Storytelling Week 6: Riddles of the Lake

Arjuna, Bhima, and Yudhishthira waited impatiently for their brothers to return from the pond. The three brothers were in a bad mood because they could not find the deer they were hunting, they had no water to quench there thirst from the day’s work, and there two brothers Sahadeva and Nakula were taking a long time to return from gathering the water.

“That’s ITTTTT. I am tired of waiting for these two. If you want to get something done, you must do it yourself,” as he grabbed his bow and stormed off towards the pond.

Arjuna made his way through the dense forest and finally came to the pond. Before he drank the water, he noticed his two brothers Sahadeva and Nakula lying motionless beside the water. He went over to check their pulses, and noticed they were dead.

“WHOEVER DID THIS WILL PAY,” he yelled at the top of his lungs.

He then heard a mysterious voice. “If you can answer my riddles I will allow you to drink from the pond safely and revive your two brothers I have poisoned them because they did not wait for my permission.” Arjuna went along with the proposition. The mysterious voice gave Arjuna riddle after riddle.

Arjuna already tired from the long day grew very irritated until he lashed out against the mysterious voice. “I am tired of your silly games. I have played enough, and have proved myself mentally. Come out here and fight like a real warrior. I will defeat you and free my brothers,” he said.

“You think just because you can solve my riddles that you can beat my physical challenge? As you wish young Arjuna,” the mysterious voice cackled.

Then there was a long silence and Arjuna thought that the mysterious voice had given up. Then all of a sudden the pond started over flowing. Before Arjuna knew it, the pond had engulfed him. He tried to swim away but the pond kept growing in size until all he could see was water surrounding him.

Then 50 feet in the distance Arjuna saw air bubbles in the water. A huge serpent-like monster arose from the water and let out a mighty roar. It then began to chase Arjuna. He swam frantically swam away realizing his imminent doom. As all hope was lost, he remembered his wife Ulupi. Ulupi had given him the power to turn invisible in water.

The serpent was closing in on Arjuna. Just as he was going to take Arjuna for a tasty snack, Arjuna vanished under water. The serpent was confused for a moment but quickly caught on to Arjuna’s scheme and began looking for air bubbles.

Arjuna held his breath. He needed a way to get close to the sea serpent without being spotted. He could not surface because the waves would give his position up as they hit him. He was running out of time but then remembered he still had his bow with him. He could not get a clear shot underwater but he could create a distraction. He fired a barrage of arrows in every direction to create a lot of bubbles. The serpent did not know where to attack.

While the serpent was confused Arjuna closed in and grabbed it from behind it neck. The serpent started squirming and thrashing in every direction but it could not shake Arjuna off. Arjuna squeezed his legs around the serpent’s neck and drew his bow with his to free arms. He pulled the string and sent one arrow straight into the back of the serpent’s head. The serpent sank into the water. The water then returned to normal size.

The mysterious voice then revealed himself as the a God who went by Yama. He congratulated Arjuna on his accomplishments and as promised revived his two brothers. He then told Arjuna that he and his family were free to drink from the pond whenever they wanted to. The voice then said its goodbyes. As he left, Bhima, and Yudhishthira came to the pond.

“What took you guys so long?,” they said. Arjuna, Sahadeva and Nakula just shrugged their shoulders and began to drink the hard-earned water.

The God Yama

Source

Author’s Note: I wanted to rewrite the story from the Mahabharata called “Riddles of the Lake.” In the original story all of the brothers except Yudhishthira die from drinking the water. Yudhishthira, the last brother, comes across the pond and is the only one of the brothers who answers all of the riddles correctly. He receives two boons for his accomplishment. He used one of the boons to revive his brothers.  Arjuna is one of my favorite characters in the Mahabharata. I wanted him to have a combat role within this story. I created a plot where he is forced to fight the serpent to save his brothers. I hope you enjoy the story.

Bibliography: Mahabharata, Arnold, Besant, Devee, Dutt, Ganguli, Kincaid, Macfie, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Seeger, and Tagore, 2009.