Week 13 Story: King Yudhishthira Interview

This is just a small excerpt of the only exclusive interview with King Yudhishthira after the Mahabharata War. If you would like to get access to the full version please subscribe to our reading. Thank you. 

Interviewer: King Yudhishthira it is said that you grew exponentially as a person while going through different tests during your twelve-year exile. Which test do you think you learned the most from?

King Yudhishthira: There were many tests during our exile, but I think the one that helped me see that I was capable of becoming king after my gambling blunder was when I was tested by the Yaksha, Prashna. As you know, Yaksha have the ability to shapeshift into any creature they want. But unless they make themselves known to you, you would have no idea that you are in the presence of a Yaksha.

Interviewer: Thank you for explaining that to our readers, I know I am never clear on the different non-human races. What exactly is the job of a Yaksha?

King Yudhishthira: There job is to protect nature, like the trees, rivers, and lakes. And it just so happened that Prashna had shapeshifted into a crane to safeguard a sacred lake.

Interviewer: And how did you and your brothers stumble upon this sacred lake?

King Yudhishthira: Well, a huge deer had stolen items a brahmin was using for his prayers. I knew it was our duty to help the brahmin, so my brother and I set out to get the brahmins items back. We chased after the deer all over the forest but were never able to catch him. We grew tired and dehydrated. So, one by one, we set out to find water to drink and then planned on returning to let the others know where the water was located. Slowly each of my brothers went off in search of water when one had taken too long and still had not returned. I was the last of my brothers to find the lake, and when I did, I was stunned by the scene. All of my brother lied dead on the banks of the lake.

Interviewer: Did you try and look for someone who might have hurt them or did you come to the conclusion that it was a Yaksha?

King Yudhishthira: I do have to say at first, I thought someone had slain my brother. But after getting over the shock of the situation, I calmed myself down and viewed my surroundings. After looking around I noticed there was no blood or footprints that went away from my brothers’ bodies, then I saw the crane Prashna and asked him if he knew what happened to my brothers.

Interviewer: I am astounded you were able to take a step back from that situation with the bodies of your brothers all laying in front of you, to gather a calm head and assess the situation.

King Yudhishthira: At this moment that is when I learned that as a leader, you must be calm and collected if you want to help others. By stopping myself and assessing the situation, I was able to find that the lake was cursed and if I answered a hundred question, I would be able to drink from the lake and save my brothers. This was an important moment for me when I learned about patients and how best to help others.

Interviewer: That is a valuable lesson and a great attribute in our King. Thank you for telling me that story, our readers can hopefully learn from it and see why you make such a great leader.

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Author's Notes:  This story came from a combination of two separate books but all of the facts are true. I wanted to keep the tale the same but explain it together as a whole story from Yudhishthira point of view. The information about the Yaksha was found in the book 51 Lesser Known Tales from The Mahabharata by Sharath Komarraju, specifically from the tale, The Yaksha Prashna. The tale goes into more detail about what happened when Yudhishthira arrived at the lake in the story The Mahabharata. It also talks about  how this particular tale is important for Yudhishthira character and how this test helps him become a wiser man and the future king. The information that leads up to the brothers looking for the lake was found in the book The Mahabharata by R.K. Narayan. I hope you have enjoyed my story and would love to hear feedback!

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Image: Yudhishthira and the Yaksha, Prashna. Source: Wikipedia by Ramanarayandatta

Reading Notes: Reading D: 51 Lesser Known Tales from The Mahabharata

I finished reading 51 Lesser Known Tales from The Mahabharata by Sharath Komarraju. In the last part of the readings, most of the stories are about the different creatures and individuals that have smaller roles in The Mahabharata. In the stories, The Non-Human Races: Kinnaras and Kimpurushas and More Non-Human Races: Yakshas and Gandharvas, I was able to learn more about some of the different characters in the book. Since The Mahabharata has so much to cover, the book that I read did not go into great detail describing the different types of non-human characters the Pandavas brothers come into contact with. From these stories, I learned that Kinnaras are males that are half-human, half-horse. The Kinnari is the female version, but they are half-human, half-bird. The Kimpurushas were half-men half-lion with no female distinction. The male Yakshas are warriors or stouts like dwarfs and the Yakshinis are the female version is beautiful young women that protect nature. But the Gandharvas are also a nature spirit that shapeshifts and also deliver messages between the heavens and Earth. I wish I would have gotten to read this book before The Mahabharata so I could have known and pictured the different creatures that played roles in the book. The main story I thought had potential to be rewritten was The Unlikely Hero: Yudhishthira. The tale points out that there is not one hero singe hero in The Mahabharata, but this story argues that Yudhishthira should be considered the main hero because he is the brother that goes through the most drastic character change. Once I read through this, I agreed with this statement. He was the one who got his entire family thrown into exile because he could not stop gambling, but as the story progress, he begins to become wiser. This is shown in the tale of The Yaksha Prashna. When the brothers are in exile they all drink from a lake even though a crane warns them not too, Yudhishthira is the only one that listens and then rescues the brothers from the Prashna. I think I could write a story from Yudhishthira point of view on how he feels that he has grown as a person after going into exile and then the war between the families.

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Image: Yudhishthira on the throne with Draupadi surrounded by the other Pandavas brothers. Source: Wikipedia by Raja Ravi Varma

Reading Notes: Reading C: 51 Lesser Known Tales from The Mahabharata

I am still reading 51 Lesser Known Tales from The Mahabharata by Sharath Komarraju. I read thirteen tales for the 3rdpart of the reading. Two of the stories that stuck out to me and could be joined together to create my own unique story was the tale The Three Myths of Ganesha and Kartikeya, the Forgotten Brother. Ganesha is one of the more famous Hindu gods, and it seems that his brother, Kartikeya popularity began to dwindle when Ganesha was brought into the picture. One of the notes in both of the stories is that the brothers often have competitions between each other and Ganesha is usually the brother that wins. A famous story being when the boys raced around the world, and while Kartikeya used a peacock to fly around the world, Ganesha just walked around their parents Shiva and Parvati. Ganesha was claimed the winner because of his intelligence and wisdom. While I understand the importance of Ganesha symbolism of what his "world" is, I still felt bad for Kartikeya. Since I am the second born child in my family, I have some sympathy towards Kartikeya. While I understand the importance of Ganesha being the older, wiser brother for the Hindu culture I would like to create a story where Kartikeya gets the best of Ganesha and can teach Ganesha a lesson. Another story that I enjoyed reading was the Demolition of Arjun’s Vanity: The Chariot. What I enjoyed the most about this story is it told a side of Arjun’s personality that I did not get when I originally read The Mahabharata. Arjun is given everything throughout the story, but at the end, he must lose everything because that is how the world works. The final sentences in the tale were very powerful. They read, “We wonder why everything is being taken away, forgetting, that it had all been given to us on loan and that every loan has to be repaid.” I am not sure what story I could create to go with this lesson, but I really enjoyed this aspect of the story. 

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Image: Shiva and Parvati with their two sons Ganesha and Kartikeya. Source: Wikimedia Commons by Keijona