Arjuna's Obstacle For Love

Arjuna arrived at Swarga, upon Indra's request. The land was ethereal with an abundance of vibrant wildlife, the air was filled with the sounds of angelic music, and the city just glowed with a golden-like aura. One of the first things Arjuna did was explore the city. He had never been to Swarga, so he was quite excited to find lively areas filled with new and magical people. Arjuna first went to a beautiful botanical garden filled with every kind of flower and plant imaginable. Arjuna began his tour of this exhibit, fascinated with the lotuses, the water lilies, the ashoks, and all the other bright and delicate flowers and plants.

Suddenly, he heard a woman giggle in the distance and began to lift his head. And there she was.

Standing there alone was a beautiful young lady, with youthful eyes and a youthful giggle. As soon as Arjuna laid eyes on her, her gaze moved and met his. Arjuna wondered why she was giggling, but this thought quickly vanished. He fell into his instinctual urge. He felt as if something pulling him to her, and he began walking towards her. He introduced himself and learned that her name was Urvashi. From there, they exchanged some words and walked through the garden together, exchanging stories while looking at the romantic, red roses that guided their walking path.

Arjuna had told Urvashi that this was his first time in Swarga, and he wanted to travel through the entire city. Urvashi offered her expertise of Swarga, and from there, she became his tour guide for the day. They went to all sorts of places: the town square, the capitol, and even her favorite coffee shop. While doing all of these fun activities, Arjuna and Urvashi talked and got to know each other. They learned each other's favorite color, their childhoods, their favorite things to do, their pet peeves, and of course their favorite Hindu holiday.

By the end of the day, the pair were tired but fulfilled. Arjuna walked Urvashi home, expressed his enjoyment of her company, and asked to see her again. At first, Urvashi's eyes lit up with happiness, but sadness immediately drowned the light. She replied that she knew where this interaction was going to lead to. Then, she proceeded to say that they would never work out because he had no knowledge of the culture in Swarga, and that ignorance would become a hindrance in their relationship in the future. Arjuna's jaw dropped. He was at a loss on how to respond to such a profound and forward-thinking comment. He did not think that this sort of concern would be brought up so suddenly, but he did know this.

This disparity was not going to stop him, so all Arjuna did was smirk at Urvashi and whisper, "We will see about that."

With these last words, Arjuna ran home. He ran home so fast his legs could have fallen off. The very next day, he started his studies in music, dance, song because, boy, did he have a lot of work to do.

Author's Note

In the story about Arjuna and Indra, a short story regarding Urvashi was included, but there was not much background or detail. I decided to dedicate a whole story to Arjuna and Urvashi and decided to change the dynamic of their relationship. In the original story, I believe Arjuna is the one that rejects Urvashi. Arjuna's response to her profession maddens Urvashi, so she sets a curse on him to live among women as a dancer and musician, and that is how he became skilled in song, dance, and celestial weapons. However, in my story, I wanted Arjuna to be the one yearning for Urvashi and have him learn all those things in hopes of gaining her interest in him. I thought it would be an interesting twist because in both The Ramayana and The Mahabharata there were short scenes where there would be a women trying to win over the love of the main character, a man. I wanted to see a man portrayed in that manner, which is why I decided to use Arjuna and Urvashi as my writing experiment.

Also, I wanted to keep dialogue to a minimum and focus on vivid imagery. I noticed that in my previous stories, I heavily relied on dialogue to build my story, but this time, I wanted to take a different approach and try to create images and thoughts through adjectives and relatable feelings.

Bibliography

Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie