FAB FIVE PLUS ONE STORIES -
MAHABHARATA STORIES
Adi parva
1) The epic begins - Ganesha
1A FATHERS AND soNS - gANESHA
2) THE EMPEROR'S LUST - BY SHANTANU
3) THE SCENT OF A WOMAN - SATYAVATI
4 ) AMBA, THE BOLD PRINCESS - BY AMBA
5) THE TIMID PRINCESSES – VIDURA’S MOTHER
6) MADRI - BY MADRI
Adi+Sabha Parva
7) Thubs Down - Ekalavya
8) WAX PALACE - BY KUNTI
9) FALL IN THE hALL - duRYODHANA
Aranya Parva
10) THE NYMPH'S CURSE - BY URVASHII
11PANDAVAS IN THE FOREST - BY ARJUN
12)The monkey's tail - BY BHEEMA
13 ) MY MOTHER’S GUESTS – DRAUPADI’S DAUGHTER
virata Parva
14 ) I CAN KILL IF NEED BE – Bheema
15 ) FIND US IF YOU CAN- Uttara
Udyoga Parva
16 APPOINTMENT WITH A MOTHER - BY KARNA
Yuddha parvas
17 AN ELEPHANTINE LIE - BY YUDHISHTIR
18 THE LISTENER IN THE WOMB - Abhimanyu
19) THE 18TH DAY- by Sanjaya
20) THE GRAND OLD MAN DIES - BY BHEESHMA
Th Later Parvas
21) THE REVENGE OF THE SERPENT KING - BY TAKSHAKA
22 ) ) The Race Struggle - Astika
23) THE LAST HOURS OF KRISHNA - BY KRISHNA
24 )Sahadeva speaks - by Sahadeva
25) i call him but he does not come - kunti
26) The Prince of Gemtown - Babruvahana
AUXILIARY STORIES:
27 ) THE SPIRIT OF A WOMAN - SHAKUNTALA
28 ) MY SON IS SIMPLY THE BEST - YAYATI
29 ) DISPOSESSED DEMONS - Prahlada
1. The Right Digit (Thumbs Down) by Ekalavya
Come ! Please come ! I can see you are very tired. Did you say you have
been walking the whole day ? Yes, it looks like that. No Problem at all.
You can relax and pend tghe night hee. You can go in the morning, or if
you wish, you can stay for more time. You can see here. we dont have
.much. but whatever we have is yours
My wife has cooked rabbit meat today. did you say you would have
liked some deer meat ? No Sir, around here we dont kill deer . Actually
we look after them . Yes, we are hunters but these deer belong to us. I
know the name of each one. Yes, these are really fawns. They are not
full grown animals.
Did you say you are coming from the city? You mean the capital ?
How are things there ? The king cannot see and the people who can
see shut their eyes? Did you say injustice prevails ? Yes sir, i completely
agree with you. These children of the royal household have been
fighting since they were born. My father was the king ! No, my father is
the king ! Yes, that is what they used to keep shouting . At tht time they
were children. But now they are all full grown adults. But the fight has
not stopped. They will keep finding means to outmaneouver each other.
Yes, Sir, you are correct. They will fight till their last breath.
No Sir, dont ask abut it now. May be I will tell you about it. Or May
be not. No, please dont be sorry. It is just that some wounds take lot of
time to heal. And this is one such .Sir, let us go inside the hut. Very
soon the wild animals will come. Which animals? Name them and we
have them: Tigers, leopards, wolves. Yes, after all this is a forest , Isn't
it ? I know that as a hunter I should not worry about it. Thee was a time
when I was good. And that was the time we had deer in plenty. The wild
animals would never dare to come here. Yes, I killed many of them. So,
you are asking what happened ? Why am i not able to look after my
deer? Yes, i agree I am not old . But Sir, I have lost my skill. I cannot
aim properly anymore.
I agree sir, the wild animals do need food. Some of them take their
fill and go away. But some kill just for the fun of it. Worse, some of
them maim the deer for the rest of their lives and go away. They are the
worst, Sir . Today i am powerless against them . Totally powerless . And I
keep losing my deer
Sir, you dont give up easily ! You do want to know what happened
to my skill ! Let us say I lost it. After all I was young at that time . And
now I am getting old. Sir, why do you laugh ? Yes, I know, I know !
You say that the man who is standing in front of you is not old ! He is
young , but powerless !
Alright SIr ! I dont know why but I am beginning to like you. I
guess I will tell you my story. i have to take you back by about fifteen
years. I was just a boy then. An occasional hair was coming on my
upper lip to form a moustache. Yes, those were the days when one
watched each hair since it proclaimed the onset of adulthood.
My father had passed away a year earlier. He was the best hunter
in these parts. Many looked upto him. He was almost like their king.
And now there was nobody to lead them. Some of them thought that I
should take his place. And so did mother. I did not know what exactly it
meant but I agreed. I realized that I have to become the best hunter. I
started learning how to wield a bow and arrows. Some of my father's
friendds taught me. I guess I became quite good. But I knew it was not
enough. There were some wild animals that I was not able to kill. Like ?
For example there were the leopards. They were too fast for my arrows.
I decided that i should become better. What do I do to become a better
archer ?
I shared my problem with some of the elders in our community.
They suggested that I should go to the city. They said that there is a very
famous Guru who teaches the royal children. They said I should go
and request the Guru to teach me also.
The teacher said that I have to pay my fees for what I have learnt.
Though I had not learnt anything directly from him I felt that I ought
to pay his fees. I did not know what he would ask. After all he was used
to what the royalty paid him. Where will I get that much money ?
Anyway I agreed that I would pay his fees and asked him how much
money does he want. He smiled (looking back I feel that smile really was
not in order ) and said he does not want money. What else do you want
sir ? I can give some of my deer though I really do not want to part with
them. ' Young man, I want your right thumb ' . You say you are
shocked. Was I shocked also ? No, not initially. I did not really
understand what he wanted. You may laugh but the thought which I
immediately came to my mind was that I had stopped sucking my thumb
only recently . My mother used to scold me a lot about it. Does he want
my thumb separately or am I suppose to go wherever the thumb goes ?
What does he want my thumb for ? I wondered how many thumbs he
must have in his home since he was known to have taught many princes
of this land. May be there are some rituals where these thumbs are
used. When all types of thoughts were going on in my head. I heard
him again " Yes, young man, I want you to cut out your right thumb
and give it to me '
i think my mother understood what it meant. She screamed NO, Sir,
Please do not ask for it . If he loses his thumb he wont be able to string his bow properly. His arrows will go all over the place. No, Sir ! please ask forsomething else . I also began to realize what would happen. I will not be
able to get rid of the wild animals . They will take their prey and go
away. We will lose all our deer. What type of hunter will I be without
my right thumb ?
My mother and the other elders implored the teacher but he was
in no mood to agree. They said that they will give him one hundred
deer but he did not budge. He started getting angry . Your thumb or
nothing ! We were left with no option.
For along time we did not understand why my teacher had
demanded my thumb. Later we came to know that he had promised one
of his student princes . It seems the Acharya had promised one of the
princes that he would be the best archer in the world. But the prince had
seen how good I was and complained to the Acharya about it. That is
when the teacher found out that I had been listening to him teach the
prince. Yes, I was also seeing it from the place where I was hiding. And
that is how I had picked up archery.
Yes, for a brief , very brief, time I was the best archer in the world. I am
sure there will be great ones in the future too. But that piece of time
belonged to me and me only.
It all happened long time ago. I should have forgotten it but I have
not. My initial anger is not there. I understand what made the Acharya
ask for my thumb. I cannot hate him. He was exploited just like me. He
owed everything he had to those princes. And he could not just go
against them. Without them he would be just another poor Brahmin who
could not even afford to get milk for his son. After all, who was I to him
? Just a hunter boy ! Are you saying he could nave been magnanimous
? No, I dont think he had many options. It was just me, a poor hunter or
the prince. I dont blame him for choosing the prince. Even then, I could
see he was not comfortable with his deed. When I cut off my thumb, he
had tears in his eyes. What did he do with my thumb ? I really dont
know. May be there were other boys like me. May be he got thumbs
from them too. May be he gave the prince a string of thumbs to wear
around his neck !
Do I hate that prince who wanted to be the best archer in the
world ? My feelings are mixed. He was one of those poor cousins who
were treated shabbily by the king's children. They have suffered a lot .
Yes, I know that now they are in the forest since they lost the wager to
their cousins. Yes, I feel bad for them,
However if I meet that prince anytime I am sure that I would not be as
forgiving as I am at this moment. He is arrogance personified. The
eldest of the brothers came to me and expressed his sorrow when I lost
the thumb. . But not that arrogant prince ! It seems he just laughed
when he heard that the Acharya had taken my thumb away ! It was he
who is responsible for all those mothereless fawns . Yes, I will lift
my bow with whatever little strength I have and I will aim my arrows
at his heart. .
2. THE WAX PALACE by Kunti
There was a message from the royal palace. It was from my brother
in law, the king. please come as soon as possible. I had not seen him for
quite some time. I have not seen my sister too for some time. She is not my
sister-sister. She is married to my brother in law. We are sisters by
marriage. She is a very pious lady, so pious that she started wearing a
piece of cloth over her eyes from the day she was married to the king. You
see he is blind and she wanted to be the ideal woman. I wonder what she
does when she has to change the piece of cloth everyday. Does she close
her eyes in between ? Or does she take a peek at the outside world ? No, I
am not that pious. In fact, I could even be called naughty . How naughty ?
I will tell you some other time about the other ways i have been naughty .
At first, let me get on with the story at hand.
When I went to the palace, both the king and queen gave me a
hearty welcome. I bowed to the king ( I touched his feet so he knows that i
am bowing to him) and hugged the queen. They looked very happy to see
me. I can understand some amount of joy . After all we had not seen each
other for over a month. But the king was literally gushing. I looked at my
other brother in law. He, however, had a cautious smile. See these were
three brothers: the blind king was the first son, my dead husband the
second one and the gentle counselor the third one.
The king spoke " You must be bored here " . Bored ? Who has time to
get bored. I have five sons. Even one teenager is enough . I have five of
them to handle. I am certainly not bored. But I did not answer. He spoke
again : " May be you and your sons should take a vacation ". We work
hard but it is not as though we need a vacation. I spend all my time looking
after my children. And my children are busy learning what princes ought to
learn.
The eldest goes to venerable scholars to learn about the duties of
kings and how kings ought to rule. His celestial father is Lord Dharma , the
god of righteousness. And we named our son also after him. The second
one is the strongest of them all. Obviously because he is the son of Lord
Vayu, the god of wind. My second son is HUGE. I shudder just to think of
how big I was when I carried him ! One day he slipped from my hands. At
that moment I was so afraid that I would lose him. After all we had gone
through so much trouble to get him. I closed my eyes only to open them
when I heard a huge sound. What I saw was that Baby Bhim had fallen on a
rock and the rock broke into pieces. He was not just a big baby . He has
also grown upto be a huge young man. He is so huge that recently he
picked up all his brothers and balanced them on his shoulders. When I
protested, he took me and placed me on the top of his head. His favourite
weapon rightly is the mace. He had gone last year to Dwaraka to learn it
from my nephew, who is the avowed master of Mace in this world.
You see I have these two nephews in Dwaraka. The eldest is a very
strong young man. He is the Mace Master. The next one, the youngest, is ,
well, how do I say it- he has done so many great things that he is already a
larger than Life figure. People have started talking about him as the man of
the millennium.
Let me get back to my second son. The blind king’s eldest son - my
children refer to him as the evil cousin or the evil prince - also went to the
same person in Dwaraka to learn the use of mace. Both he and my second
son have become the mace experts in the country. People who know about
these things say one of them treats it as an art and the other as a science. I
don’t know what it means. Even as such these two keep shouting at each
other. I just worry that one day these two will have a real serious fight. Who
knows whether art will win or science ?
My other sons ? I will tell you some other time about them . Whatever
it is, all my children are fabulous. I call them the FAB FIVE ! For now, my
brother in law wants us, that is me and my sons, to go on a vacation. He
says that he has got a vacation package – “Go to Varanavata. There is
going to be a big festival for Lord Shiva. This is the right time to go there.
Also, we are building a new palace just for you. Stay there for some time.
Yes, you can even forget the problems here and stay for a year”.
He is not just telling us to consider his offer. He is actually ordering
us. Do we have a choice ? No, we are like poor relatives. A daughter in law
is not treated well once her husband is dead. And I have to cart around
these five sons. But I have learnt to read in between the lines and this is
what his offer really says “ If you are here, we will have to eventually
coronate your son. People of this town are already praising him to the
skies. They say he is the right person to become the king. Therefore we
don’t want you here. Go away for some time. People will forget you and will
get reconciled to the idea of my son as the future king “. I don’t think it is
my brother in law’s idea. Pardon me, he is not all that bright. The idea must
have come from his son and his cohorts. As I said I have no choice in this
matter. I was told to pack up our stuff and leave as soon as possible. As I
was leaving the royal household, my other brother in law, the gentle
counselor, called me aside and spoke words of caution.
When I went home and broke the news to my children there was a
mini rebellion. The second one – yes, the strong one – uttered foul words
about the king and the prince ( I don’t know where these children pickup
such language ) and said he will not leave the city. The others also
expressed similar sentiments, but with fewer foul words. I was at a loss
about what to do when the eldest interceded. He told them that we have to
undertake this trip since it is the order of not just a king but also the wish
of their affectionate elder uncle. Even as the word ‘ affectionate ‘ left my
son’s mouth , there was big laughter in the room. They started kidding
each other about how affectionate their uncle is and all that. Anyway they
also had no choice except to reconcile with his orders.
The city of Varanavata was beautiful. The festival of the Ascetic God
was in full swing. The keeper of the city told us that the new palace was
getting ready for us. His name is Purochana. On meeting him for the first
time, my children remarked that he is a very shady character. He had shifty
eyes . He was a smooth talker alright. We came to know that he had got the
job not because of any great abilities . It seems he was actually a confidant
of the Kuru prince and that is what got him the job. My children recalled
that they had seen him in the prince’s service. He was seen fanning the
prince after bouts of wresting. My eldest son said he must be a sycophant.
That was a new word for us. He learns so many new words and ideas in the
company of learned scholars.
After we spent a few days in the town of Varanavata , we were taken
to the new palace. It was a very beautiful dwelling outside the city. The
palace was quite big too, almost as big as the one in Hastinapur. But
something was not right. As soon as we went in, my youngest son
sneezed. And sneezed. I did not like it. It was not a good omen. I decided
that we should leave immediately and come the next week. Purochana was
not happy but there was not much he could do. The next week also same
thing happened. But this time it was my 4th son. I told my children that I
don’t like what is happening and that we should reconsider whether we
should say in this house. My eldest son said that I should not be
superstitious (look, that is another word he has learnt). He said that the
reason his last brothers are sneezing has probably nothing to do with
omens. He said it could be something else and he felt that we should start living in the house.As I said earlier, the house was alright. Well, really speaking it was kind of gaudy. It had all types of colours. My sons seem to like the place.Though we were a royal family, the house allotted to us in Hastinapur was not good. It was neither big nor nice. Well , when we came back to Hastinapur, we had nowhere else to go and we took what we got. Actually that was the first time that I felt that we were poor relations. But this house is big. I have a whole suite for myself. The children also have their own suites. But what I don’t like is that the palace is circled by so many guards.When I told Purochana about it, he said that we had to be guarded and it was also the order of the Kuru prince. This is the first time I really saw that the prince had taken unusual interest in this matter.It seems the Kuru prince also had his hand in how the palace wasbuilt. Why is he so much interested in it ? When I told the eldest about it, hechided me that I was unnecessarily too suspicious. And another thing that bothers me is the on and off sneezing of the last two sons. Sometimes it is the 4th and sometime it is the 5th . But the sneezing is always there. Again I told son Dharm about it. He said that it could be some allergy. That means when a person’s body is not comfortable with the environment, the discomfort comes out in different ways. It comes out as a sneeze. If it is true what is it that these two don’t like in this palace ?
We have already spent six months. We are feeling restless because
we have nothing to do. I don’t cook anymore since the palace has several
cooks. My children also feel that I have done enough cooking in my life and it is high time that I should relax like a real queen. But what worries me is that my children are also restless. And inert ! They are all putting on weight. We are also not left free to do whatever we want. There are always people around us. Purochana says that they are guarding us but we are beginning to feel that we are in some glorified prison.
One night as I was going to bed, I remembered an incident which
happened long time back. Those were the days when my husband was the
king of Hastinapur. The grandfather said that we needed more alliances
and the king should marry again. I did not like it but these are matters of
state. And, of course, the king agreed readily ! He married a very beautiful young girl. I had to make up the room for their first night. I had seen some nice pots from a neighbouring country. It was called lacquer ware and I kept few of them in the room. The tradition was that I take her into the room on the first night. And as I took her inside, she started sneezing. She was very embarrassed. I heard later from my ( and now our) husband that she was sneezing throughout the night. When we really looked into things we found the culprit. It was the lacquer ware. She was very uncomfortable with it. Now I realized the reason why the last two brothers sneezed in the temple. They were after all her children. I remember we threw the pots out when we found that they catch fire very fast.Now I realized the evil plot. My suspicions were true. There was
lacquer all over the place. I called my children together immediately and
told my suspicions to them. They laughed at it first but they also began to see the evil designs of the Kuru prince. I also asked them to make sure
about it. I don’t know what they did but they all came back and said that the palace would burn away with even a small fire. The kitchen was way behind ( now I realized that it was too far away) and they made sure nothing would ignite our place. Ignite our palace ? Yes, that was their intention.
We were all really worried. We could not even escape since we
were being watched all the time. What future is this for the Pandava clan ?Burnt in a fire like forest animals? The brothers were all taking turns to be awake in the night. NO, that should not happen. When we were wondering what to do Puochana brought a young man in to see me and said that this was a relative of ours. I could not recognize the young man when he came in and touched my feet. He signaled to me to keep quiet. He told me that his mother and I were distant cousins. I knew Purochana was suspicious. I acted as though I remembered her and asked about her
welfare. After Purochana went away , the young man said he had been
sent by my brother in law, the gentle counselor. It seems he knew that we
were in danger. We told the young man that we were stuck in a fire trap.
The young man said that the walls were all made of inflammable material
like lac, wax, ghee etc. He said that the only way was to dig a tunnel and
get out of the building. The youngest joked that the tunnel may lead us to another fire trap !He and his jokes !
The young man did dig the tunnel. Bhim helped him . It took the
two of them few months. Purochana was suspicious about why the young
relative was staying for such a long time. When it was finally ready, we
decided to leave soon. I called all the workers including the guards one
evening for a big dinner. We made sure that Purochana also came for the
dinner. We served them some very intoxicating liquor. They all fell asleep.
My sons and I took the tunnel which led to the forest outside. As soon as
we left the building the young man who had helped us lit a fire in the
palace. I am sure that the wax palace was burnt down to ashes in no time.
As for us, further hard times were around the corner !
(As you can imagine, this account could be by Queen Kunti, the mother of the Pandavas, the Mace Master could be Balram)
Varanavata is different from Varanasi)
HE FALL IN THE HALL by Duryodhana
Posted on 10 Dec 2011
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I should not have gone there. But father and mother made me go to their place. After all, they are your cousins ! I don’t know why I don’t like them. Of course I can give several reasons why I don’t like them. It is all that and some thing more which I cannot fathom. Mother has been telling me from the time we were children. Suyo, Why don’t you like them ? It is easy for her to say. She can’t see them. Just their very sight drives me crazy
They are my cousins, in fact, my poor cousins ! My uncle took over the reins because my father was blind. Somebody had to do it and he did it. It was not as though my uncle was the king. He was just looking after the duties for the time being. . Well, he passed away. The way he died, well, let me not talk about it. All I can tell you is that it was not a nice way to go. Well, may be it was nice but certainly not respectable. Kshatrias should die in battles, not in the arms of a woman.
After the death of their father ( It is another thing that he was really not their father, but let it be for the present) , the five kids and their mother descended on us. My father took pity on them and gave them one of the palaces to stay. They should have been given some stables. May be grandfather insisted that they stay in a palace. Yes, grandpa has always been partial to them. He used to let some of them sit on his lap. But when I wanted to sit , he would say that I weigh too much ! And when the time came to learn the martial arts, they were allowed to learn with us. I did not like it at all. What do they need to do with a mace or a bow? They can serve us and we will look after them. We could have given them some posts here and there. Again, it was not to be and they studied along with us. Further our Guru also started liking them. He would say that they are better learners. Big Deal ! Thus it happened that there were two of them in the palace taking their side; grandfather and our Guru ! I should not forget the other one, the last of my uncles ! Again I am not sure he belongs with us since he is actually the son of a maid servant. I tolerate him because my father relies on him a lot.
I am the son of the first born . And the law says that I should ascend the throne one of these days. But when they grew up they started whining. Oh Elder Father ! Give us our share ! What share ? And why should we give them anything at all. But that was not to be. As always their well wishers intervened and made my father give them that part of our kingdom.
What was given to them was some land at the edge of our kingdom. It was actually a forest. It seems they burnt the whole place and built their capital there. Burning a whole forest ! Their eldest, the one we call Pious, usually talks a lot of what he calls Dharma. Putting it simply (he, of course,never puts anything simply) it is the right way to live and let live. I wonder what he was doing when so many animals perished in that forest. A sacrifice indeed !
Yes, a sacrifice is what was supposed to happen in their place when they invited us to come there. The occasion ? It seems the sacrifice , like the one with the horse, is supposed to show that they are supreme. It is for this purpose that they went to Magadha and killed its great king by deceit with the help of that cowherd. He pokes his nose in all matters. True, Magadha was his enemy too but there are well established ways to fight your enemies. I don’t know how they can call themselves supreme. We are not their vassals. The name of the sacrifice sounds like the one which makes other kings jealous ! Jealous ! What is it tht they have that is so greta ? Anyway, I was reluctant to go but my parents made me go.
I went there along with my brother and my maternal uncle. As soon as we got there, they made sure we looked at their new palace. They boasted about it. It seems a divine architect built it for them. It is just the way they talk. It must have been some lowly guy with a drawing board. They said we can see the inside of the building later. We were taken to our quarters to relax.
As we were about to enter, we were first directed to take off our footwear and put on the slippers that were provided. The archer, the middle brother and the designated host, said that it was to make sure that guests did not enter with their dirty footwear. I did not like his sarcasm. As he took us to various parts , his was an endless chatter about how good each room was. He talked about marble as though it was gold. It seems they had to get it all the way from the western region. Big deal ! Enough is enough. I told him that we will look after ourselves. He told us not to get lost in the vast palace. You should have heard the way he said vast; the ‘ a ‘ got stretched so much I thought the word would break. And he gave us silver coins and asked us to keep dropping them so that we would know our way back. Wont somebody pick them up and go away ? He laughed and said no body was so poor in their kingdom to pick up silver coins.
I hate to admit it but the place was indeed vast. We did walk around a lot and finally came to an exquisite and huge hall. It was quite cool. I could see why . Part of the hall had a large water pool which kept the whole place cool. As we neared the pool, I folded my clothes up so as not to get them wet. I heard some laughs, definitely feminine. I wondered why as I dipped my feet into what I thought was the pool. Nothing happened. Water did not cover my feet. I felt silly. There was no water at all. It was just that the surface of the floor was made to look like it had water on it.
As we went towards the other side of the hall, I could see it was very shiny. Before I knew what happened, I had landed in a shallow water pool . And I slipped and got myself wet. Again I heard the laughter. It was loud, and feminine. I guess there were more of them this time . Then I looked up . There she was laughing at me . And was telling her friends ‘ He is also blind like his father ‘. I bowed down my head. My clothes were wet. The water was cold and I was shivering. And then this laughter which never seemed to end ! I felt stupid and I was angry too. The I again looked up and stared at her. I don’t think I can ever forget that gleaming white teeth in her dark face . She was not too far. I could see her laugh slowly turn into a stare. Thee was fear and anxiety in that stare too. May be she was beginning to understand the extent of her folly ! May be she knew that she has to pay for those bouts of laughter.
(Picture is from the internet; i Dont own it )
The rest of our visit was an anti climax. There was this issue of who had to be honoured first. Some people proposed my grandfather’s name. But many others rooted for the cowhered. And finally it was the cowherd who got the first honour. He also manaed to get rid of one of his old foes who abused him. I had lost all interest because I was too steeped in what I have to do in the future.
My mind is made up. I will have to get back the part of our land which they are lording over now. I want them away somewhere.
If need be, I will fight for my rights. I should talk to my uncle about it. He knows what I think but he should know the urgency with which I want them out of my life. May be he can suggest methods other than war . And the lady ! She should suffer along with them. May be worse than them
(This is by Duryodhana ( also knowns as Suyodhana) and sacrifice is called RAJASUYA . The cowherd is Krishna; grandfather is Bheeshma and the guru is Dronacharya; The lady is Queen Panchali, archer is Arjuna and Pious is Dharmaraja)
4.THE NYMPH'S CURSE by Urvashi
Jun 12 2009
|
Am I crushed or what ? This guy comes up all the way
from there just to spurn a heavenly maiden’s love ! Did I say
maiden ? Just forget it, I am no maiden . However, I am
heavenly ! Look at his gall ! There are tears in my eyes. He
has made me cry . I got to teach him a lesson. As they say,
hell has no fury like a woman scorned !
I will tell you the whole story. At first, let me tell you
about ‘ heaven’ since that is where we are. The first word that
comes into my mind when I think of this place is Decadence
! Yes, Decadence. One of the dictionaries describes it as ‘
Luxurious self indulgence ‘ . Let me give some examples.
The other day the God of Winds invited us all for a musical
evening. Do you know what he did ? He started breaking
wind in various ways and wanted us to believe that each one
was a separate musical tune. And then there are the endless
dance and music sessions. No improvement, no change!
Endless love making too ! Same partners and same positions
! It is true we all look young . At least, we think so. Our
bodies have not aged. Neither disease nor death visits us.
But our minds have ceased to exist. My friend, that is what
heaven is ! Just imagine all those stupid earthlings aspire to
come here ! The result of all this is that we keep looking for
something different.
Finally, this ‘ something different ‘ came in the form of a handsome
youth. He was dressed in a very simple robe. He could have been mistaken for a mendicant except that he was carrying a bow. His well shaped feet were firmly on the ground . Certainly an earthling ! Otherwise, his feet would have been above the ground the way our feet are. He saluted Our Master, the Lord of Heavens, who asked him to sit on a nearby seat. As he was talking to the Master there were whispers. Who is he ? Who is he ?
Eventually we came to know the whole story. He is the Master’s son.
Our master has many affairs. We do not come to know most of what our
master does and this was also news to us. This is what we heard : A young
queen calls upon our master to bless her with a son. It seems she
obtained a boon by a holy man in which she could invoke any god to come to her and bless ( how sanctimonious they make it sound) her with a child. Before she called upon our master, she had used the boon already three times. Her choices looked kind of strange. At first it was the Sun god (Thiswas when she was not married. Let us not dwell upon it. Everybody makes mistakes) . Then it was the Lord of Death, and yes, righteousness. Next in line was the Lord of Winds. After all this, she called upon our master, theking of gods. I am not sure whether he was thrilled because even lesser gods had been there earlier. Well, boon is a boon and our master had nochoice. He had to do the lady’s bidding and the young man whom we see everyday in the court of Amaravati is the result of that union .It seems that the youth is here to get more arms from my Master.Yes, and better arms. It worries me. I am told that he is already one of the best archers on earth. Why does he need more arms? This is what I neverunderstood. More arms, more power ! Why do the earthlings need all that ?All that will happen is that they will destroy each other in more and more sophisticated ways. Poor Me ! what say do I get in these matters ? All theyask us to do is to wriggle our hips in the court. And, yes, they also send us occasionally to divert the attention of some ambitious holy men or kings.
Our master is always worried that somebody else will take his position -
the king of gods - away. Our visitor, the master’s son , has stolen the hearts of all the ladies in heaven. We had heard that he is actually a ladies’ man. But he is acting strange here. He does not even look at the women. May be his queen (theone he shares with his four brothers) has given him strict orders to keepoff women.I have had surfeit of men in my life and was not all that excited by him initially. But our master told me one day that I have to teach dance tothe visitor. What does this archer need with dance ? May be it is one moreway to get near the ladies. Anyway, I started teaching him dance . And thenit happened ! Love ? No, I don’t think so . It was just sheer passion. ! Itwas just that these things happen when two people are thrown together day and night and when they happen to two different sexes. I slowly grew enamored of him till I could not think of anything else. I wanted to possesshim.
I talked to my close friend about it. She is like me, a celestial nymph.
Just like me, she also had intimacies with several human beings. We are
kind of past masters at this, loving men and leaving them later. But why is
this happening to me? My friend tells me that I have to express my feelings
to him. She tells me not to wait since our visitor would be departing soon.
Our dance lessons had come to an end. It was the last day. We sat
there kind of tired after all those movements. I looked at him. He was
looking elsewhere, almost staring straight ahead. I moved near to him and
took his hand in mine. And I pressed it softly. He withdrew it as though it
had given him a shock and utters this strange word – Maate ! Maate ?
Mother ? Why is he calling me that ? I again moved nearer and took his
hand. He again withdrew it and uttered that word again. Maate !?
He told me that I should not be doing this since I am like his mother. I
asked him to explain and he told me how I had married the great Pururava ,
his ancestor and how I begot a son who continued the Lunar Dynasty. Oh
God ! I had forgotten all that. It was so long ago. This youth is implying that
I am his great great grand mother. He did not say it in so many words but
according to him sleeping with grandmothers (however ‘ young ‘) is not
the done thing.
He went on in the same vein how apart from being his great grand
mother I am like his mother also since I am a consort of his father, who is
our master and the Lord of the Heavens. I went on telling him that there are
no such permanent relations here in heaven. His final objection to my
advances was that I was his guru, his teacher. That was the last straw. I felt
humiliated and started crying. He did not even try to pacify me. Very coolly
he walked out of the dance room.
Yes, I have to teach him a lesson. What type of lesson ? That he
should not scorn advances of a woman in heat ? I slowly realize it is not
just passion. Yes, I love him also ! If I love him , I should not hurt him. No,
it is just pure passion. It is vindictiveness. Whatever may be, I am too much
hurt. And very angry !
I am told that he is leaving heaven today. It seems he is bidding
farewell to his acquaintances. Finally he comes to my room. As he tries to
bow down and touch my feet, I step backwards. I tell him that I am going to
curse him since he has scorned my love and passion. He wants to say
something, probably in his defense, but I stop him. In a screaming voice, I
tell him that he will become impotent immediately. He is shocked but I utter
the curse again and again.
My scream must have sounded all over heaven since I saw our
master walk in. He asks me to forgive his son and take back the curse. I tell
him that I cannot do that . But the master prevails upon me to soften the
blow. My anger also subsides . I tell him that he will be impotent for one full year and he can choose the time whenever he wants.
Well, the handsome visitor from earth has gone away. We are back to
our own bad ways here in the heaven. There is going to be a competition
next week among gods to see who can pee the farthest.
( Based on an episoide in Mahabharata when Arjuna visits Heaven
(and Indra - the master ) to get more arms (astras). Urvashi, one of the
Apsaras (celestial nymph) falls in love with him but he scorns her. She
curses him to be impotent. He later uses this curse when he has to don
the role of an eunuch in Ajnatavasa (incognito) in Virata kingdom )--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MY MOTHER’S UNWANTED GUESTS - by Panchali's Daughter
Apr 14 2010
|
My mother told me many stories about her life. I say stories not
because it is not true. It is so much in the past that those real events take
on the garb of stories. She has passed on. And so many of her generation
too ! I am also getting old and I want to keep my legacy alive. Now I tell
those stories to my children who hopefully will pass it on to their children.
And then.. ! May be an epic will be born. Yes, children! These are stories
of your grand mother and her five husbands. You raise your eyebrows
when I say five ? Look, those were different times. May be I will start with
a fun story.
See it was like this. Your grandmother and her five ( no more
raising eyebrows!) husbands were exiled to the forest. Their crime ? Well,
not crime really. The problem was that your grandfather did not know how
to roll his dice properly. He was playing dice with his cousins ( Did I hear
evil ? So one of you knows something about it? Yes, they were evil ! Now
you are asking me what is good . Well, good is the opposite of evil. Not
happy ? OK, we will have to take it up some other time) and he lost the
game. They had a bet . Not just simple money or horses. Your
grandfathers lost their kingdom . They were told that it will be returned to
them after they spend 13 years outside with 12 years in the forest. Yes,
children, that is the way 13 became an unlucky number . So your
grandfathers and grandmother went away to live in the forest.
Was it difficult for them ? Yes, my child, you bet ( sorry kids,
betting is in my genes, I think ) it was . Especially for your grandmother !
After all she was born a princess and well looked after from her cradle
days. Later she became the queen for five illustrious princes. She probably
had never entered the kitchen before she went to the forest. It is kind of
strange because she was very good with imagining new dishes. Actually
before your grandmother entered their lives, your grandfathers were eating
soulless food ( Sorry, great grandma ! I am not putting you down. After all
you had to raise five children. You must not have had much time to think
about what to feed them )
.
After they got married to your grandmother , they were surprised
to see strange dishes every day. My mother told me that she was a
dreaming creature. Yes, that means she was into dreams. Her early
morning dreams were invariably about food, and in particular about new
dishes. This awesome lady would dream a new recipe every morning.
After waking up, she would summon the chief cook and convey the recipe.
That is the way many new dishes were born. The royal kitchen of your
grandparents in Indraprastha was a Food Lover’s paradise. One of your
grandfathers was also a very good cook. The best was when these two
came together and planned the day’s meal
Well, your grandma started learning to cook after entering the
forest with her husbands. Your grandfather , the one who was huge, taught
her to cook. I have told you already that he was a very good cook. Your
grandmother who had furnished variety of recipes to the royal kitchen
earlier had to learn to turn her ideas into reality. A great dish is actually
twice born - once when it is conceived and the other when ti is prepared.
Initially she had a hard time and she began with very well known dishes.
Slowly she became an expert and even your huge grandfather had to admit
that she was better than him.
Your grandparents spent an idyllic life in the forest. There are
some notes left by some of them about their life and adventures at that
time which you can pursue later. The night meal consisted mostly of fruits
and raw vegetables and thus there was nothing to cook. Therefore your
grandmother cooked only one meal , the afternoon meal. Their routine was
well set.
The men would go out and bring wood and food. And the
lady of the house would cook. They would all eat around mid day and by
afternoon the kitchen would be clean.
It was one of those afternoons when the family had eaten well
and the dishes cleaned ( almost !). They were all taking a well earned nap.
Did my mother dream of new recipes? No kids. Those days were over.
Actually once she started cooking, she had stopped having dreams of new
recipes. Now her dreams were of wars and battles.
The thunderbolt struck in the midst of their nap. No kids, it was not
about rain. I am sorry I went into allegorical mode here. I meant to say that
a catastrophe was going to happen. Your grandmother was the lightest
sleeper of them all. And she heard this loud guttural voice WAKE UP AND
GIVE US FOOD . It was a commanding voice . It was a bullying voice. She
woke up after making sure that it was not a part of her dream. There was
the same guttural voice again but louder now. GIVE US FOOD. Who were
these unwanted guests at this time ? She woke up the menfolk and the
scene which greeted them when they went to open the door was
frightening.
There was this fierce looking Rishi who looked at them with anger.
Behind him there were many more Rishis . How many Rishis? I remember
mother’s words . A band of thirty forty Rishis descended on us . Anyway,
the exact number is not important. What mattered was that the leader
said that they were hungry and they had to be fed soon. He went on to add
that they should be happy to have such illustrious guests. After uttering
these few words, the leader took his band of Rishis to bathe. We will be
back here after our bath ! We will be very hungry by then !
Your grandparents did not know what to do. They had all finished
lunch and the dishes washed too. It seems the leader of those Rishis, the
fierce looking one, was indeed a big Rishi. More importantly he was well
known for his anger. Curse was his second name. My eldest father started
telling others of various incidents in which this Rishi was involved. It
seems our family, the Lunar Dynasty, had also felt his ire in the past. Our
great great great grand mother suffered a lot because of him. I will tell you
just the gist of the story. She was living in a hermitage when our ancestor
king visited the place. They liked each other which led to their marriage.
The king went back to his capital assuring the lady that he would send for
her soon. On one afternoon when this lady was sitting thinking of her
beloved, this Rishi visited the hermitage. It seems he called several times
but nobody came to welcome him. He got very angry and cursed the lady
that her husband will forget her. She suffered a lot before she could get
back with her husband. Her name was Lady Shakuntala. Yes, I will tell you
the story some other time.
Therefore it is understandable that your grandparents were very
worried. Even as such they were facing many problems. Many thoughts
bothered them every day. When will these twelve years come to an end ?
How will we spend the 1th year ? Will we get back our kingdoem ? Will we
have to fight for it ? Amidst all this, there was this problem - the
possibility of being cursed by an angry sage. Who knows what he will
curse ? It seems that one of your grandfathers joked that it cannot be
worse than what they already have. They all laughed but they knew
something had to be done .
It was during such times that they invariably thought of one
man who could save them. Did I say man ? Actually many people thought
and felt that he was actually God in human form . Yes, he is supposed to
have had that kind of power. He used to play with us kids . He was uncle
for us and he was great fun. That would make him Grand Uncle for you
kids !
Well, these people thought of him and there he was. Difficult for
you to believe ? Yes, for me also . When I heard it first, I told mother that I
don’t believe her. She replied that it happened, that is all. It seems he asked
mother to bring her cooking vessel and found a grain of rice sticking at the
bottom. He took it in this finger and ate it. And said that their problems are
over and they don’t have to any anymore. He wished them all the best and
disappeared !
The hungry Rishis ? It seems they were not hungry anymore.
Just after your grand uncle ate that grain of rice, those sages, yes, all the
40 of them, started belching. The belches were so loud that your
grandparents could hear them all the way from their hermitage. The loudest
belcher was probably the leader. Do you understand what happened ?
When your granduncle ate that grain, in some sense, he ate for
the whole world . That is the reason the sages were no more hungry. How
nice ! Correct, kids, a good way to satisfy poor and hungry people! But
who will do it ? People like your grand uncle are no more in this world.
Your eldest grandfather was very unhappy that the sages did not
come back. The others felt that the sages were sent to the hermitage by
their evil cousins in Hastinapur. They did not feel sorry for the Rishis. He
said it was a possibility but reminded the others that they were born
because the sage had blessed their mother. And he was actually like an
ancestor ! (Yes, kids, some other time for that story too.) He just went on
waiting for the Rishi Durvasa ( yes, that was the leader'sname) to return.
He went without food for the next few days but the Rishi did not return.
Yes, kids this is the way some unwanted guests came to
trouble your grandparents during their stay in the forest. I guess I have
been too harsh on those Rishis . Kids, we have to be kind to our guests
though they may not be kind to us!
(This is by Panchali's fictitious daughter)
© palahali.
THE FAB FIVE +1 in the forest
Dec 21 2009 | Views 203 | by Arjuna
Our stay in the forest is coming to an end. Some of those twelve years
were harsh, but some of them were nice too. It was the first time that the
six of us were together for a long time. We lived like a simple family. Our
queen cooked and fed us like any other housewife. Our eldest brother,
Brother Dharma, would give company to her. He would also act as the
guard. At times we were worried since he was not exactly the best to
defend if our evil cousins or robbers troubled our queen. Luckily nothing
bad happened. You know there is always the mistaken notion that royalty
should know how to fight. May be it is important but what is more
important is that the king should also know how to govern and take care of
his people. Yes, Brother Dharma would make the perfect king. He knows
the rights and wrongs, probably better than even our illustrious
grandfather.
(Thanks to the internet - this is supposed to be frm a teleserial)
Many things happened and I will tell them my own way. All the six of
us have kept our own diaries (the last two are so together that between the
two of them there is just one diary) . The queen has her own tale to tell too.
But this is the way I look at it. Three of us met our ancestors: the eldest and
I met our celestial fathers and the middle one had an interesting meeting
with his celestial brother. It was a real great experience for us.
My visit to heavens to meet my celestial father (God Indra) has already
been told by the celestial nymph who was spurned by me (For her version
please see THE NYMPH’S CURSE -
as you all know, I am not the type to spurn a lovelorn woman’s advances
but this lady was like my great grand mother – not to look at but in relation.
Ask our queen. She will tell you what a philanderer I am ! She says that the
archer (that is what they all call me ) thinks he is god’s gift to women ! ( Of
course, I am !) . I also acquired many wives in due time. As you know, royal
marriages are necessary to keep kingdoms together. Nobody else in the
family was keen on such ties and I just had to marry here and there. But
then what ? There will be sons who will plot to remove you from the throne.
Well, let me not digress
We kept on moving from one place to another. At one time we ran out
of water. So we sent the youngest I who always complains that he has to
do the gofer’s job – go for this, go for that. He did not return even after an
hour and we were worried since the lake was really not all that far. We sent
the next youngest. He is the handsomest of us all (Mother used to tell that
our step mother Queen Madri was a real beauty. It is natural that the
youngest two are very handsome. It seems our father , the great king
Pandu, loved her very much and it led to his death). It was one more hour
and no trace of this fellow also ! Then they sent me. I went to the lake and
saw my two brothers lying dead on the shores. I got very angry and
shouted ‘ Who killed my brothers ? ‘ . A voice from the far end of the lake
answered ‘ They died because they did not obey me. I am the YAKSHA who
owns this lake. They came to drink the water. I asked them to answer my
question. They did not care. They took a sip and that was the end” . I got
angry and replied “ Look ! all water belongs to Lord Varuna and that is it “.
Then I dipped my palms into the water and took a sip. That is all I
remember.
Brother Dharma told the whole story later. Seeing that I did not
return, he sent Brother Bheema who also did not return. Finally he himself
went. He was very sorry to se us all lying there but he decided to answer
the questions put by the Yaksha. It seems there were many and they were
all answered correctly (Part of the problem is that the Yakha might not have
let us drink the water even if we had decided to answer
his questions. When asked what is the most important thing in the universe
Brother Dharma answered ‘ TRUTH “. The Yaksha was satisfied, but I would
have answered LOVE ! Would he have liked this naser ? Then there was
the last question: What is the strangest thing in this world? It seems
Brother Dharma said that the fact that people fight, they kill, they make love
etc even though they know that there is death lurking around the corner is
what is surprising . The Yaksha was satisfied ( I don’t think it is strange at
all. Why do we have to stop living just because there is death ? We learn to
have a purpose in life and death just hones it. Anyway..) . It turned out that
Yaksha was none other than Lord YamaDharma, the celestial father of
Brother Dharma. It seems he revealed himself to our eldest in all his glory .
It was at that time that our youngest wanted to know whether, the buffalo,
the Lord’s slow (Yes, the right vehicle for the Lord of Death . Who wants
death to come to us fast ?) vehicle, was also there . We all laughed, even
the eldest who is always serious. I should also tell you one more thing
about this episode to show the even handed nature of Brother Dharma.
When the Yaksha said that he can bring back only one of us to life, Brother
Dhrma chose Nakula. You know, the handsome one. When the Yaksha
asked him why he did not choose Bheema or me, he said that our mother
had taken extra care of these two kids and it is only correct that both the
queens of King Pandu should have progenies. Well, that is the way he is.
Good and correct to the core !
(Thanks to the internet - YamaDhama
(our mythmakers found the right vehicle for the Lord of Death !)
Brother Dharma keeps thinking about so many aspects of life. I guess it
has rubbed on me also. At times I ask myself what is the big deal about all
these kingdoms and our rights. It is true that we have all learn to fight and
yes, I m the best archer in the whole universe. I would like to take part in
all the competitions and get the first prize. Why, you may ask. To me it is
like knowledge. I want to get to the top of the mountain. But to use my bow
and arrows to fight for a kingdom ! Is it correct ? Our cousin from
Dwaraka , the blue bodied one, was here the other day. He was joking with
the eldest that the archer (that is me) is becoming a philosopher. Me?
Philosopher? No, I just like to think. Yes, I have learnt it from the eldest.
Again I digress.
Then there was the meeting of our middle brother, Brother Bheema,
with his celestial brother. I should not steal his thunder and I will ask him to
narrate it in his own words one of these days. Then there was the incident
of an angry Rishi and his band visiting us and demanding food from our
queen. We will ask her to narrate it in her own words.
As for now, one year of living incognito is what is bothering us all.
How will we do it ?
© palahali., all rights r
THE MONKEY'S TAIL Jan 25 2010
( You may have heard of some of our adventures in the forest. The
archer has already written about how we all met our celestial
ancestors. Here is how I met my celestial brother..)
The queen and I were sitting by the stream when some beautiful
yellow flowers floated down. Very strong smell also floated down along
with the flowers. I sneezed twice but the queen was ecstatic- when ecstasy
becomes static ,it stays too long on the face –and started cajoling me OH
SON OF YOUR NOBLE FATHER, PLEASE GET ME THOSE BEAUTIFUL
FLOWERS . IF YOU DO SO I WILL BE YOURS FOREVER. She often says
things like that but I know I have to share her with those 4 other guys. She
gives me a kiss and assures me that tonight is my night though
sequentially it is not my turn. But we all know that she does not go strictly
by numbers. It all depends on what mood she is in ! Ond day it could be
brother No 4 and the next day it could be No 1. She has also invented a
new number. She calls it Zero. This is when she does not want to be with
anybody for the night.
I set off thinking of the night to be and enjoying the cool breeze. I
walk by the side of the stream . It is not a simple walk. I keep climbing
because it is a steep stream. Anybody else would have gotten tired but you
know me, THE STRONG MAN ! I have strength and stamina – what I call
STRAMINA ! AS I walk up I keep thinking of the indignities heaped on us by
our cousins. Bastards ! No, I should not use that word. As they say people
living in glass houses should not throw stones at other glass houses.
Incidentally who stays in glass houses ? Wax houses, I can understand !
Yes, we stayed in one of them. Actually we were made to stay there by our
evil cousins . It was long time ago but I remember as though it was just
yesterday . They were always sending us on various pilgrimages . Why
should young kids go on such boring journeys ? But we did go. Mother
would always make us go since the order would come form our blind
uncle. It is not that we would listen to any uncle. This was different since
this was a king. Actually he was (and he still is ) our king also. And we
were like poor relations. We had to do what they told us to do. We were told
to go on a pilgrimage to Varanasi. And go we did ! They specified the route
also. We were told that a new nice palace is reserved for our stay near
Varanasi . We were happy but suspicious too. Our cousins gave us nothing
nice in their whole lives. Why is this generosity now ? We knew that there
was something wrong. We knew that some disaster iwaswaiting for us.
We found out that the place was built out of wax! Wax ? Yes, the same
wax which catches fire instantaneously . The evil Kuru prince wanted to
burn down the palace along with us. We knew it would happen and I had
already dug a tunnel which would take us outside. And when they set fire I
took our mother and brothers out through the tunnel. The wise say that
one cannot choose one’s relatives. We are straddled with the worst bunch
one can think of. They are devious and evil personified. They don’t want to
give us our right share. They have told us to stay in the forest for 12 years
and then come back. Do you think they will stick to their words ? I doubt it
very much . It is certainly bad for us but they are being bad role models for
the future by not sticking to promises. Promises ? Yes, I have to keep
several of them . I have promised our queen that I will smash the thighs of
our evil cousin. Actually I have to dispatch all the hundred brothers to the
abode of death. I think our aunt did a very big mistake by tying a cloth
around her eyes. She did it to be like her blind husband. If she had not
done it she would have seen with her own eyes how evil her children are.
May be she would have corrected them !
As I keep going up the narrow path, I see ahead that there is a snake
in my path. I decide to be cautious. I don’t want to do it any harm. I just
want to side step it. But as I go near, I see it is not a snake. May be it is a
rope. It reminds me of the philosophical discussions my brother has at
times. Whenever learned people ( and there are many in these forests-
actually they should be in cities telling people how to lead proper lives )
passed by near our abode in the forest, our big brother would catch them
and indulge in philosophical debates with them. Several times the
discussion would be on how one sees a simple rope but illusion makes us
feel that it is a serpent. I don’t understand these philosophical subtleties.
For me rope is a rope and a serpent is a serpent.
Well , this is neither a serpent nor a rope. It is something hairy. It is
in fact a tail, a thick tail. And the tail was not by itself. It had somebody
attached to it. I thought that may be a poor animal has been struck down.
But as I go nearer I see that actually a monkey is attached to the tail. I can
see that it is really an old monkey I could have easily jumped over the tail
but it is not a nice thing to do. I look again at the monkey. It is certainly
old. It’s face is not unlike that of our dear grandfather. The monkey had a
beard just like the one grandfather had . Very similar! It started me
wondering whether men and monkeys were related. I did not want to get
lost in that train of thought. I probably had a long way to go . I had to
wake up the monkey. I made lot of noise and the monkey had no option
except to wake up. I requested the monkey to take its tail aside so that I can
pass . The monkey demurred and yawned. I made my request again to
which the animal said that it is old and tired and sleepy and cant I just lift
the tail and keep it aside by myself. I just muttered to myself that the old
monkey is rather lazy. May be the monkey heard me since I saw a smile in
that old face. Strange, it had all its teeth intact. These animals have strange
ways to keep themselves fit. I set my mace aside and tried to lift the tail off
my path. Oh God ! I cannot move it at all. Let me put more into it and try
again. No , it just does not move. I looked at the old monkey. It is givng out
a toothy smile. I decided to use my mace and move it. The tip of my mace
got blunt as though it has encountered a heavier metal. I realized that I
have been too arrogant and there is something more to this monkey. Could
it be really some celestial being disguised as a monkey ?
“Sir Monkey ! What magic is this ? You must be one of those
celestial beings – a yaksha or a gandharva ?”
“ No young man.! I am just an ordinary monkey. I am no celestial
being. I was born on this earth just like you. “
“ Sir Monkey ! Your tail is very heavy. I am not able to life it”
“ Young man, You look strong. May be you are not all that strong..”
I got angry.. .
“ Look Monkey... Sir Monkey , I am known to be the strongest person in
this universe. “
“ And you say you cannot lift an old monkey’s tail ! Who are you..”
“ Sir Monkey ! Have you heard of the great Pandavas?”
“ Yes, young man ! I do ! There is this Yudhishtir, then there is Partha and
there are the twins Nakula and Sahadeva. There is actually another
brother . I am not getting his name .. Let me try.. No, I don’t remember his
name at all ! “
I got very angry. This monkey seems to remember the others but not
me. Even the twins but not me ! I hit the earth with my mace. There is lot of
dust.
“Young man ! Why are you angry ? Why are you dirtying this place..?”
I control my anger and reply
“ Sir Monkey, the name you want is Bheema. :
“ Yes, I keep forgetting. Please excuse me. I am getting old, you know.
Cannot remember small small things”
“
Sir Monkey, I am that Bheema.. Tell me who you are . You are not
revealing your identity. “
“
Young Man , close your eyes and concentrate. Yes, what do you see ? “
“...A battle with monkeys on one side and demons on the other side. A
fair man, probably a prince, is raining arrows on a ten headed demon. By
the side of the prince there is huge monkey with a mace... The ten headed
demon is killed . I see the huge monkey bow down to the fair prince...
Sir Monkey ... God ! Are you....?”
“ Yes ! I am your celestial brother Hanuman.. keep your eyes
closed...Come near me and give me a hug “
When the monkey enveloped me its arms, I felt a huge surge of
energy come into me
“Big brother ! Please excuse me. I did not realize that I was encountering
the Great son of Lord of Wind.. Shall I open my eyes ?. “
“ No, keep it closed. You can see me better that way. . You are my younger
brother. And you are allowed to be little naughty. “
“ Sir Brother ! I am sure you know all our problems”
“ Kid, Do not worry ! you will win ! I will leave you now. Yes, I will leave my
old mace with you. It has killed many of Ravana’s soldiers. It will be of
great use to you”
“ Sir Brother, Thank you very much... Brother..”
I opened my eyes . The Monkey Lord had departed. And as he
promised, there was his mace. I threw my old mace and picked it up. It was
very heavy. But I will get used to it. This will be of great use againt the eveil
prince. The rest of the journey was not eventful. I picked up the flowers
and came back to our abode in the forest. The queen was mighty pleased...
I wake up late. The sun is already up and it is more like the
beginning of the afternoon. The queen is still asleep. It looks like I have to
cook for everybody today . Anyway she has always said that I cook better
than her !
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