There once were two sets of brothers who lived in the same kingdom.
They were called the Kauravs and the Pandavs. There were only five Pandav
brothers but combined they were stronger and smarter than the Kauravs brothers. The Pandavs were loved by their people and were very popular,
and the people wanted the Pandavs to take the throne after King Dhritarashtra died. King Dhritarashtra was the father of the Kauravs and the uncle of the Pandavs. The
Kauravs hated this fact and would do everything they could do to make the
Pandavs look bad. They would even go to the extent of killing them which would
permanently solve their problem.
One day the oldest Kaurav, Duryodhana, decided to take care off their problem and made a plan to kill the Pandavs. Duryodhana called for one of
his trusted generals and told him to go set up the local resort to be burned
down, so he could trick the Pandav brothers to go there for their enjoyment. And
while they were in there he could trap them and burn the house down. As told, the
general went and poured oil outside and inside the resort and also put out dry
stacks of hay so the place would burn down faster. When the general returned, he
went to Duryodhana and told him exactly what he had done. While the general and
Duryodhana were talking, Bhima, the strong Pandav brother, overheard their conversation.
The Pandav brother hurried back to his other brothers and told
them everything he had heard. The oldest brother Yudishthira along with Arjun came up with a plan to make an escape route
underneath the resort so no one would suspect it. That night the brothers went
to the resort while no one was there and dug a tunnel. The next morning when
they returned all tired and worn out, Duryodhana could not help but take this
opportunity, so he told the Pandavs that he had reserved the resort for them and
they were welcome to go and relax there. The Pandavs looked at each other,
shrugged their shoulders and told Duryodhana that they would love to go.
The Pandavs cleaned up a little bit before they left. Before the
brothers left, they told their mother of what was going to happen so she would
not worry and they also ran through the plan one more time to avoid any
confusion when the time came.
Duryodhana followed the brothers closely to the resort, hiding
behind trees and bushes so they would not notice him. On their way to the
resort the brothers heard some rustling and figured that it would be Duryodhana
following to make sure his plan went through, so the brothers decided to act
oblivious and kept walking. Duryodhana thought he was being slick and that the
Pandavs did not notice that they were being followed.
As soon as the Pandavs made it
inside the house, Duryodhana ran to the doors and locked it from the outside. He
set fire to the oil that was poured all around. Quickly the resort was engulfed
in flames and the Pandavs ran to their secret exit. Arjun, Bhima and Yudisthira hustled through
their makeshift tunnel while the twins Nakula and Sahadeva held the tunnel up and ran into the woods where they watched the resort
burn down and took a last look at their home town before leaving forever.
Picture of a Resort
Author’s Note:
I decided to retell the story where the Pandavs make a quick
escape. I was inspired to retell this story because I thought it was
interesting how people can go such lengths for materialistic desires. People are willing to go against family and harm
their families too just to get what they want, which kind of kills the concept
of being family. In this story and Kauravs and Pandavs, I believe are cousin
brothers. I didn’t make it an exact retelling. I changed up some things. I changed
the overall setting of the story. In the original story the resort was actually
a house which the Pandavs went to after they left. Also the
Pandavs went to this house when the King told them to leave, not asked like in my
version of the story. In the original story their mother Kunti was also sent to this house, and
the six of them escaped from the house. Kunti was Yudishthira's mother and was also consider so by the other four brothers too, and I left her out because I didn't feel like adding her in the story since it would make it a longer story. Another thing that was different from
the original story was how the brothers found out about Duryodhana’s plans. In
the original version Vyasa forewarned the Pandavs of what was to
come instead.
Buck, William (1973). Mahabharata.
Hi Soham! I chose to read your portfolio for one of my extra credit free choices! It is amazing what envy can drive men to do, isn't it? Greed and envy are definitely Duryodhana's major flaws. The most interesting thing about it to me is that people would like him more (like they do the Pandavas) if he weren't so driven by greed and envy. I thought it was really sad that Duryodhana and his brothers would set out to kill their cousins. Obviously, family does not mean much to them. I think it would make your story more powerful if you added a couple sentences about the Pandavas' reaction to discovering that their cousins planned to kill them. While family was not important to the Kauravas, I think it was to the Pandavas. I thought the changes you made really helped to make the story your own. Your change of how the Pandavas were invited to the resort made Duryodhana's plan seem even more devious. I thought it was interesting that Kunti stayed. I wonder if she would be safe in the kingdom without her sons there to protect her. Overall, I really enjoyed reading your story! It definitely makes you think about the major themes of the Mahabharata! Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteYou made a very interesting point when you noted just how far people go to obtain and satisfy materialistic desires. I also find it fascinating that people are willing to go against their very own family to obtain what they want. My family has recently been going through a situation like this, and I’ve watched it hurt my (not immediate) family. Great job!
ReplyDeleteHey Soham!
ReplyDeleteI read your author's note before I read the story so I could get some background. I really like that you took note of the theme of material desires vs. morals and family. This seems to continue to come up in the Indian stories we have been reading. They all seem to point to the same conclusion: if you put material things above being moral, just, and honorable then you will face a most undesirable fate. I also think that the changes you made to the original story are good and do not take away from the story you are trying to tell. In fact, the change in how the Pandavs were invited to the resort ended up working really well and really creating a line between the Pandavs and Duryodhana You did a great dob writing this. It does not feel long or difficult to read and is very interesting. You did a wonderful job really emphasizing the negative nature of greed and jealousy. It's easy to understand why those things are bad, but these Indian epics really want to drive the point home that greed and envy will lead to nothing but misery. Anyway, I enjoyed your story a lot and look forward to your future writings!
This is a nice retelling of the story. It is maybe not as creative and unique as some of the other stories people have done, but you do a really good job of straight up telling the story in your own words. The simple way you summarize this tale is a very good way to tell the stories to others without having to read pages and pages. You also add some personal touches. I liked how you said that Duryodhana was feeling "slick". It sounds very much like how you would actually tell the story to someone on the spot if they just asked to hear the story. I like it!
ReplyDelete