Tiny Tales: Traditional Stories in 100 Words: Epics: Mahabharata

Showing posts with label Epics: Mahabharata. Show all posts

~ 92. The Story of Savitri ~

Maitreya then told another story. "King Ashwapati's daughter Savitri chose to marry Satyavan, a prince living in poverty in the forest, supporting his blind father, a king who had lost his kingdom. Even worse: the royal astrologer predicted Satyavan would die in one year. But Savitri loved him, and when Yama took Satyavan to the land of the dead, she followed. 'You cannot follow!' Yama said, but Savitri persisted. Impressed, Yama granted her a wish. 'I want to bear Satyavan's children,' she said. Thus Yama had to restore Satyavan's life, thanks to Savitri."

"I like that story," said Draupadi, smiling.

Inspired by: Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata by Devdutt Pattanaik.
Notes: This story is on p. 185.

Yama and Savitri

~ 91. The Story of Nala ~

Laura Gibbs · 91. The Story of Nala

"There was also King Nala," Maitreya continued. "He lost his kingdom in a gambling match with his own brother, who then exiled Nala to the forest. Nala's loyal wife, Damayanti, accompanied him. Feeling ashamed, Nala abandoned her in the forest to live out his exile alone. Damayanti spent years searching for Nala but couldn't find him anywhere. Damayanti's father organized a swayamvara for her to choose a new husband, and Nala arrived, serving as charioteer to one of the kings seeking a bride. Damayanti recognized him, and together they won back Nala's kingdom and ruled again as king and queen."

Inspired by: Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata by Devdutt Pattanaik.
Notes: This story is on p. 195. There are many great twists and turns in Nala and Damayanti's story, which you can read about at Wikipedia.

Damayanti and Nala

~ 90. The Story of Rama ~

Laura Gibbs · 90. The Story of Rama

"Has any king suffered more than I?" Yudhishthira asked the rishis.

"Listen to Rama's story," the rishi Maitreya told him. "Rama was blameless, but his father, King Dasharatha, exiled him at the behest of a jealous queen. For fourteen years, Rama lived as a forest hermit with his brother, Lakshmana, and his wife, Sita. Then the king of the rakshasas, Ravana, kidnapped Sita, and Rama had to wage a war to rescue her. He had no human allies, but with an army of monkeys, including the monkey-god Hanuman, he defeated Ravana. Only after all those hardships did Rama become king."

Inspired by: Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata by Devdutt Pattanaik.

Notes: This story is on p. 164. You can read the complete story of Rama's adventures here at Ramayana.LauraGibbs.net. There are various rishis who do the storytelling in the Mahabharata, but I focused on Maitreyi because of the story of how he cursed Duryodhana later.

Rama's coronation

~ 199. Janamejaya Hears the Mahabharata Story ~

Laura Gibbs · 199. Janamejaya Hears the Mahabharata Story

Astika spoke to Janamejaya about King Kuru and his ancestors, about the Pandavas and Kauravas, and about the war they fought.

"God himself was there," Astika said.

Janamejaya did not understand. "How could God be there?"

"God took the form of Krishna," said Astika. "Bring the rishi Vaishampayana here, and he will tell you everything. Vaishampayana heard the story from Vyasa. Vyasa was part of the story himself, and he was also an author of the story, the Mahabharata."

So Janamejaya summoned Vaishampayana, who recited the Mahabharata as he heard it from Vyasa, and Janamejaya became enlightened. He knew dharma.

Inspired by: Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata by Devdutt Pattanaik.
Notes: This story is on p. 7.

Janamejaya

~ 198. Astika Confronts Janamejaya ~

Laura Gibbs · 198. Astika Confronts Janamejaya

"Who dares interrupt my sacrifice?" shouted Janamejaya.

"I am Astika," the young man replied. "My father is a rishi, and my mother is a naga. I see both sides, human and snake. For the sake of both humans and snakes, stop this sacrifice! Takshaka sought revenge for your great-grandfather Arjuna burning Khandava forest, which was home to many nagas. Now you seek revenge for your father. Then there will be snakes seeking revenge against you for this sacrifice. The revenge must stop. We need peace, not fire. Not winners and losers. The world needs dharma."

"Tell me more," said Janamejaya.

Inspired by: Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata by Devdutt Pattanaik.
Notes: This story is on p. 5.

snake sacrifice

~ 197. Janamejaya Conducts a Snake Sacrifice ~

Laura Gibbs · 197. Janamejaya Conducts a Snake Sacrifice

Janamejaya was grief-stricken at his father's death. "The snakes will pay for this!" he shouted. "I'll kill them all!"

He convened the brahmin priests of Hastinapura and ordered them to conduct a Sarpa Satra sacrifice which would kill all the snakes of the earth. The priests built a huge bonfire, and they chanted the words that summoned the snakes. Swarms of serpents came slithering across the ground and flying through the air, plunging themselves into the fire where they burned to death in their thousands and millions.

Then a stranger appeared. "Stop!" the young man shouted. "This sacrifice must stop!"

Inspired by: Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata by Devdutt Pattanaik.
Notes: This story is on p. 4.

snake sacrifice

~ 196. Parikshit Hides in the Tower ~

Laura Gibbs · 196. Parikshit Hides in the Tower

King Parikshit climbed the tower and shut himself in the highest room. Guards stood around the tower and at every door. They searched everything and everyone, making sure no snake could find its way inside.

As the seventh day drew to a close, King Parikshit finally relaxed. He enjoyed his evening meal. Then, for dessert, he bit into a fruit.

There was a worm in the fruit.

The worm transformed into Takshaka, a mighty naga.

Takshaka then plunged his fangs into the king's flesh, and seconds later the king was dead.

He didn't even have time to call for help.

Inspired by: Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata by Devdutt Pattanaik.
Notes: This story is on p. 4.

Takshaka and Parikshit

~ 195. Parikshit Is Cursed ~

Laura Gibbs · 195. Parikshit Is Cursed

King Parikshit had a son: Janamejaya.

One day when King Parikshit returned from hunting, Janamejaya saw he was dismayed. "Father, what troubles you?" he asked.

"I am cursed to die within seven days of snakebite," Parikshit replied. "In the forest, I entered a rishi's house. I greeted him, but he said nothing. That made me angry, so I draped a dead snake over his shoulders. The rishi's son saw me do this and cursed me."

"No!" Janamejaya said. "We will protect you."

They locked the king high in a tall tower. No snake could reach him, or so they thought.

Inspired by: Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata by Devdutt Pattanaik.
Notes: This story is on p. 3.

Parikshit

~ 194. Yudhishthira Descends to Naraka ~

Laura Gibbs · 194. Yudhishthira Descends to Naraka

In the darkness, Yudhishthira heard shrieks and groans. He recognized his brothers' voices. "Help us, Yudhishthira!"

And then he heard Draupadi. "Husband, help me!"

"Are you ready to return to Amravati now?" the gods asked Yudhishthira.

"Don't leave us!" his brothers cried.

"Stay with me!" Draupadi begged.

"I must remain here," said Yudhishthira, angry and confused.

Then he had a vision of God. He saw the Allness of God: everything, every being, all life, all possibilities. The killers and the killed, creation and destruction. Everything.

Enlightened, Yudhishthira ascended to the highest heaven, beyond Amravati. He entered Vaikuntha, God's own home.

Inspired by: Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata by Devdutt Pattanaik.
Notes: This story is on p. 337.

Yudhishthira in Naraka

~ 193. Yudhishthira Finds the Kauravas in Heaven ~

Laura Gibbs · 193. Yudhishthira Finds the Kauravas in Heaven

As Yudhishthira entered Amravati, he saw the Kauravas mingling with the gods. Duryodhana was there, and Dushasana, happy and radiant in the light of heaven. They smiled when they saw Yudhishthira. "Welcome, cousin!" Duryodhana said.

"How can this be?" Yudhishthira cried in dismay.

"Duryodhana, Dushasana, all the Kauravas died in battle on the sacred land of Kurukshetra," said the gods. "All warriors who fall on that field ascend to Amravati."

"But where are my brothers?" cried Yudhishthira. "Where is my wife?"

"They are in Naraka," said the gods.

"I must go there!" said Yudhishthira.

So Yudhishthira then descended into hell.

Inspired by: Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata by Devdutt Pattanaik.
Notes: This story is on p. 335.

Devaloka: heaven of the gods

~ 192. Yudhishthira Must Choose ~

Laura Gibbs · 192. Yudhishthira Must Choose

At last, Yudhishthira came to Amravati's gate, where the devas greeted him. "Welcome, Yudhishthira! You may enter heaven's gate, but not your dog."

"What dog?" asked Yudhishthira, surprised. Then he turned and saw a dog who had followed him all the way from Hastinapura.

"The dog made the ascent," Yudhishthira protested. "His devotion is perfect! He too should enter heaven."

"No," said the gods. "You must come alone."

"If so," replied Yudhishthira, "I won't come."

Next, the dog vanished. Yama, god of dharma, appeared; Yudhishthira's father was testing him. "You have done well," he said, and Yudhishthira then entered Amravati.

Inspired by: Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata by Devdutt Pattanaik.
Notes: This story is on p. 334.

Yudhishthira and the gods

~ 191. The Pandavas Climb Mount Meru ~

Laura Gibbs · 191. The Pandavas Climb Mount Meru

As the Pandavas and Draupadi climbed the snowy slopes of Mount Meru, seeking to attain heaven, Draupadi was the first to fall, but the Pandavas did not stop walking.

Then Sahadeva fell, and Nakula. No one stopped.

Arjuna. Then Bhima.

Alone, Yudhishthira kept on walking up the mountain.

As he walked, he reflected on the flaws that made them fall.

Draupadi had not loved all her husbands equally; she preferred Arjuna.

Sahadeva was proud of his knowledge, and Nakula of his beauty.

Arjuna had been envious, and Bhima gluttonous.

And so Yudhishthira kept walking, wondering if he too would fall.

Inspired by: Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata by Devdutt Pattanaik.
Notes: This story is on p. 333.

Yudhishthira

~ 190. The Pandavas Depart ~

Laura Gibbs · 190. The Pandavas Depart

The sons of the Pandavas died in the war, but one grandson survived: Parikshit, the son of Uttara and Abhimanyu, who was the son of Arjuna and Krishna's sister Subhadra. Ashwatthama had launched a weapon to kill Parkishit while still in his mother's womb, but Krishna saved him, and Parikshit later became king in Hastinapura.

Then, after Parikshit's coronation, Yudhishthira, his brothers, and Draupadi resolved to climb Mount Meru, seeking heaven. After the loss of Krishna and Balarama, they no longer had any desire to remain in this world.

Dressed in clothes of bark, they departed on their final journey.

Inspired by: Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata by Devdutt Pattanaik.
Notes: This story is on p. 333.

Pandavas depart

(and Draupadi falls)

~ 188. Balarama and Krishna Depart the World ~

Laura Gibbs · 188. Balarama and Krishna Depart the World

After the Yadavas slaughtered one another, Balarama resolved to leave the world. As he meditated, his life-force emerged in the form of a white snake, which then vanished.

After Balarama departed, Krishna too was ready for his life to end. He went into the forest, sat under a banyan tree, and waited.

A hunter named Jara, mistaking Krishna's foot for the ear of a deer, shot Krishna with an arrow.

Jara had found the arrowhead in the belly of a fish, and it was made of the same accursed iron which had killed the Yadavas.

Gandhari's curse was now fulfilled.

Inspired by: Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata by Devdutt Pattanaik.
Notes: This story is on p. 329. The snake alludes to the legend that Balarama was an incarnation of the great Naga, Shesha.

(death of Balarama)

~ 187. The Story of the Reeds ~

Laura Gibbs · 187. The Story of the Reeds

Long ago, Krishna's son Samba wanted to trick the forest rishis, so he dressed up as a pregnant woman. "Is my baby male or female?" he asked.

The angry rishis replied, "You bear no baby but an iron bar that will destroy the Yadavas."

Samba tried to laugh it off, but an iron bar eventually emerged from his thigh. Horrified, Samba ground the bar into dust which he threw into the sea.

The sea cast the iron dust back onto the shore, and it grew into the reeds with which the Yadavas destroyed themselves years later, arguing about the war.

Inspired by: Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata by Devdutt Pattanaik.
Notes: This story is on p. 328.

Samba and the rishis

~ 186. The Yadavas Quarrel ~

Laura Gibbs · 186. The Yadavas Quarrel

Time passed.

Then, a fight began in Dwaraka: some Yadavas defended the Pandavas, while others defended the Kauravas.

"The Kauravas ambushed Abhimanyu!" shouted the Pandava allies.

"The Pandavas deceived Drona!" retorted the Kaurava allies.

Back and forth they argued.

Fearing violence, Krishna and Balarama hid every weapon, but the quarreling citizens of Dwaraka then grabbed reeds from the seashore. These were no ordinary reeds: their edges were as sharp as any iron weapon.

Thus the Yadavas destroyed themselves.

Satyaki and Kritavarma, who had both survived the war, killed one another in that fight.

Such was the power of Gandhari's curse.

Inspired by: Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata by Devdutt Pattanaik.
Notes: This story is on p. 328.

Yadavas quarrel

~ 184. Dhritarashtra Stays in the Palace ~

Laura Gibbs · 184. Dhritarashtra Stays in the Palace

Dhritarashtra continued to live in the palace, advising his nephew Yudhishthira, who was now king.

Bhima, however, didn't make it easy. When the family ate together, Bhima would crack his knuckles and reminisce about killing the Kauravas one after another. Whenever anybody broke open a bone to eat the marrow, Bhima would shout, "That reminds me of the sound Duryodhana's thigh made when I smashed it!"

Dhritarashtra's brother Vidura urged him to renounce the world. "Brother," he said, "It's time to go live in the forest!"

Dhritarashtra wanted to go, but he was attached to the luxuries of palace life.

Inspired by: Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata by Devdutt Pattanaik.
Notes: This story is on p. 325.

Dhritarashtra and Gandhari

~ 182. Bhishma Instructs Yudhishthira ~

Laura Gibbs · 182. Bhishma Instructs Yudhishthira

The mighty Kaurava generals were all dead... except one: Bhishma. Fatally wounded, he was still alive, lying on the bed made by the arrows that pierced his body.

Bhishma had the power to choose when to die, and he was waiting until after the winter solstice: he wanted to die on the first day of Uttarayana, when Surya turns north.

Bhishma thus waited fifty-eight days, the days growing ever shorter.

Yudhishthira came, and Bhishma instructed him in the ways of kingship, telling him stories of long ago.

Bhishma also taught Yudhishthira to chant the Sahasra-Nama, the Thousand Names of God.

Inspired by: Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata by Devdutt Pattanaik.
Notes: This story is on p. 312.

Bhishma

~ 177. Gandhari Searches the Battlefield ~

Laura Gibbs · 177. Gandhari Searches the Battlefield

Gandhari spent the night on the battlefield, stumbling among corpses, seeking her sons.

But suddenly, she felt hungry.

So very hungry.

Smelling a mango, she jumped and grabbed, but the mango was out of a reach. Then she made a pile of stones to reach the mango.

It was delicious!

As she ate, she realized these were not stones.

They were skulls.

She had been standing on the skulls of her sons to reach the fruit.

"All we see is maya, the illusion of the world!" she groaned. "Blindfold or no blindfold, we are all maya's fools."

Then Gandhari wept.

Inspired by: Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata by Devdutt Pattanaik.
Notes: This story is on p. 302. You can find out more about maya, the illusion of the world, at Wikipedia: Maya. For more about Gandhari and the mango: The pain of a Mother: Gandhari (Urubhangam: A Kutiyattam Performance).

The Pain of a Mother

~ 176. The Pandavas Honor Karna ~

Laura Gibbs · 176. The Pandavas Honor Karna

The Pandavas were stunned when Kunti told them the story of Karna's birth.

Yudhishthira, Bhima, Nakula, and Sahadeva now realized why Karna had spared them on the battlefield; that had been his promise to Kunti.

Arjuna remembered the years he had spent hating Karna, when he should have loved him instead as a brother.

"Why did you not tell us?" Arjuna asked Kunti.

Krishna answered for her. "If she told you, you would not have fought," he said. "But you had to fight. It was dharma. All is as it must be."

Then they honored Karna with a hero's funeral.

Inspired by: Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata by Devdutt Pattanaik.
Notes: This story is on p. 298.

Karna's birth story