Comedy Mahabharata: Act 4, Scene 3
The scene opens up on a battlefield. The Battle of Kurukshetra is only growing in intensity. In the midst of the scrum, ARJUNA comes out to the front and begins speaking.ARJUNA: The Kauravas have killed my son! It had to be that Jayadratha. He is evil, and has always had it coming to him. We should have killed him back a few scenes ago, but...
JAYADRATHA appears from the melee
JAYADRATHA: I didn't do anything! It was Duhshasana! He killed your son with a mace not I!
ARJUNA: That is irrelevant! You led six warriors against him and killed him! I'm going to kill you now.
JAYADRATHA: Oh no.
ARJUNA and JAYADRATHA begin running around in circles but nobody intervenes. DRONA steps forward
DRONA: Yes, we know what you are wondering - why are we Kauravas stopping Arjuna from killing Jayadratha? Jayadratha is on our side after all. But Jayadratha is insignificant to our plans, so we don't really care if anything happens...
ARJUNA: If I don't kill you before the sun sets, may Indra send me to hell himself!
DRONA: Now you could say we are a bit more invested now.
With ARJUNA still chasing JAYADRATHA around on stage, DRONA, KARNA, and others seek to intercede on his behalf. DRONA confronts ARJUNA
DRONA: Stop!
ARJUNA: Look man, I'm not fighting you. We talked about this already. I don't fight people who have helped me, even if you are my enemy.
DRONA: Well, you have a point, I guess I can't stop you, please continue.
ARJUNA steps toward a group of warriors
ARJUNA: BOO!
The warriors collapse. Now it is a showdown between KARNA and ARJUNA with JAYADRATHA cowering behind KARNA.
ARJUNA: Look, you have stalled too long. Let me just kill this guy. You don't even care about him!
KARNA: You're right, but we would sure love the opportunity to send you to hell.
The lights start to dim and KARNA backs off right before they go dark. ARJUNA advances on JAYADRATHA as the lights fade to black. The lights come back up and JAYADRATHA is motionless on the ground and KARNA, BHIMA and ARJUNA are crowded around YUDHISTHIRA, who is holding a rulebook.
YUDHISTHIRA: Article 3, Section 4 states that the tie goes to the runner. So we need to go to the replay booth, but I'm pretty sure ARJUNA has this one.
INDRA appears and consults YUDHISTHIRA while the other characters wait anxiously. The characters motion to urge them to make a decision quickly. Eventually YUDHISTHIRA turns to face the audience after some time.
YUDHISTHIRA: After review, the play stands as called. Arjuna successfully killed Jayadratha before the sun set, so he will not go to hell. Play will resume at the next sunrise.
KARNA looks a bit ticked off, and exits a bit frustrated.
BHIMA: But can I drink his blood though.
ARJUNA, YUDHISTHIRA: Dude, that hasn't happened yet. That's a couple scenes away, can you calm down.
BHIMA: Fine, but I just want to take my chances when they come.
All Exit
[END SCENE]
Arjuna shoots Jayadratha's head off right at sundown. This could be something shown during the play when the call is under review (Source: PDE Mahabharata)
Author's Note:
I wanted to take the Mahabharata and show it as a comedy rather than a tragedy. Sure there has to be a death because it is the Mahabharata, but I think this story has a lot of comedic potential, as it has many misunderstandings and random acts of chivalry that make for an interesting plot. I took the story of Arjuna seeking revenge for his son's death, and made it into a scene of a play. It is implied that you are right in the middle of a bigger Mahabharata play, and it is inspired by part D (so maybe it's the fourth act).
Source:
Hey Justin,
ReplyDeleteWhat a creative story! That was so much fun to read and it is definitely one of the most unique stories I've read so far in this class. I also love how it's formatted exactly like how a play is read. I particularly love the parts that comments on the stage direction. It was hilarious and a lot of fun to read!
ReplyDeleteJustin, I loved that you developed this scene into a comedy, and added stage directions! My favorite line is when Arjuna goes “BOO!” and the warriors collapse. I also loved that you translated most of what they said to modern English, it makes it seem like such a nonchalant conversation. The fact that they referred to each other as “dude” is absolutely hilarious (especially because I imagine them on the battlefield while all this is going on). I cannot wait to read more of your work!
Hi Justin!
ReplyDeleteI really admire the creativity that you put into this story. I thought the idea to write it like a play script was awesome! The added detail with the stage directions really brings it to the next level. I like the idea of flipping a tragedy to a comedy and giving it along with the characters some more dimension.
Hi Justin, I just read your storybook, and I happened to be routed to your story for the smaller comments! Your creativity shines here in a similar way to your storybook. You do a great job integrating comedy into your writing, and your formatting adds a lot to your narrative. I love the way you structured it like a play– I haven't seen anything like that so far!
ReplyDelete