Week 7 Storytelling: A Jealous Cousin

Who is the first person you think of who should be named heir to the throne? A first born son. Who am I? Duryodhana, the first born son of King Dhritarashtra. After my late uncle Pandu’s death, my father became king. My father had one hundred sons, and I am his first son. Therefore, I should be the heir to the throne. It’s simple logic, really. But who actually becomes the heir? None other than my obnoxious cousin Yudhishthira, who is the first born son of Pandu. Does this make any sense? No. I am the first born of the current king. Yudhishthira is the first born of the late king. The throne is rightfully mine, not his. Yudhishthira and his four equally obnoxious Pandava brothers always have everything handed to them on a silver platter. I don’t understand why people like any of them in the first place or why people treated them like they had great supernatural powers or something.

I didn’t just hate my cousins after they wrongfully announced the heir. My hatred for the Pandavas was deeply rooted ever since childhood. I remember an instance where Drona, our fighting teacher, made us all fight in mock battles, and I felt so powerful wielding my sword against my cousin Bhima. I felt my hatred for that family bubble up inside me, and I went out with full force, not caring if I injured him or not. Unfortunately, Drona stopped the fight before I could cause any serious damage to Bhima. What a shame… I wish I could have slain all five brothers that day. I would have saved me a lot of headaches having to deal with their “perfection” and ignorance for years to come.

After I heard Yudhishthira was the next heir, that was the last straw for me. I couldn’t stand to see the Pandavas steal the one thing I knew was mine. So I devised a trap to lure all five brothers AND their mother into a house and burn them all down. My first act as an arsonist, but somehow the Pandavas were able to escape and flee the city. Arjuna even bring back a beautiful wife out of the blue! See, now here’s the thing about these brothers. They are also obnoxiously loyal to each other. You would think Arjuna would be mad when his mother said to give his newly won wife to Yudhishthira since he was the eldest, but no. Arjuna give his prize away with no problems.

As if it wasn’t enough that the Pandavas had so much luck, Yudhishthira eventually becomes king and everyone, including my father, attended to honor his coronation. Even my father didn’t mind crowning him over me! But the Pandavas’ luck won’t last forever because I came up with the best, most humiliating plan ever. I made Yudhishthira lose EVERYTHING in a game of dice. Everyone in the entire kingdom knows that he, out of all the brothers, has the worst gambling addiction and the biggest pride. However, I couldn’t personally challenge him to a game of dice so I had my uncle Shakuni play him! The best part: Shankuni’s dice were loaded, and Yudhishthira lost each and every round, gambling away his kingdom, fortune, servants, and even submitted himself, his brothers, and his wife to be my slaves! However, my father had to be a buzzkill and let them all simply be exiled because they “shouldn’t be slaves.” Oh well, I’ll take what I can get.

Anyway! With the Pandavas and Yudhishthira’s wife gone, I finally was able to claim my rightful place on the throne, and the Pandavas finally got what they deserve. Everything is finally right with the world! Now I can relax and rule my kingdom at last. What could go wrong?

King Dhritarashtra and Duryodhana

Author's Note: The story of the Mahabharata mainly progressed from Duryodhana's hatred for the Pandavas. SO! I decided to expand on this hatred and view the story from Duryodhana's perspective, discussing his hatred from birth up until the Pandava brothers' exile. This way I could leave the story open-ended in somewhat of a cliffhanger. I wanted to leave Duryodhana in a hopeful mood to add a little bit of dramatic irony for those of you who finished reading the Mahabharata.

Bibliography:

       Richard Wilson's The Five Tall Sons of Pandu