Week 7 Story: Birth of Draupadi
Drona and the Bharatas had humiliated him for the last time, King Drupada thought to himself. There had to be some way he could be avenged. Drona should not be allowed to freely attack him and get away with it. His chamber echoed only with the sounds of hurried footsteps as Drupada paced back and forth anxiously. Finally, he stilled and looked up to the ceiling.
"Of course, the gods must help me," Drupada said, "I don't know why I didn't think of it before." He rushed out of his room and grabbed the servant standing outside of his door.
"Prepare an elephant for sacrifice," Drupada said. The servant nodded quickly and disappeared into the dim hallways. For an elephant, the gods must grant me a boon, Drupada thinks to himself.
Drupada went back into his room to prepare and then made his way down to the temple for the sacrifice. Walking into the grand temple Drupada could see an elephant tied down, with the priest next to him sharpening a blade. Behind them stood a large fire that filled up most of the room with its heat.
Everyone milled around for a while as the priest finished setting up the sacrifice. Then silence filled the temple as the king walked up towards the elephant. He raised his hands above his head and lowered onto his knees, looking up towards the sky.
Loudly, Drupada called up to the heavens, asking for revenge against Drona and the Bharatas. The air around him seemed alive, either from the heat of the fire or the power that now seemed to be filling up the temple. Drupada continued to shout his plea at the gods. The temple kept getting hotter and hotter as Drupada's voice began to rise. Finally, the priest brought his blade down on the elephant's neck.
The fire instantly went out and a chill fell over the temple. Drupada was still kneeling before the elephant, with sweat beading up on his lip and a slight shiver. Some bystanders in the ceremony began whispering and Drupada slowly raised his head.
Standing timidly in the now extinguished fire was the most beautiful girl Drupada had ever seen. She looked around with large eyes and an innocent face. Drupada smiled, the gods had given him exactly what he needed. He laughed, thanking the gods for sending him the Bharatas downfall.
Authors Note:
I had read C. A. Kincaid's rendition of the Mahabharata and decided to re-write Draupadi's birth. I really like the character of Draupadi because even though she came to her father as a way to avenge him she still loves her husband. She very much has a tragic life, and I think she's very interesting. For the sacrifice scene, I had found on Wikipedia that they sacrifice elephants for extremely valuable gifts to the gods so I figured someone as upset as Drupada would sacrifice an elephant to get what he wants.
Bibliography:
Animal sacrifice in Hinduism. (2021). Retrieved 12 March 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_sacrifice_in_Hinduism
Kincaid, C. (1921). The Indian Heroes: Mahabharata - The Princes of Elephant City.
Hey Charley, I loved your rendition of the Mahabharata. It's always cool to see people like yourself take something that the whole class has read and rewrite it as their own. It just shows how different people always can read a story a different way and be able to reimagine it another completely different way. Awesome that you also did your own research and merged it with this story.
ReplyDeleteHi Charley! I really enjoyed reading your story of Mahabharata. I love reading everyones story because although we have all read the same story, it is so interesting to see how everyone rewrote it in their own way. I think your story did a great job of keeping the reader engaged and it was definitely a unique approach of retelling the story! Great job!!
ReplyDeleteHey Charley!
ReplyDeleteI really liked your reinterpretation of Drupada’s birth from the Mahabharata. It is very nice to see people leaving their comfort zone to try something completely new. This story sort of gave off a horror story element to it. I thought it was sad that there was an elephant sacrifice, but in these stories that is the only way for the gods to appear, by sacrifice. I really liked your twist to it. Keep up the good work, and I cannot wait for more of your stories!