It was a hot summer's day. As the sun rose high in the sky the competitors took their place. Today was the day and by the end one of them have Draupadi's hand in marriage.
All in all, there were four competitors. These five men came from all over, each from a different kingdom. They all wanted to win Draupadi's hand in marriage in order to unite their kingdom with her father's. Also, it did not hurt that Draupadi was the most beautiful woman in all the land. The men had to compete in an activity of Draupadi's choosing. Since Draupadi is a woman who enjoys strength so she obviously chooses archery.
First off, Bhima goes. He completely misses the mark. Totally embarrassed, but thankful he had one more try he goes again. The second time he hits the outer rim of the mark, but at least this time he hit the target. Inside his head he was hoping that the other contestants did as poorly as he did.
After Bhima goes, next up to the target is Karna. He was born as a charioteer so he was expected to do very well, possibly even win. Draupadi would have been fine with that besides the fact that he was a totally douche who only cared about himself. When he shoots the arrow, it hits almost smack-dab in the middle. So close to a bullseye but not quite there. Draupadi breathed a sigh of relief and prayed that another suitor would hit the bullseye.
The third suitor steps up the plate, Nakula. This man was not the cream of the crop, but he was nice guy. Draupadi thought he was fine, but she had grown up with him so she could not see herself marrying him. As he shoots the arrow goes flying and hits the spot where Karna's arrow had just hit. Draupadi had never seen anything like this. It was crazy that an arrow hit in the exact spot as another arrow and went straight through. At this moment, both men were tied for first.
Finally, Arjuna steps up to the plate. He is from a far off kingdom that Draupadi had never heard of. She did not know anything about him, but she was instantly drawn to his dashing good looks and his calming personality. He seemed like a strong warrior, but with kind eyes. She didn't know anything about him, but as soon as their eyes met she knew that is who she wanted to win her hand in marriage. He pulled up the bow 'n arrow, shot, and it went awry and hit the grass. Draupadi head fell. He only one more chance to hit the bullseye to beat the other two suitors. He pulled up the arrow again and shot. This time it fly and just like magic hit the bullseye right in the middle. Knocking all the other contestants out of the running.
Draupadi jumped to her feet in excitement. She ran towards Arjuna and they embraced. The next day they were to be wed and they would spend the rest of their lives together, happy.
Author: C. A. Kincaid
Year: 1921
All in all, there were four competitors. These five men came from all over, each from a different kingdom. They all wanted to win Draupadi's hand in marriage in order to unite their kingdom with her father's. Also, it did not hurt that Draupadi was the most beautiful woman in all the land. The men had to compete in an activity of Draupadi's choosing. Since Draupadi is a woman who enjoys strength so she obviously chooses archery.
First off, Bhima goes. He completely misses the mark. Totally embarrassed, but thankful he had one more try he goes again. The second time he hits the outer rim of the mark, but at least this time he hit the target. Inside his head he was hoping that the other contestants did as poorly as he did.
After Bhima goes, next up to the target is Karna. He was born as a charioteer so he was expected to do very well, possibly even win. Draupadi would have been fine with that besides the fact that he was a totally douche who only cared about himself. When he shoots the arrow, it hits almost smack-dab in the middle. So close to a bullseye but not quite there. Draupadi breathed a sigh of relief and prayed that another suitor would hit the bullseye.
The third suitor steps up the plate, Nakula. This man was not the cream of the crop, but he was nice guy. Draupadi thought he was fine, but she had grown up with him so she could not see herself marrying him. As he shoots the arrow goes flying and hits the spot where Karna's arrow had just hit. Draupadi had never seen anything like this. It was crazy that an arrow hit in the exact spot as another arrow and went straight through. At this moment, both men were tied for first.
Finally, Arjuna steps up to the plate. He is from a far off kingdom that Draupadi had never heard of. She did not know anything about him, but she was instantly drawn to his dashing good looks and his calming personality. He seemed like a strong warrior, but with kind eyes. She didn't know anything about him, but as soon as their eyes met she knew that is who she wanted to win her hand in marriage. He pulled up the bow 'n arrow, shot, and it went awry and hit the grass. Draupadi head fell. He only one more chance to hit the bullseye to beat the other two suitors. He pulled up the arrow again and shot. This time it fly and just like magic hit the bullseye right in the middle. Knocking all the other contestants out of the running.
Draupadi jumped to her feet in excitement. She ran towards Arjuna and they embraced. The next day they were to be wed and they would spend the rest of their lives together, happy.
Bibliography:
Title: The Indian Heroes: Mahabharata - The Princes of Elephant CityAuthor: C. A. Kincaid
Year: 1921
Authors Note: I based this story off of the one where the five brothers all compete to win Draupadi's hand in marriage. I decided not to make any of the brothers and only have there be four of them. I also didn't want Draupadi to marry all five of the brothers because to me that is just gross. I still wanted to keep the main part of the story intact because I thought it was interesting idea. It really reminded me of the premise of the Disney movie Brave where all of those suitors competed for Merida's hand in marriage. I wanted Draupadi to fall in love though so that is why I had her and Arjuna end up together.
Chelsee, I really enjoyed your version of this story. I was a tad confused, though, by whether there were four or five competitors, although throughout your story you only mention four. There were also some slight grammatical errors making it a little difficult to read through. Overall, your version was fun and anticipating. I also liked that you kept with a happy ending! Great job!
ReplyDeleteHi, Chelsee.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that I do not want to see Draupadi to be married to five husbands. It is not only unfair but also disgusting. Why would anything think that this is fine? I like how you made it to where Draupadi only married to Arjuna. Also, I think Arjuna won the Swayamvara of Draupadi in the story I read, except that his mom told him he had to give her to his oldest brother. I feel so bad for Arjuna.
Hi, Chelsee!
ReplyDeleteI guess the first thing is that I don't quite agree with you on Draupadi marrying five men being disgusting. I also don't mean this in any stuck-up or mean way. I personally see it as being similar to the men having more than one wife, and I do not think there is anything wrong in any case. Polygamy and polyamory are interesting lifestyle choices and cultural aspects, and they are not as easy, glamorous, or "greedy" as one might think. I'm sorry for rambling about that; I'm sure that's more than you wanted to hear on that subject.
Anyways, I do like the choice of having Draupadi marry only Arjuna. I do believe that he did have the right to be the only one since he won the contest. I also like the detailed look into each contestant's attempt; it adds just a little more suspense. Great job!
Hi Chelsee,
ReplyDeleteThis was another great story of yours. I like the introductory sentences with setting up the scene. I had the setting perfectly pictured in my head, and this makes reading the story much more enjoyable and also makes it flow better. You did a really great job with this attention to detail throughout the whole thing. Great work.
Brooks