Arjuna has returned from his exile and is greeted with a letter from Karma. He was summoned to her Court. However Arjuna also had this feeling in the pit of his stomach that it wasn't just about the deal. While he was arriving to the court, he tried to think back of his time while he was exiled but came up blank. He hadn't done anything evil or to cause anyone sorrow so why else would she want to meet with him? He was confused but figured it had to do with the deal him and his brothers made with her.
Karma:"Arjuna, I haven't seen you since I made that agreement with you and your brothers. How is my kingdom doing. Still making sure justice is served?"
Arjuna: "It has been awhile your Honor. As for your kingdom, it is running smoothly. I still don't understand why you chose to hide the fact that true ruler of Indraprastha but I'm glad you appointed me and my brothers to run the kingdom for you. Although it's nice catching up with you, I'm assuming that is not why you called me here."
Karma: "You are correct my dear boy. The reason you are here today is because you have committed infidelity, not to mention abandoned all of your children and wives. From my understanding, you were exiled and ended up marrying 3 women and also having children with them."
Arjuna: "I did not mean for this to happen your Honor, they were just so beautiful and I was frustrated and kind of angry that I had to share my first wife Draupadi with my brothers. It's was not fair to me or my brothers. "
Karma: "So what you're saying is that you did all this as some form of revenge because you had to share your wife?"
Arjuna: "Not at all your Honor. As I said, it just happened. I never meant to leave them. I was planning on going back for them but I had to fulfill my dharma as a king first."
Karma: "Well, I am not going to say that what you did was right, but I do understand were your coming from. Your circumstance was different from the typical marriages of the gods and goddesses. Although I do not entirely agree with what you did, you have also done some good deeds in the world, so what I am going to do is annul your marriage with Draupadi as well as your other wives but as punishment for your infidelities, I am ordering you to pay child support for each and every one of your children. You need to take responsibility for your actions Arjuna."
Arjuna: "Thank you your Honor."
Karma: " I wasn't done yet." Karma gives Arjuna a stern look. "Furthermore, when you get reincarnated, you will neither get a wife nor children of your own. You will have to redeem yourself in the next life."
Arjuna: "I accept the punishment and take full responsibility for my actions but how will I redeem myself?"
Karma: "That's up to you but I do recommend adopting some kids and taking care of them. Your a smart boy, I'm sure you'll find a way. I might even take away your punishment and allow you to get married if your prove yourself worthy of having a wife."
And with that I banged my gavel and watched as Arjuna left the courtroom. I could tell he was still trying to figure out how he was going to redeem himself. As for the revelation about the kingdom. Yes, I am the real queen of Indraprastha but I decided to keep it a secret from the people. I did not want them all coming to bother me over little things. I'm a judge, I have tons of cases on a daily basis that need to be resolved. I appointed the Pandavas brothers because to the kingdom to make sure the people are safe and to handle anything that is unjust.
Despite the fact that he is running my kingdom, I still had to do my job and punish him. I tried to go easy on him considering all the good karma he's collected over the years but what he did was still wrong. Those children deserved to have a father figure in their life.
I know the punishment was a little cruel but he needed to face the consequences of his actions. I annulled his marriage to Draupadi because he was unfairly exiled and still kept his word according to the marriage contract between him and his brothers. Although I told him he will not be married in his next life, little does he know that I have something up my sleeve. If he can prove himself faithful to the woman in his next life, I will definitely allow him to be marry her and have children but if he repeats his mistakes, we'll worry about that later. All I can say is I don't blame the guy. Love is selfish after all.
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| (pxhere) |
Author's Note: This story is based on the PDE Mahabharata Part B when he wins Draupadi's hand in marriage but ends up having to share his wife with his brothers. He is then exiled for breaking the rules that he and his brothers made in regards to their marriage to their wife. While he was exiled, he met and married three women and had children with them. He then returned with one of his wives back to the kingdom where he was briefly confronted by Draupadi.
This part of the story does not mention his wives and children after he leaves them so I got creative and came up with this story. I wanted to see where this story would go and ended up with this.
Wife of the Five Pandavas
Arjuna and Ulupi
Arjuna and Chitra
Arjuna and Subhadra
Excellent re-write! Personally, I like how you made it into a script and gave each character some dialogue. I feel that dialogue is so important and helps the reader personalize with the story and each character within. I also like how you made the narrator the judge. That is so creative and I might try incorporating a narrator in some of my stories. Great job!
ReplyDeleteHi Chandni! I thought this was a very creative story. It certainly bothered me a little bit in the Mahabharata how the Pandava brothers seemed to acquire wives, have children, and then just disappear off to other adventures. Arjuna was definitely the worst culprit of the bunch, but Bhima wasn’t much better. I’m glad Arjuna got what he deserved, but Karma didn’t go overboard either!
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