surround them. For
her kindness, Trijata is present at the celebration at the end of the
story, when Sita returns to the earth. Trijata is described by Buck and
I tried to keep the physicality the same. I added in her friendship
with Mandodari, the queen, because I love Mandodari and also because I
had wondered why, if Trijata acted so differently from other demons,
she was put in the group around Sita. I thought this way the story
would be interesting and allow us to get to know Trijata a little bit,
and to see why Sita began to form a friendship with the demon. The
ashoka tree Trijata is embroidering is not only the tree under which
Sita was held captive; its name also translates to "sorrow-less," which
I feel is a good description of Trijata at the end not only of my story
but also the Ramayana.
Bibliography: Buck, William
(1976). Ramayana:
King Rama's Way.
