Hi there!!! Today's story is from the Mahabharata. It's about the Lord of Fire, Agni, and how he burnt a whole forest with the help of Arjuna and Krishna. Let's go…
The Kauravas and the Pandavas were at loggerheads since they were little kids, and the enmity only increased with their age. Their granduncle, Bheeshma, knew that when Yudhistira became king, there would be a big fight, because of Duryodhana's arrogance. So, he tried preventing it by giving an order, " The Kingdom of Hastinapur shall be divided in half, for both - the Pandavas and the Kauravas - to rule." Duryodhana's father and the blind king of Hastinapur, Dhritarashtra, saw this as an opportunity to give his eldest son a small win, seeing that the Pandavas had defeated him in everything. "I agree, Uncleji. You are correct. The Kauravas shall rule the city and surrounding areas of Hastinapur, whereas the Pandavas… they shall rule the barren side of Khandavaprastha," Duryodhana ran up to his father, embracing him and exclaiming, "You have done us a good deed, Father. I am thankful to you," His father groped around and embraced him. The Pandavas were in dejection, for they had been given a huge forest to rule. Plus, there were many different threats in the forest - there were snakes and celestial beings too. They could wipe out the Pandavas in seconds!! Or so they thought…
The Pandavas and their mother, Kunti, made their way to the monstrous land of Khandavaprastha.
Seeing the endless stretch of trees and wildlife, the Pandavas concluded that they couldn't make a city out of it.
They cleared a few trees and set up a small city, which was named Indraprastha. Many of the Pandavas' followers flooded in, but Arjuna sent many of them back to Hastinapur, for the population would be far too dense. Their citizens lived in harmony, despite being surrounded by a mega-forest.
One day, an old man walked into the palace and called for Arjuna.
Arjuna came to the entrance of the palace and asked the old man, "Hello, my kind sir. What service may we be of?" Suddenly, the old man turned into the God of Fire, Agni. Arjuna bowed down to him. As he bowed down, Krishna spotted him and came pacing to the meeting. He said, "Hello, Agni. What brings you to Indraprastha?" Agni said, "Hello, Krishna. I have come for food." Krishna was confused, "But, don't you get your food from all of the poojas and yajnas?" Agni replied, "I get my food from yajnas, yes. People all around the world conduct yajnas, and henceforth I am forced to overeat. Now, I have a case of indigestion. My tummy has started hurting very badly. When I went to Bramha for a diagnosis, and he concluded that I needed some herbal medicines. I would like to burn up the whole forest, please. Will you help me?" Krishna glanced at Arjuna, who stated, "I must serve anyone in need. We shall allow you to burn up our forest."
But, Agni hesitated, "Indra's friend, Takshaka, the King of Snakes, lives in these woods. Whenever I try to burn this forest, Indra sends down pouring rains. I need protection from him. Whatever you want, I shall give. But, just help me cure my ailment," Arjuna asked Agni, "We shall help you. But, I would like a chariot that can move as fast as my thoughts and an invincible bow," Agni replied, "I shall bestow upon you my chariot. I shall give you Lord Varuna's bow, the Gandiva. It was created by Bramha and made from the sacred Gandi tree. Here you go," The chariot and bow flew down to Earth, with golden armour fit for Krishna and Arjuna kept in it. A celestial mace was given to Krishna.
Together, the trio went to a secluded part of the forest and let Agni burn it down.
The Kauravas and the Pandavas were at loggerheads since they were little kids, and the enmity only increased with their age. Their granduncle, Bheeshma, knew that when Yudhistira became king, there would be a big fight, because of Duryodhana's arrogance. So, he tried preventing it by giving an order, " The Kingdom of Hastinapur shall be divided in half, for both - the Pandavas and the Kauravas - to rule." Duryodhana's father and the blind king of Hastinapur, Dhritarashtra, saw this as an opportunity to give his eldest son a small win, seeing that the Pandavas had defeated him in everything. "I agree, Uncleji. You are correct. The Kauravas shall rule the city and surrounding areas of Hastinapur, whereas the Pandavas… they shall rule the barren side of Khandavaprastha," Duryodhana ran up to his father, embracing him and exclaiming, "You have done us a good deed, Father. I am thankful to you," His father groped around and embraced him. The Pandavas were in dejection, for they had been given a huge forest to rule. Plus, there were many different threats in the forest - there were snakes and celestial beings too. They could wipe out the Pandavas in seconds!! Or so they thought…
The Pandavas and their mother, Kunti, made their way to the monstrous land of Khandavaprastha.
Seeing the endless stretch of trees and wildlife, the Pandavas concluded that they couldn't make a city out of it.
They cleared a few trees and set up a small city, which was named Indraprastha. Many of the Pandavas' followers flooded in, but Arjuna sent many of them back to Hastinapur, for the population would be far too dense. Their citizens lived in harmony, despite being surrounded by a mega-forest.
One day, an old man walked into the palace and called for Arjuna.
Arjuna came to the entrance of the palace and asked the old man, "Hello, my kind sir. What service may we be of?" Suddenly, the old man turned into the God of Fire, Agni. Arjuna bowed down to him. As he bowed down, Krishna spotted him and came pacing to the meeting. He said, "Hello, Agni. What brings you to Indraprastha?" Agni said, "Hello, Krishna. I have come for food." Krishna was confused, "But, don't you get your food from all of the poojas and yajnas?" Agni replied, "I get my food from yajnas, yes. People all around the world conduct yajnas, and henceforth I am forced to overeat. Now, I have a case of indigestion. My tummy has started hurting very badly. When I went to Bramha for a diagnosis, and he concluded that I needed some herbal medicines. I would like to burn up the whole forest, please. Will you help me?" Krishna glanced at Arjuna, who stated, "I must serve anyone in need. We shall allow you to burn up our forest."
But, Agni hesitated, "Indra's friend, Takshaka, the King of Snakes, lives in these woods. Whenever I try to burn this forest, Indra sends down pouring rains. I need protection from him. Whatever you want, I shall give. But, just help me cure my ailment," Arjuna asked Agni, "We shall help you. But, I would like a chariot that can move as fast as my thoughts and an invincible bow," Agni replied, "I shall bestow upon you my chariot. I shall give you Lord Varuna's bow, the Gandiva. It was created by Bramha and made from the sacred Gandi tree. Here you go," The chariot and bow flew down to Earth, with golden armour fit for Krishna and Arjuna kept in it. A celestial mace was given to Krishna.
Together, the trio went to a secluded part of the forest and let Agni burn it down.
Soon, news reached Indra, who tried pouring heavy rains down onto the trees. But, Arjuna shot so many arrows into the sky, that it covered the whole forest in a magical cover. Indra used his thunderbolt, the vajrayudha, and tried to break the wall. But to no avail - Arjuna's arrows were just too strong for him to break alone. So, he called upon some of his godly friends - Dharmaraya Yama, the God of Justice and Death, Kubera, the God of Money and Wealth, and Varuna, the God of Water. They descended to Earth and battled with Arjuna and Krishna.
The battle, with Arjuna and Krishna on one side and the gods on the other, was fierce. Still, the two cousins retained the upper hand.
Takshaka had been in Kurukshetra, so he didn't know what was happening in his home. But, his wife and son, Avasena, were trying to escape. When Arjuna saw this, he chopped off Takshaka's wife's head. Avasena slid off, cursing his mother's luck.
Mayasura, the architect of the asuras, was also stuck in the flames. Indra's thunderbolt had tried to pierce him into pieces, but Krishna saved him.
Soon, the forest had been reduced to ashes. Indra retreated to Vaikunta, regretting his friend's fate. His friends went back to their respective abodes, too.
Mayasura ran to Arjuna and Krishna and said, "Thanks for saving me. I shall build you the most fabulous palace ever. It shall be the most fortified, but calm-looking castle the world has ever seen." So, Mayasura built them an amazing palace - with an additional bonus - He built a mega-city for them!!! Nearly the whole population of Hastinapur left and came to the new Indraprastha!!! Duryodhana was furious!!! He vowed to get revenge against his cousins.
Agni thanked Arjuna and Krishna, "Thank you. You two have cured me of my tummy ache. These weapons are yours to keep. Don't worry about them. Whenever you need help, rest assured, I shall be there for you."
From that day on, Arjuna was known as Gandiva Dhari or Gandivi. He used the same chariot and weapon in the great Kurukshetra War.
Meanwhile, Takshaka heard about his family's plight and vowed to take revenge.
Thus, Arjuna and Krishna helped Agni cure his ailment.
Thanks for reading The Burning of Khandava Forest!!! Please type your email in the box above the followers and click the blue button to receive notifications about my posts!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment