Week 7 Story: Brave Prince Uttara
Young Prince Uttara walked haughtily around the palace. "By the gods, I am bored," he sighed. "I wish to be out fighting in campaigns! But alas, there are none for me to take part!" The prince moped. "If I could go out right now, I would tear through our enemies with the fury of a hundred tigers! I would level them with the strength of a thousand elephants! I would-" he continued to rant and brag about himself.
King Virata, Uttara's father, overheard all of this. He knew that his son seemed to be capable of the feats about which he kept bragging. The king decided to test his son of his capabilities. "Uttara, my son," Virata called, "come before me! I have a mission for you." The prince started at his fathers voice, but he obeyed. "One of the neighboring kingdoms is causing trouble for us. I wish to send you out to go and deal with them. Take Himmat as your charioteer." Uttara tried to give a reason as to why he could not, but he already was shoved out and on his way. "Make me proud, my son!"
Himmat drove the chariot towards their destination. "Oh, Himmat, I am not sure that I can do this. Perhaps we should go back and gather an army. My blades also seem to be dull. Do I even possess enough arrows for this mission?"
"Do not fret, my prince!" exclaimed Himmat. "All will be fine! You will take down the enemy single-handed as if you were the great Arjuna himself! I have faith in you, my prince. Now prepare yourself; the enemy is before us!" But before Uttara was able to prepare, the chariot hit a large root, which knocked him off and into the brush.
Himmat attempted to try to go back to retrieve him; however, it was too late. The chariot had already rushed into the enemy ranks. Himmat had no choice but to face the enemy alone. He wielded the weapons that were left in the chariot and tore into the enemy like a raging whirlwind.
Uttara managed to free himself from the brush and looked upon the battle that waged before him. Fear came over him at the sight. Unable to gain the courage to help, he ran back home. It took him twenty days to return on foot. When he finally reached the palace, he prepared himself to face the disappointment of his father for being such a coward. His father found him and approached with a beaming smile.
"My son, you have made me ever so proud this day! The messenger returned before you with news of your incredible victory. You destroying the enemy's army all on your own! He said it was as if he was watching the great hero, Arjuna, himself!" King Virata embraced the prince. "It is a shame, though, what happened to poor Himmat. I was told he was slain not long after you both arrived on the battlefield."
The prince was shocked. Himmat had destroyed the army and sacrificed himself in the process. Uttara tried to hold back his tears. "Yes," he choked, "yes, he was. To lose him then and there filled me with a powerful rage that gave me the strength to destroy the enemy. It is a terrible shame that it cost Himmat's life to do so."
"Fret not, dear prince," said his father. "Come. We will have for him his funeral rites, then we celebrate your victory."
Author's Note. This story is based on the area where the Pandavas are living in Matsya incognito. There is a section where Uttara is bragging about his battle prowess, and he mentions recently going on a twenty day campaign in which he lost his charioteer. Afterwards, he goes with Arjuna as his new charioteer to go and defeat the cattle-stealing Kauravas.
Uttara's bragging about his twenty day campaign might have been fiction, but I wanted to explore it as if he kind of went on it. In the epic, he is described as a prideful coward. I tried to incorporate that idea into this story. I do not know if a name was given the charioteer that he supposedly lost, but I gave him the name "Himmat", meaning "courage", as a kind of foil for Uttara. I feel like that gave a bit more meaning to him losing his courage and running away from the battle.
Bibliography. Mahabharata by R. K. Narayan, link to Reading Guide C.
King Virata, Uttara's father, overheard all of this. He knew that his son seemed to be capable of the feats about which he kept bragging. The king decided to test his son of his capabilities. "Uttara, my son," Virata called, "come before me! I have a mission for you." The prince started at his fathers voice, but he obeyed. "One of the neighboring kingdoms is causing trouble for us. I wish to send you out to go and deal with them. Take Himmat as your charioteer." Uttara tried to give a reason as to why he could not, but he already was shoved out and on his way. "Make me proud, my son!"
Himmat drove the chariot towards their destination. "Oh, Himmat, I am not sure that I can do this. Perhaps we should go back and gather an army. My blades also seem to be dull. Do I even possess enough arrows for this mission?"
"Do not fret, my prince!" exclaimed Himmat. "All will be fine! You will take down the enemy single-handed as if you were the great Arjuna himself! I have faith in you, my prince. Now prepare yourself; the enemy is before us!" But before Uttara was able to prepare, the chariot hit a large root, which knocked him off and into the brush.
Himmat attempted to try to go back to retrieve him; however, it was too late. The chariot had already rushed into the enemy ranks. Himmat had no choice but to face the enemy alone. He wielded the weapons that were left in the chariot and tore into the enemy like a raging whirlwind.
Uttara managed to free himself from the brush and looked upon the battle that waged before him. Fear came over him at the sight. Unable to gain the courage to help, he ran back home. It took him twenty days to return on foot. When he finally reached the palace, he prepared himself to face the disappointment of his father for being such a coward. His father found him and approached with a beaming smile.
"My son, you have made me ever so proud this day! The messenger returned before you with news of your incredible victory. You destroying the enemy's army all on your own! He said it was as if he was watching the great hero, Arjuna, himself!" King Virata embraced the prince. "It is a shame, though, what happened to poor Himmat. I was told he was slain not long after you both arrived on the battlefield."
The prince was shocked. Himmat had destroyed the army and sacrificed himself in the process. Uttara tried to hold back his tears. "Yes," he choked, "yes, he was. To lose him then and there filled me with a powerful rage that gave me the strength to destroy the enemy. It is a terrible shame that it cost Himmat's life to do so."
"Fret not, dear prince," said his father. "Come. We will have for him his funeral rites, then we celebrate your victory."
A battle scene from Mahabharata
Web Source: Wikimedia Commons
Author's Note. This story is based on the area where the Pandavas are living in Matsya incognito. There is a section where Uttara is bragging about his battle prowess, and he mentions recently going on a twenty day campaign in which he lost his charioteer. Afterwards, he goes with Arjuna as his new charioteer to go and defeat the cattle-stealing Kauravas.
Uttara's bragging about his twenty day campaign might have been fiction, but I wanted to explore it as if he kind of went on it. In the epic, he is described as a prideful coward. I tried to incorporate that idea into this story. I do not know if a name was given the charioteer that he supposedly lost, but I gave him the name "Himmat", meaning "courage", as a kind of foil for Uttara. I feel like that gave a bit more meaning to him losing his courage and running away from the battle.
Bibliography. Mahabharata by R. K. Narayan, link to Reading Guide C.
Molly, I like that you chose the character Uttara for your storytelling. It probably would never have crossed my mind to write about a background character like him, but you did a good job of bringing him to the forefront. I thought it was so funny when Uttari's father sent him off to war, because as you tell the story, I can tell that Virata saw through his son's nonsense. This is a story where a gloating gets what is coming to them. Still, I thought it was a good twist that Virata praises his son as the hero. I could not tell if Virata honestly believed that his son had defeated the army, but we all know that Uttara knows that he could never have been as brave as the real hero, Himmat.
ReplyDeleteHello Molly!
ReplyDeleteI remember the section where Uttara is bragging about his battle prowess! I like how you took that and ran with it while creating your new story. Like Bridget said, I would not have thought to make the story about a background character either. I didn't think that Virata would praise his son as the hero. It was a great idea for you to give the charioteer, "Himmat" because of the meaning courage. Great job!
Molly, you did a great job of retelling this story. I especially like your use of dialogue and I like that you had his father challenge his claims by sending him to battle. I feel that overall, even though he is portrayed as a coward, certainly at the beginning, Uttara actually comes out as a somewhat likable character.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to seeing more of your work throughout the semseter!