Introduction

At this time of year Hindus all over the world are celebrating the
festival of Diwali. The word “Diwali” means “row of lights” and Hindus
will decorate the windows and doorways of their houses with lamps.
Lakshmi, the goddess of good luck and wealth will see the lights and
bless the house for the year to come.

Lakshmi once came to Earth in the human form of Sita with her
husband the God Vishnu, who came to Earth as Prince Rama.

The Story

Light A long time ago in a principality far, far away, a good King
ruled his subjects with kindness and fairness.

Dark But there was jealousy amongst the King’s three wives.
Kaikeyi, his second wife, wanted her son to be the next king,
but that privilege belonged to Prince Rama, the son of the
King’s first wife. So Kaikeyi made the King promise to give
her anything she desired. Thinking she would ask for jewels
or expensive clothes, the King agreed. Then Kaikeyi told him
what she really wanted: Prince Rama to be banished from
the kingdom for 14 years, and her son crowned instead. The
King was horrified, but Kaikeyi was his wife and a promise
was a promise.

Light Rama always obeyed his father, so he agreed to leave the

kingdom and live alone in exile. But Rama’s devoted wife
Sita and his half-brother Lakshmana insisted on going with
him.

Dark So Rama, Sita and Lakshmana were banished from the

Kingdom and went to live in the forest. It was a terrible
place: dark, forbidding, full of wild animals and dangerous
demons.

Light But Rama protected Sita. With Lakshmana’s help, they built
a little cottage in a clearing and very soon, life didn’t seem
so bad.

Dark Ravana the demon king lusted after Sita and was determined
 to make her his queen. Even other demons were frightened
of Ravana. He had ten heads and all of them were ugly. He
had twenty arms and carried a sharp, jagged and deadly
weapon in each one. He ate babies for breakfast and tigers
for tea. But Ravana knew he had no hope of kidnapping Sita
while she was in Rama’s protection, so a diversion was
needed. Ravana ordered a demoness called Maricha to help
him. She was a gifted shape-shifter and Ravana planned to
use her skills.

Light One day, Sita looked out of her cottage window to see a
beautiful golden deer crossing the forest clearing. She was
concerned that it wouldn’t last long in a forest full of
demons, so she begged Rama to go and bring it to the
cottage for her to look after. Rama told Lakshama to protect
Sita while he was gone and rushed out after the deer.

Dark Lakshmana and Sita heard Rama’s voice crying for help from
the forest. Lakshmana didn’t know what to do: Rama had
asked him to protect Sita, but at the same time he couldn’t
leave his brother in danger.

Light Sita begged Lakshmana to go and help her husband, so he

grabbed his bow, told Sita to lock the door behind him and
ran out into the forest towards the sound of Rama’s voice.

Dark Ravana’s plan was going perfectly. Maricha had used dark
magic to transform her hideous body into a beautiful deer
and drawn Rama out of the house. Then she had shape-
shifted back to her true form and doubled back to the
cottage. From the edge of the clearing she had imitated
Rama’s voice calling for help. Lakshmana had taken the bait
and the coast was clear for Ravana.

Light Sita peeped out of the window. On the doorstep there was a
holy man wearing a long robe with a deep hood hiding his
face. She couldn’t leave the poor man outside, so she
unlocked the door.

Dark Ravana burst into the cottage and threw back his hood. Sita
screamed when she saw all ten of Ravana’s faces leering at
her in triumph. Rama and Lakshmana returned to the
cottage to find the furniture all over the place like there’d
been a struggle. Sita had disappeared and he didn’t know
where to find her.
Light A vulture landed in the forest clearing. He knew where Sita
was! He told Rama that he’d seen Ravana carrying Sita off to
his fortress on the island of Lanka. Rama and Lakshmana
immediately set out to rescue her.

Dark But Ravana’s fortress was protected by an army of demons

and surrounded by a stormy sea.

Light But the monkeys were willing to help. Hanuman, the monkey
hero, led a daring mission to the island of Lanka to find
where Sita was being held prisoner, gave her Rama’s ring
and told her not to lose hope, a rescue would be coming
soon.

Dark Ravana’s demons caught Hanuman before he could get

away and tied a fire brand to his tail.

Light Hanuman wriggled free and jumped from roof-top to roof-

top, setting fire to the fortress. The demons panicked, and
while they rushed around with buckets of water, Hanuman
made his escape.

Dark Rama, Lakshmana and an army of monkeys made their way

to the shore and looked across the sea towards Lanka. There
was no way to get across.

Light The monkeys constructed a magic bridge of floating stones,

and the army charged towards Ravana’s fortress.

Dark The battle was fierce and Ravana fought viciously, all twenty
arms whirling all twenty weapons and dealing death in every
direction.

Light Rama aimed his bow and loosed an arrow, piercing Ravana’s
heart and killing him instantly. The demons saw that their
leader was dead and fled in fear. Rama rushed to Sita’s side
and together with Lakshmana and the triumphant army, they
travelled back to their homeland. The fourteen year exile
was over and the people lit the streets with lamps to
welcome the rightful king back home.

Epilogue
Light became an important symbol for Rama and Sita. Even when it
seems that life cannot get any worse and the forces of darkness are all
around you, just the tiniest glimmers of light to found in love, hope and
friendship are all you need to keep you going.

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