Week 7 Story: King Yudhisthira's Horse
Horse O' War:
The story that I am about to tell you is one that has yet to be told in its original context. By now you are well aware of the story of the moon-white horse with a plate of gold strapped to its head. You know, the one that the army of Arjuna followed for a year, conquering rajah after rajah? Well, there are several very important aspects of that story that all but a very few are unaware of.
For starters, it may seem that the horse had very little to do with the many victories that Arjuna experienced, for I am just a simple horse, wandering around the land. That is where you are wrong.
But, it is not your fault as the reader, it is more my fault for keeping such a low profile in this story for so many centuries. Who am I, you might be asking? Well, let me tell you.
I am Skanda, the firstborn son of Shiva, and the god of war, and during these particular events told in The Mahabharata I was struck with a intense case of boredom. So, that was when I decided to take the shape of a horse chosen to lead an army. Although Arjuna and his men did not know it, I was much more instrumental in their victories than they knew.
I led Arjuna to victory against rajah's in Malwa. Even when Agni, the god of fire, appeared to fight Arjuna with fire, Arjuna was able to defeat him with water producing arrows. Lucky for him I was there, Agni would have cooked him alive. Even when Parvati attempted to slow me and Arjuna's army down by turning me into a mare I was able to overcome the spell with a spell of my own (although it is undeservedly accredited to a drunken brahmin).
As the year drew to a close, I knew that the sacrifice was right around the corner and that I only had a limited time to leave the horse. It is evident when I left because that is about the time that Arjuna was defeated by a lowly rajah. I foresaw the possibility of his defeat, so before I left the horses body I let Ulupi and Arjuna's son of a powerful jewel hidden in the underworld. This jewel would revive a dead body and certainly came in handy when Arjuna finally was defeated.
*Author's Note: in the original story the horse is simply just a horse with a gold plate strapped to his head. At first I thought it would be interesting to simply write the story from the horse's perspective, then I thought about adding the horse thinking that he was the cause for these great victories, and that led me to having Skanda placing himself within the horse and leading Arjuna to victory. All of the events that are listed in this version of the story happened in the original, I just gave all of the credit to the horse.
Source: King Yudhishthira's Horse
Skanda Source: Skanda, Hindu God of War
This story is excellent! I really like the whole plot of the story and how you really made the horse a focal point of the story. Also, the picture you used seems to really represent the horse well. It gave me the visualization that he is strong and powerful. Excellent story overall and I can't wait to read more of your work!
ReplyDeleteHey Taylor!
ReplyDeleteI loved your take on this story. You brought a totally new perspective. It was also fun that you slowly revealed that this was in fact the horse telling his own story. Your version explains so much of Arjuna's story. It would be really fun to read about the exact ways that the horse secretly helped saved the, as you allude to in your story. Really fun story!
Wow what an interesting idea to make the horse be (or at least think he is?) the cause of the victory! I like how you added in a divine origin story to make for a more mystical horse. Did Arjuna know the horse's powers or was he like the reader, believing it was all in his hands? You have some great writing here!
ReplyDeleteHey Taylor, I read the book version of The Mahabharata by R.K. Narayan, which does not have talk about a horse helping Arjuna to victory. I like that you changed the story to come from the perspective of the horse but I am still confused on the storyline. It would be helpful if you could explain the original story more in your author's notes. Great job, I'll try and come back later on to read more of your stories!
ReplyDeleteHi again! I love stories that have a perspective change. It is so cool to think about a story in another character's perspective, especially an animal. I really liked how you changed this story. In your story, was the horse actually the god of war, or did he just think he was? I was a little confused. Great job and I look forward to reading more!
ReplyDelete