Mahabharata in Prose – Part 36-C
A Story from the Dvapara Yuga
Based on the Odia Sarala Mahabharata
By Lokanath Mishra
Long ago, Arjuna was traveling through many forests, tall mountains, and beautiful green trees. He saw many kinds of animals and birds playing happily. Sometimes he slept in mountain caves, and sometimes in the peaceful homes of wise sages.
One day, Arjuna was sitting on a mountain called Manibhadra. He was deeply praying and meditating. Suddenly, he heard a soft jingling sound, like tiny bells. At first, he thought it was a bird singing. But then he heard rustling sounds from nearby bushes.
Arjuna became alert. “Maybe it is a wild animal,” he thought. He carefully looked around.
Then, from the bushes came out a very strange and wonderful creature!
This creature looked like many animals joined together. One leg was like a horse, another like a tiger, and another like a deer. Its front limb looked like a human hand, and in that hand, it held a beautiful lotus flower. Its neck was like a peacock’s, its waist like a lion’s, its tail like a snake’s, its back like a bull’s hump, and its face like a rooster’s beak.
This rare creature moved in funny ways—sometimes forward, sometimes backward, sometimes jumping, and sometimes rolling on the ground. Then suddenly, it began to dance! There were no musical instruments, yet sweet music filled the whole forest.
Arjuna was amazed.
He watched quietly for some time. Then he thought, “I have traveled through so many forests for years, but I have never seen such a creature. This must be a divine play. Maybe some great soul is testing me.”
Then a thought came to his mind—“Could this be my dear friend, Lord Krishna?”
At once, Arjuna bowed down in front of the creature and said,
“O Lord, it is my great fortune that you have come to me. I am too small to understand your divine magic. Please show me your real form.”
Arjuna prayed with full devotion. His prayers were pure and full of love.
Soon, the Lord became pleased and showed His true form.
He appeared as beautiful Krishna—dark like a rain cloud, wearing yellow clothes, with lotus-like eyes, a shining gem on His chest, and a gentle smile on His face.
Krishna lifted Arjuna with love and said,
“My friend, I missed you very much. I went to Hastinapura and learned that you were in exile. Sahadeva told me where you were. Even though your family asked me to stay, I could not stay without you. So I came here to see you.”
Arjuna happily shared his adventures and told Krishna about the blessings he received from Lord Shiva and Mother Parvati.
At that moment, a poor and weak Brahmin was seen slowly climbing the mountain with the help of a stick. He was very tired and kept stopping to rest.
Arjuna quickly went down and helped him climb.
Krishna smiled softly, watching everything.
Arjuna asked kindly,
“O respected Brahmin, what has happened to you? Why are you suffering so much? Why have you come here with such difficulty?”
The Brahmin replied,
“My name is Vītihotra. I have come from far away to ask for your help. I know you are Arjuna, the great warrior. I believe you will not disappoint me.”
Arjuna looked at Krishna. Krishna smiled and said,
“He has come to you, my friend. Why are you looking at me? It is your choice whether to help him or not. But I know you—you will not send away a poor and sick person without helping him.”
Arjuna then said to the Brahmin,
“Please tell me clearly what help you need. Then I will see if I can do it.”
The Brahmin said,
“First, you must promise to speak the truth and keep your word.”
He took out a sacred conch, filled it with water, and asked Arjuna to take a vow.
Arjuna promised, “Whatever you ask, I will surely do it.”
Then the Brahmin revealed the truth:
“I am the Fire God. I have become very weak due to a disease. Because I am weak, all living beings are also suffering from poor digestion. The only cure for my illness is to burn the Khandava forest. Please help me do this and protect me.”
Arjuna was surprised but remembered his promise.
Before going, he asked Krishna, “Will you come with me?”
Krishna replied,
“You are the son of Indra, the king of gods. He may be kind to you. But if I go, he may blame me. So I will not go. But I bless you—may you succeed.”
Krishna then left.
Arjuna felt worried and said,
“How can I, a human, fight the king of gods? I don’t have strong weapons.”
The Fire God said,
“Do not worry. The gods want me to become healthy. They will give me their weapons for you.”
After some time, the Fire God returned with a chariot full of powerful weapons from the gods. Arjuna accepted them.
He rode the chariot and reached the Khandava forest. When guards tried to stop him, he used his powers to make them unconscious.
Before starting the fire, the Fire God warned him about powerful clouds sent by Indra to stop the fire.
Arjuna made a strong cover of arrows around the forest so that the rain could not enter.
Then the Fire God began to burn the forest.
Flames spread everywhere. Heat and light filled the sky.
At that time, the great sage Narada came there and saw everything. He was shocked and said,
“Why are you destroying such a beautiful forest? This is like destroying your own inheritance!”
Arjuna explained his promise.
Narada felt this was a serious matter. He quickly went to the gods and told them everything, adding a little exaggeration.
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🌼 Spiritual Messages for Kids:
• Always keep your promises, like Arjuna did.
• Be kind and help those in need, like Arjuna helping the poor Brahmin.
• God may come in different forms to test our goodness.
• True devotion and a pure heart can help us see God clearly.
• Think carefully before taking big actions, as they can affect many lives.
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(To be continued)