Week 5 Story: Promila the Bold

"Grandmother, tell me a story!"

The winter sun sunk beneath the horizon as the ship approached.

The village was cold for that time of year, and several fires burned although the night was not yet full. Soldiers and townfolk lounged alike, casting dice together while others ate and drank the chill away from their bones. The army had occupied this territory for nearly two years, and the enmity between the villagers and the soliders had mostly evaporated this far from the capitol. The troops had grown comfortable and soft; this was why they died so quickly.

Her ship was silent and grey, difficult to make out against the coastline. The only sound before the attack was the screaming of a banshee in the wind.

"Now, for Lanka and my Lord!" 

Armored figures poured from the boat; the attack was over in minutes. Soldiers half-drunk and freezing were chopped down by angry, screaming women swarming across the town. The women returned to the boat. The children and the elderly watched them depart as silently as they had arrived. 

Promila stood in the bow, her armor stained and sword unsheathed. Her dark hair flew back against the wind and her eyes were filled with black rage. She whispered the name Indrajit as the boat moved away from shore. She attacked eight more towns on the coastline as she made her way to the capitol. I saw her and her companions; I was seven when they came to our village. 

Word of her bloodshed traveled faster than her progress. We later heard that when her retinue approached Rama's force at the capitol, his soldiers laid down their arms and escorted her through the lines. Perhaps that is not what happened, but I believe it to be true. I saw her. It is said that Indrajit was so startled to see his wife behind the battle lines that he fell prey to Lakshmana's arrows from shock. Some say he used his father Ravana's war to run away from his wife; but even in death he could not escape her. She climbed the pyre and burned with him! 

There are those who say her spirit and companions still sail along the coast; fierce and bloodied women hunting runaway husbands. Some men joke nervously in winter as the sun goes down, keeping an eye towards the water for any sign of Promila the Bold. 

Authors Note

I chose to read selected pieces from Devee's Nine Ideal Indian Women, and found myself fascinated by the differences between Sita, Promila, and Sakuntala and how they reacted to the conflicts they faced and the men they cared for. Promila is actually a really sweet and fantastic character who is married to Indrajit, Ravana's eldest son. Indrajit is called back to the capitol when Ravana's war starts to sour, and Promila cannot wait for him to return. She and her handmaidens don armor and horses and ride straight to Rama's forces, explaining that she wants to see her husband, and that she will fight him and his army if she has to! The picture of this beautiful woman and her company, fearlessly approaching an army with no hesitation, was something I adored. So... I made it into a bloody ghost story. What if Promila was challenged along her way to Indrajit? What if she was chasing him because he ran out on her? Scorned women are renowned for their fury, and Promila would be such a great Viking. And, this is a story based on hearsay: very different from the events laid out in the text, but somewhat plausible considering how gossip and rumors travel. 

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