Friday, April 3, 2015

C for Crush



No one can delve into the depths of another’s mind. Everyone has secrets, and revealing our secrets is not something that comes easy to us. Secretly harboring love for someone or having a crush on someone is not uncommon. And most of the times, it is neither possible nor appropriate to even reveal this secret to the object of our desire, much less to anyone else, for the fear of toppling the apple cart, as they say.

Here’s another tale of crush, of undercurrents and under thoughts in the lives of two unlikely protagonists.            


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Draupadi was strolling in the garden when she saw a ripe jambul fruit hanging low on the branch of the tree.  The juicy purple fruit was tempting and as soon as she plucked it and was about to put it into her mouth, the tree spoke, “Draupadi, what have you done? This was no ordinary fruit. A great Rishi has been meditating nearby for the past twelve years and he was supposed to have eaten this fruit and satiated his hunger later today. But by plucking this fruit, you have deprived him of his food and he will have to go hungry.”

Draupadi was grief stricken. What could she do now? Letting a Rishi go hungry was a sin and she did not want to be earn demerit on account of it.

“Tell me a way out of it, o great tree,” she begged it.

“Well, you can attach it back if you have been chaste all your life,” said the tree.

Draupadi was sure she had been utterly faithful to her five husbands and tries to fix the fruit back on the tree. But it keeps falling off and she is taken aback.

“Think Draupadi. Have you ever been in love with anyone other than your five husbands?” A confession will absolve you of your demerit.”

“Yes,” confessed Draupadi, her cheeks turning the darkest shade of crimson, “I have secretly harbored a crush on Karna.”

She remembered falling in love with the portrait of Karna as she sorted through the prospective grooms on the day of her Swayamvar. She had been impressed with his skills as a great archer and it was him that she secretly harbored a wish to wed.

“Karna does not befit you my sister”, her brother Drishtyudyumna had told her, “he belongs to a lowly caste.”

“Your brother is right, Sakhi,” her eternal friend and companion, Lord Krishna had emphasized, “I hope Arjuna will win the contest and your heart today. There is no greater Archer than him.”

And together they ensured that Draupadi was wed to Arjuna the great Archer and Karna was thoroughly humiliated.

She remembered the number of times she had encountered Karna, and each time she had vowed to forget him and push her regrets about not marrying him aside. She knew it was an unfaithful thought to nurture but had not been able to rinse herself of his thoughts.

The tree smiled. “Attach the fruit back on me Draupadi. Now that you have confessed, you will forget about your feelings for Karna. Your mind is cleansed.”

Having confessed about her crush, Draupadi was able to attach the fruit back on the tree.

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The human mind is rational, but the heart is devoid of logic. It flutters freely in search of love and settles where it wants to find it. And when it finds a companion, it secretly harbors a crush in the hope that this crush will someday turn into love and happiness. 

Do you remember your first crush?


 Linking back to the A to Z challenge.

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This day...Last year...C for Courage

45 comments:

  1. Hi from a fellow A-to-Zer! But you're ahead of me with C already :)
    http://bit2read.com/

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  2. Best of luck for the challenge!
    I finished reading the Palace of Illusions last month, so was smiling at the story you posted! :)

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    1. I have been hearing a lot about the Palace of Illusions, I must read it too..maybe I'll get some ideas for the other alphabets, esp, X, Z etc!

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  3. It is interesting that I landed on this post. I am currently reading the book the Palace of Illusions, which narrates the events of Mahabharata from Draupadi's perspective. I read about her crush for Karna in this book for the very first time, but have not yet come across the story you wrote above. It was an interesting read. Thanks for sharing :)
    *Shantala @ ShanayaTales*

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    1. Oh, that would be interesting to read, from Draupadi's perspective. After Roshni's comment above, and now yours I do want to read the POI..

      Krishna actually knows about the feelings of Draupadi for Karna and therefore he makes her confess to the jambul tree, as she would not be able to confess it to others. The thought is that, confessions have the power to cleanse you of any demerits.

      Thanks for reading!

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  4. And thus the Christians confess! Now that after reading from Ur story.. I realized that Hindus also did confess.

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    1. Laughing out loud at Ajay's comment! :D

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    2. This is a very interesting story. Must check out Palace of Illusions as mentioned by Shantala and Roshni!

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  5. Interesting story. What surprised me, that Swayamvar, as not the bride's choice. It was imposed by the family!! and about crush, yes it is difficult to forget your first crush even if you confess it :)

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    1. Yea..seems lord krishna did influence draupadi's choice!

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  6. Ok after reading all the comments I'm also going to read Palace of Illusions. Never knew that Draupadi had a crush on Karna. Well, I had so many crushes when I was studying in college that even if I wanted to remember them all I couldn't :)

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    1. I guess this story also shows the human side of a demi goddess!

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  7. Loved your last paragraph, princess! I read somewhere that having a crush on someone is good for health. It increases the "feel-good" hormone apparently! :D

    -http://www.mysteriouskaddu.com/2015/04/a-to-z-of-blogging-c-content.html

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    1. Ah!! Now i know why i keep feeling so good all the time!! *winks

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  8. I haven't read Palace of Illusions. Sounds like a story my daughters would like.

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    1. Apparently the book seems to be narrated from draupadi's pov...which should be interesting to read...most epics are male centered..i havent read it too!

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  9. Relating crush way back to mythology :)

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    1. I guess the Mahabharata is a complete epic..there's nothing that you'll find in the world which has not already been mentioned in it!

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  10. Interesting tale ... the heart really has a mind of its own, isn't it? ;-)

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    1. you bet! who can stop it from tipping over boundaries!

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  11. I guess, no one can control their feelings when it comes to love. Draupadi was, after all, human too! good one titli :)

    Crux

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    1. Exactly! That is the most endearing part of this epic...it shows the human nature of gods and demigods..thanks Swati!

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  12. Another interesting tale from the mythology of our country :) Didn't know of this either. I'm going to enjoy your A to Z I'm sure.


    Leo

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    1. Thanks Vinay! It makes me very happy to know you are enjoying these stories!

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  13. Oh lord, crushes... I definitely had those... XD
    I wonder if it wasn't for the caste difference they could have been together. Of course, he isn't the hero of the story :)

    @TarkabarkaHolgy from
    Multicolored Diary - Epics from A to Z
    MopDog - 26 Ways to Die in Medieval Hungary

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    1. Right! Sometimes I feel sorry for the poor guy! His entire life seems to be in vain....

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  14. Reminds me of the Palace of Illusions. Though I'm pretty sure Draupadi never had a crush on Karna. Nicely written nevertheless.

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    1. Some books describe the relationship between the two, while some don't. Glad you liked it!

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  15. This A-z Seems to be interesting .. from your post :)
    .. Thank you for giving me so many points for debating :D

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    1. This epic has me hooked, you can read it as it is or attach symbolic meaning to it..whichever way you do it, it never ceases to have me intrigued!
      thanks for reading!

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  16. My first crush went on for years. I began fancying him in first grade, and was crazy about him until probably fourth grade. He was always a short, slight boy, but now that he's an adult, he's gotten really tall and filled out.

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  17. Interesting, Titli! My understanding is that if Draupadi indeed loved someone other than Pandavas, it was Krishna. So that's what I was hoping to find in this story :) I thought Krishna was in fact her first love, perhaps her truest love. Krishna on his end also loved Draupadi in his own special way, he called her his Sakhi. I have always found the kind of love they shared to be so beautiful, so true, so humanly divine or divinely human. From everything I have read about Draupadi, I have learnt that Karna on the other hand had a hidden desire for Draupadi, perhaps because of the way she treated him at the Swayamvara.
    But I don't mind different versions :)

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    1. Yes that is right Beloo...Draupadi did share a special relationship with Krishna and that will also feature here but as a different form of love. As this story goes, Krishna knew about the crush that Draupadi had on Karna and hence had to intervene to change her decision at the Swayamvar, and then to rid of her thoughts, he made her confess to a tree. it was believed that confessions did hold the power of cleansing one's thoughts.

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  18. ok this is new to me. I didn't know Draupadi harboured feelings for Karna, that would have been a totally different epic. Beautiful story and narration.

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    1. Yea that would have been a totally different epic had that materialised!

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  19. THAT is the thing about the Mahabharat - it allows people to run riot with various possibilities :) I remember seeing this 'crush on Karna' version in one of the TV serials also, though, if I remember right, it was one of those that got abruptly chucked out.

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    1. I know! there could be as many interpretations as there are readers! An episode featuring this was chucked out? oh dear..am I scared?

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  20. Very interesting read, Shubhangi!
    ...reminds me of the Palace of Illusions I read last year:)

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  21. Draupadi had a lucky escape despite loving a 6th guy, after being married to five men. Poor Ahalya, not so lucky. Lovely write up Titli :)

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  22. I guess MAHABHARATA wont have happened if Draupadi would have chosen her heart over head.She won't have been subject to such insults hurled at her.

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At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person..deep gratitude for those who have lighted the flame within me!! your comments will be appreciated..

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