Topic Research

Come to find out that Arjuna has four wives instead of only two, Ulupi and Chitrangada. Therefore, I thought it could be interesting to write about the four wives of Arjuna.

Ulupi/Uloopi (link): Ulupi is known as the "Naga Princess" who was the daughter of Kouravya, the ruler of the serpents who lived in the water. It was because of a curse that Ulupi became his second wife. Ulupi was instantly attracted to Arjuna and pretty much forced and seduced him to take her as his wife. Arjuna gives in even though he is still married to Draupadi. Ulupi and Arjuna have a son named Iravan together. As mentioned earlier, Arjuna has a curse on him but it is Ulupi who ultimately saves his life and frees him of the curse. Therefore, in the end, should not Arjuna be thankful for Ulupi and that she forced him to be her husband?! Haha:)

Draupadi (link): Draupadi is a beautiful woman who becomes the first wife of Arjuna. In all actually, I believe that Draupadi is actually the common wife among the Arjuna and his four brothers. Arjuna was the one who actually won the Draupadi's hand in marriage, but it was Arjuna's mother that told him to share his blessings and therefore he shared his wife among his brothers. Draupadi had a total of five sons, one from each of her husbands. There is mention of a man by the name of Duryodhana who hated Draupadi and a mention of a war. If I were to write this story, my original goal was to talk about the marriage of Draupadi and Arjuna so I was not going to mention anything that did not pertain to the marriage.

Subhadra (link): Subhadra is another one of Arjuna's wife who is also the sister of Arjuna's best friend, Krishna. When Arjuna first meets Subhadra, he is smitten by her beautiful looks that Krishna basically encourges Arjuna to take his sister as his wife. Arjuna listens to him and they devise a plan to kidnap Subhadra. There is a quote that states, "...a forcible abduction for purposes of marriage is applauded." This quote is intriguing and this story could be fascinating to read and do a retelling about.

Chitrangada (link): I know we were only suppose to mention three possible stories, but I did not want to leave out Arjuna's fourth wife. Therefore, I wrote a teeny bit about her for a possible story. Chitrangada correlates to Ulupi through a battle between Chitrangada's son and Arjuna. While on his exile, Arjuna meets Chitrangada, who is the daughter of the king of Manipur. Arjuna falls in love with her but in exchange for her hand in marriage, Arjuna must not take away Arjuna or any of their children away from Manipur, as they are the ones next in line for the thrown. Arjuna promises, they have a child together, but along the way Chitrangada believes that Arjuna is involved in adultery so she makes a vow to herself that her son will battle Arjuna some day. Fast forward many years and the intertwining of the lives of Arjuna, Ulupi, Chitrangada, and Babruvahana (the son of Arjuna and Chitrangada). The story could be interesting to write about a love triangle with a secret revenge.

Arjuna. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Topic Brainstorm

1. Vasantasena, A Dancer (link): I have never hear of this story before but the word "dancer" in the title of this link caught my eye because it was something that I could relate to being a dancer for about 14 years. This story is like a love story with many ups and downs, and even plot twists. As I read the description of what this story was about, I came across the words "Shakespearean comedy." Therefore, I immediately thought of romantic comedies and how I can put a modern spin on this story. I could potentially retell this story along the lines of the plots of One Tree Hill or Gossip Girl. The thought of writing a love story is intriguing and since I enjoy watching romantic/romantic comedies, it would be cool to write a similar story of my own. 

2. Uloopi: The Naga Princess who Fell in Love with Arjuna (link): This story caught my eye because of the word "Naga" because Naga is actually the city where my dad grew up in and so when I saw that word, I was surprised and intrigued. This story seems like a romantic action-packed story with the love of Uloopi for Arjuna and the battle of Arjuna and Babhruvahana, his son. I have never heard or read this story before this class. I want to know why Uloopi befriends Arjuna's new family and almost takes care of them even when he does not love her anymore. As a woman, was she sad, mad, or angry at what happened? To retell this story, I do not think I would change it too much. I would stick to the same plot but tell it in my own words.

3. Gandhari: A Mother Blinded by Love (link): As I was reading the Reading Guide for this story, the genuine love and sacrifice of Gandhari to her husband and her first born son was intriguing and compelling. I want to know what Gandhari thought about having 100 sons - yes that was a blessing, but was she ever scared? I also want to know what was going on through her mind as she had to wait two years for her kids to be born. Was Gandhari anxious during the two year period and that what did she feel when she realizes her first born son "brays like a donkey?" Then Gandhari experiences a war and then the death of all her sons. Retelling this story could be difficult because it may be difficult or inappropriate to add some lighter scenes since it is such a real and serious story.

4. Project Idea: Love Stories (link): Love is something that we have all experienced whether it was a romantic kind of love or a family/best friend kind of love. I would like to learn and read more about the love stories and the different varieties they posses. I believe the retelling of love stories is so broad that putting one's own spin on it would be easy to do. From a comedic route (How I Met Your Mother) to something as unique as online dating sites, retelling love stories could be so much fun. I think I can learn something about love from reading these epics that could be put to use in my own life.

Vasantasena. Source: Wikimedia Commons