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| Bhishma refuses to fight Shikhandi Image source: Wikipedia |
It seemed everyone was in a deep slumber after the exhausting battle earlier that day. And a cloaked figure moved within the camp in the dead of night. No sound was made. Not even the rustling of leaves or the low howl of the wind disturbed the night. One lone man was awake during this eerily quiet night. He felt the dark figure approach his tent and he already knew who was coming for him. Without turning around he addressed the lurking shadow.
"I knew you'd come for me again, Amba. You've been hunting for me in every nook and crevice of the Earth. I've been waiting for you every night since you swore to destroy me."
The small cloaked figure stopped and removed her hood. Amba slowly walked towards Bhishma and stopped in front of him. Her eyes were downcast and void of any emotion.
"I have wandered this Earth for years now. I've survived on nothing but air. I've stood still on a mountain top for over a decade on one toe, waiting for the voice of a god to give me guidance. I became brittle and hard like rock. Eventually I became ice and snow upon that mountain top. I heard a voice advise me to gather wood and start a fire, and so I did as I was told. Once the flames looked like they could graze the tops of the clouds I submerged myself into the flames. I felt the flames burn my skin until I could feel no more pain. I no longer pertain to the living, Bhishma. That is one of the things I came to tell you. I am dead."
Bhishma looked at Amba with curiosity. After a few seconds curiosity turned into amusement. With a smile Bhishma said, "Does that mean that your desire to destroy me is extinguished? Have you finally done away with that resentment you hold for me? Will you finally allow yourself to be at peace?"
Amba's eyes momentarily showed a spark of anger as she looked up at Bhishma. She shook her head and with a small smile said, "I can never be at peace until I get what I desire the most, Bhishma. And as you know all I want is to exact revenge for what you have done to me. I may be dead but I will return to battle you in this great war. I will be reborn and return as a man. I will drive Arjuna's chariot and battle you until you are no more. My name will be Shikhandi and I will be your downfall. Remember that name, Bhishma. Shikhandi!"
As soon as the last word left her lips she faded away and with that the eerie silence of the night went with her. A soft breeze returned to graze Bhishma's face and the rustling of leaves could finally be heard and the chirping of crickets softly filled the night. He sat contemplating his encounter with Amba with great concentration until the rising of the sun.
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Later that day, amidst the chaos of battle the thought of Amba left his mind as he fought against the Pandavas' soldiers. It wasn't until he saw a chariot coming towards him that he recognized Arjuna and another man in it. He couldn't recognize this young man but he looked an awful lot like...Amba.
"Shikhandi", he whispered.
Everything around Bhishma seemed to move in slow motion. He couldn't bring himself to raise his arms against someone who once used to be a woman. To him that was Amba and he wouldn't dare strike her in battle. Bhishma saw Arjuna yell at Shikhandi to strike him with an arrow. With no will to defend himself or even deflect the incoming arrow, he saw Shikhandi shoot the arrow that would bring him his death.
"This is it....." he uttered as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
And with that he felt the arrow piece his very heart and the world faded into black.
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Author's Note:
What I liked about Peter Brook's film Mahabharata is that it goes a little more in detail about Amba's role in Bhishma's death in comparison to Narayan's Mahabharata. Perhaps in the online version of the Mahabharata it went into more detail but in the shortened modern version that I decided to read it didn't. Amba set out to seek revenge for Bhishma's refusal to marry her. She sought to marry him after the man she really intended to marry turned her away after she was won by Bhishma for Vichitravirya. Her true love felt like he would see Bhishma's wrath if he married Amba, even though Bhishma had set her free to do as she pleased. With Bhishma's refusal to marry her due to his vow of celibacy, Amba was destined to roam the world as an unmarried woman. She traveled the world for years and attempted to get many kings to champion her cause with no success for they feared having Bhishma as an enemy. In the film she comes to him in the dead of night during the war to tell him that she would be reborn as a man and be the death of him. I decided to expand on this scene and made a story out of it.Peter Brook's film Mahabharata was released in 1989 can be seen via YouTube here.
Fun Fact:
The film was originally a stage play which circulated in 1985 and was a total of over 9 hours long!
Good job with this story. You have good description and you capture the characters emotions well. Some of your sentences are sort, and you can concatenate them together. For instance, your first four sentences could be combined to say something such as, “After the cacophony of a long battle the night was completely silent, devoid from the rustle of leaves or the low howl of the wind, and although it seemed that everyone was in a deep slumber, a lone cloaked figure moved silently into the camp.” I really like your language in the last paragraph of the first section, particularly, “as the last word left her lips she faded away.” Good job.
ReplyDeleteHey Pita!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your story! It was really entertaining. I really liked how you placed the image before your story and at the top. This really pulls the reader in; it pulled me in. When looking at the picture I was curious about it: “why are there people laying on the ground?” I wanted to know if they were just sleeping or actually dead. Good job Pita!
I really enjoyed your version of it. I love the details that you used to elaborate on the scene. It made me want to read more! I think that the details that you used to describe the deaths were awesome. I loved that last line. "And with that he felt the arrow piece his very heart and the world faded into black."I think you may have meant pierce instead of piece, but I thought that it was a great ending. Good job.
ReplyDeleteHi Pita,
ReplyDeleteOmg I was holding my breath until I finish reading this story (not literally: /). It is such a good story and I like how you presented this story to your audience. This story shows Bhishma’s virtue. I feel sorry for him. I did not like the character of Amba. She caused this misery on herself and no one else should have been blamed for it.
I’m really glad you chose to go into more detail of the character Amba. I read the online version of the Mahabharata and though they do go into her story more than other subplots, she seemed to be entirely removed from the Mahabharata until Bhishma’s end was near. I really enjoyed reading the dialogue between your characters, particularly Amba’s monologue on how she suffered from her fixation on revenge. I also think you did wonderful in portraying Bhishma in a different light, in that he is cruel especially in regard to Amba and what became of her. The only thing I can think of is to go more into the final scene of where they meet again on the battlefield and Shikhandi is Arjuna’s charioteer. Perhaps maybe show more of a struggle to survive from Bhishma than just to accept his death? I know he can’t hurt Shikhandi, but maybe he tries to and his attempts fail due to the divine promise that was given to Shikhandi.
ReplyDeleteThis week we were supposed to revisit a storybook and so I chose yours. I'm so glad I did! This story was so interesting and I agree that Peter Brook's version of the Mahabharata emphasized Amba's role in Bhishma's death. That story is so interesting and I had honestly forgotten about it until I re-read the Mahabharata again. I love the speech that Amba gave when she was speaking to Bhishma. It was very dramatic and I love the strength it gave Amba's character in the story. I love how you wrote the final battle as well, but I think there is a typo in the final line. I love that line and that's the only reason I noticed it says "piece" where I think it's supposed to say "pierce". The way Bhishma just accepted his death was super interesting because, at least as I remember it, he could not fight her because she had once been a woman in her other life and he knew that. It's an interesting concept and I think you handled this story very well! I love this story! Good job!
ReplyDelete