History and Literature

December 10, 2018

Time Traveling Assassin Essay

The Crash of Shiduri and Rama

Scene 1. [Shiduri’s Tavern.]

Shiduri. [Aside] In India, a mortal man, Rama, is spreading lies throughout the entire culture. His people believe that he is an reincarnation of the Supreme God and his purpose is to extinguish evil. But, as a Mesopotamian goddess myself, I know the gods would never defile their title by becoming human. The divine would not even act so kindly towards the matters of the human world. I can confidently say this because Marduk, the highest god, created mankind to do the laborious work of the deities. Men are expected to worship the gods who gave them life. Likewise, men are denied immortality because only gods deserve this privilege (“Enuma Elish: A Babylonian Creation Epic”). The deities actually treat these men with harshness and as temporarily tools used for their dirty work. Rama is leading India to believe the opposite of this blatant truth and, as a result, I must kill him before he does any more damage.

Enter Rama.

Shiduri. [Aside.] I have invited Rama to travel through time and enter my tavern. I plan to have a discussion with him over drinks, beer in his case and nothing in mine. He will believe I am interested in learning about his life, but I will actually be using the alcohol to alter his mind and trick him into taking his life. Although this trick may seem harsh, it is the way of the gods.

Rama. Greetings, Shiduri. May I ask why you have invited me to your tavern on the edge of the ocean?

Shiduri. Rama, I deeply admire the symbol of the ideal man you have become in India. I invited you here to learn more about the motivation that causes you to act ideally in all situations. Take a drink every time I ask a question and enlighten me.

[Hands Rama a beer.]

Rama. [Takes a drink.] My motivation is dharma, with mine specifically being to “destroy Ravana, the chief of the asuras, abolish fear from the hearts of men and gods, and establish peace, gentleness, and justice in the world” (Narayan 67).

Shiduri. [Aside.] Clearly, I already knew Rama was motivated by dharma. But, I am going to keep finding areas in which to ask him questions.

[To Rama.] Wait, what exactly is dharma?

Rama. [Takes drink.] Well, dharma, or duty, regulates human behavior. Every individual has a duty based on their place in society. Also, given that India greatly values family, everyone has a duty to respect the orders of parents and remain devoted to the family. When one follows their dharma correctly, they move unto their next reincarnation. The ultimate goal of following dharma is to achieve release (moksha) from reincarnations into the Great World Soul (Duiker and Spielvogel 44).

Shiduri. [Aside.] Rama is quite mistaken about the afterlife, as I suspected. Reincarnation simply does not exist because humans do not have immortality. Instead, humans are sent to the underworld after their death, where dust lines the door and they never return. All beings become equal in this afterlife as crowns of kings are discarded and all wear feathers. Mesopotamian mortals actually fear this afterlife because they see the lack of social class and civilization clothing as a descent from the culture they created back into nature (Mitchell). Once, a man by the name of Gilgamesh, tried to escape death for this very fear. I now have to explain the true purpose of life to him.

[To Rama.] I believe the purpose life is to “love the child who holds you by the hand and give your wife pleasure in your embrace” (Mitchell 169). In other words, you are supposed to enjoy the life you have. But, what do you believe the purpose of life is?

Rama. [Takes drink.] The purpose of life is not about the simply enjoyment of life. Rather, one must always be focused on reaching moksha through following their dharma. Moreover, life’s purpose also includes keeping an equal balance between evil and good in the world. This balance is so essential that the gods become involved. When Ravana was overpowering the world with evil, the gods sent me down as a reincarnation of the Supreme God to release him from this evil. These deities even sent a special chariot to help me during my final battle against Ravana (Narayan).

Shiduri. [Aside.] It is as if Rama actually believes these gods would be so helpful and forgiving! The gods would actually never take the time to become a mortal or extinguish evil without killing the person. I mean, five gods once agreed that the way to extinguish evil was to just kill all mankind with a flood. The god Ea felt the urge to not necessarily spare the life of mankind, but to go against this decree of the other gods. He whispered through a reed fence and indirectly advised the mortal Utnapishtim to build a boat (Mitchell). Clearly, the gods do not usually care about kindly helping the humans. In turn, the humans have to act like Ea and outsmart the gods into getting their way. This relationship is clearly shown through the Mesopotamian economy, as I will ask Rama about.

[To Rama.] I am a goddess myself and I am not quite sure the gods would ever act so kindly. The Mesopotamian people can certainly attest to this fact because the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers, sky, and surrounding environment were made from body of the unruly goddess Tiamat (“Enuma Elish: A Babylonian Creation Epic”). These rivers flood unpredictably, ruining crops and entire cities. Likewise, there are scorching winds, heavy downpours, and intense humidity. The people try to control the nature for the use of their agriculturally based economy through a mass irrigation system, systematic agriculture, and the domestication of animals. Furthermore, they build armies for defense from attacks and surround their cities with walls and even indoor gardens (Duiker and Spielvogel 11). The king Gilgamesh once set out to kill Humbaba, a monster in the forest, because he feared the uncontrollable nature lurking outside his city walls (Mitchell). Despite all of their efforts, the nature is still not fully controlled and the people correctly believe the harshness of the gods are to blame. Explain to me, Rama, how the gods are not harsh if they cause this environment?

Rama. [Takes drink.] Shiduri, India has a very similar environment. We live in the monsoon zone, where the southwest monsoon brings heavy rains that often cause droughts. We make up for this downfall by using trade and manufacturing (Duiker and Spielvogel 43). Yet, we still do not look down on the downfall because the environment is still part of the dharma. In fact, “the river descends with a lot of merchandise such as precious stones, sandalwood, peacock feathers, and iridescent flower petals and pollen grains, carrying it through the mountains, forests, valleys, and plains of Kosala country, and, after evenly distributing the gifts, ends its career in the sea” (Nakayana 3). This river flows in a path, just like the path of dharma, and gives gifts along the way. We, the Indian society, do not blame the gods for our environment because it is simply an extension of dharma.

Shiduri. [Aside]. I have had a change in heart because I now realize Rama has not been told of anything other than dharma. He believes dharma affects everything so heavily that even the economy is apart of the path. Clearly, he just needs to be told of the truth. As a provider of life, I will be the one to enlighten him.

[To Rama.] I understand you fully believe in dharma, but I want you to listen to what I have to say. First, I want to mention that in this male dominated society, Mesopotamian women are expected to stay at home, care for children and husbands, and perform childhood tasks. Our laws, including Hammurabi's Law Code, makes it clear that men rule over women (Duiker and Spielvogel 10). But, women are also considered providers of life because they provide the meals, maintain the household, produce children through sex, and knowledge. Given that I have a tavern where I provide beer, sex, food, and advice, I am the example of an ideal women. I once provided advice to Gilgamesh about the meaning of life, and I want to do the same for you (Mitchell). Please do not see this as a form of disrespect, I am still acknowledging your dominant role while I am trying to advise you. May I enlighten you beyond the belief of dharma?

Rama. [Has taken enough drinks to be blatantly drunk]. Shiduri, you know I cannot imagine a world with no dharma. Our laws, including The Law of Manu, also state that the woman’s place is within the home. Woman should also be honored and respected by men (Duiker and Spielvogel 42), but it is still their duty to adhere to dharma, not try to advice the man against his dharma. For example, when my wife was kidnapped by Ravana, I destroyed Ravana to follow my dharma, not to save her. Afterwards, I told her I could not take her back because “it is not customary to admit back to the normal married fold a woman who has resided all alone in a stranger’s house” (Narayana 162). Instead of arguing against our societal customs or dharma, she jumped into a burning fire. I took her back once I knew she was pure and respected my dharma. Thus, I cannot allow you to disrespect my dharma by arguing with my beliefs, or even against your own dharma by not believing the words I say.

Shiduri. [Aside.] Not only is Rama disrespecting the knowledge I have as a woman, he is using the story of his wife as an example. He is so proud to admit that he chose his dharma over loving his wife. I already told him that the point of life was to do the latter, but he clearly is not listening. He must go because he will only continue to led his culture into a tunnel of dark lies. I know exactly how to use my words to get rid of him.

[To Rama.] If you truly believe in dharma, I challenge you to take your own life. Clearly, the Mesopotamian population does not understand this concept of dharma. If you die, you can come back in a future life to my land and enlighten these people. You were already successful in enlightening the Indian people in your current life, so you will easily be able to do the same for these uninformed Mesopotamians. I understand you may be doubtful that your reincarnation will occur in Mesopotamia, but remember that I am a goddess. I have the ability to choose your next life, like the gods did when they made you Rama. I will ensure you have the opportunity to enlighten my people, you have my word. In fact, I know it is your dharma to trust me and spread knowledge in my land. You must obey this dharma.

Rama. If you believe it is my dharma, then I have need no further discussion. I will take my life.

[Stabs himself and dies.]

Shiduri. [Aside.] Rama’s crucial mistake was to trust me, a goddess. I was destined to trick him, that is the way of the gods. Of course, he will only go to the dreaded afterlife for his oversight. But, if his dharma actually existed, he would actually come back to Mesopotamia. He would not do so to teach our people about his false beliefs. Instead, our people would teach him the art of handling his drinks and stopping others from tricking him.

Works Cited

Duiker, William J., and Jackson J. Spielvogel. The Essential World History, Seventh ed., Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2014.

Enuma Elish: The Babylonian Creation Epic. Longman Anthology of World Literature.

Mitchell, Stephen. Gilgamesh: a New English Version. Simon and Schuster, 2013.

Narayan, R. K. Ramayana: a Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic. Penguin, 2006.

“The Law of Manu.” The Essential World History, Seventh ed., Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2014, pp. 42.