Duryodhana was a jealous warrior. He could not stand if anybody was better him, no matter the competition. From archery to running to strength training, he saw how his Pandavas cousins performed at the highest marks. However, no made Duryodhana more angry than Bhima. Now Bhima was the best of the spot. He could bench over 300 pounds, squat 450 pounds, and run a mile in less than 6 minutes. No one could match him physically and for this Duryodhana plotted to get rid of Bhima. He knew he could not do it face to face combat, so he decided to poison his food during dinner. He extracted poison from the venomous King Cobra and sprinkled onto Bhima's dinner for the night. As Bhima took his first bites, he passed out and laid asleep on the ground. Duryodhana seizing his opportunity, gagged Bhima and threw into the holy Ganges for him to forever lie. Yet, as Bhima fell into the river it was fated by the gods that he was not to die. His destiny lied far ahead in the future. Thus when Bhima woke up, he found himself in the city of the water moccasins. These river dwelling snakes were led by King Naga who was immediately capitavted by the young warrior in his strength. He decieded a man as powerful las Bhima could not spend his time in the underworld and thus decided to give him a boon. Naga ordered his fellow snakes to give Bhima their poison so that it fills him strength never seen before among man. The snakes gathered around Bhima and gave him his poison, immediately collapsing from its potency. He was returned to land by Naga where he slept for 8 days until the poison transformed him. Once he woke up, he rushed to his brothers to tell of his story and triumph over Duryodhana.
Source: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913)
Author's Note: For this story, I stayed close to the original plot line, but added a few details to make it more clear to the reader how strong Bhima was as well as provide a more modern touch. These details included listing Bhima's bench press squat, which are often used today to compare strength. Additionally, I decided to change the Nagas to water moccasins as they are water snakes that dwell in many lakes in my home region of East Texas. I then changed the King's name from Vasuki to Naga to retain some connection to nagas.
Hello Neal,
ReplyDeleteI like the way your story emphasized the strength of Bhima, especially by further showing it in his bench press squat. I think your story did a really good job sticking to the original plot, even with the few variations. My only recommendation to you would be to add more content to the story, just to create a fuller, more in depth, storyline.
Hey, Neal!
ReplyDeleteI think that the picture you used is great and that it really complements your story! The art style is really captivating.
I really enjoyed your use of anachronisms here! Not only do they help to give a more modern interpretation, I also think that it gives an added frame of relatability. What I mean by this is that the quantized stat gives us EXACTLY an idea of how strong Bhima is, more so than a description of "could lift a mountain" or something along those lines. I enjoyed this aspect of the story!
Cheers,
Chris
Hi Neal,
ReplyDeleteGood job on your story. I enjoyed the approach you took on it and the way you decided to present Bhima. I like how you emphasized and really took the time to let us know how strong he is. I think it was a great addition and good story!