Week 7 Story: Urvashi's Curse
Urvashi, Urva for short, knew that she was beautiful. She was made to be! She was a divine creation, born of the sea and crafted by the gods. Her skin was that of the softest clouds. Her hair sparkled like sun rays. She had eyes that rivaled the beauty of lotus flowers. Her beauty was unparalleled to any woman on earth...
... but in Swarga, Indra's celestial city, she looked exactly like the hundreds of other aspara women mass produced in the Heavenly Brides Inc. factory. Asparas were Swarga's number one export. They were practically the entire basis for the thriving economy of the city. Heroes, gods, and gandharvas from across the heavens made their way to Swarga to claim their faultless brides. Urva's model was the latest and most desired.
Urva spent her days prancing around the city, flaunting her looks and trying to attract the attention of potential suitors. She was quite good at pursing her lips and widening her eyes to fain interest as her prospective husbands rambled on and on about their adventures fighting rakshakas. If I have to hear one more story about a rakshaka disguising himself as a brahmin or a woodland animal, I'm going to scream. How dense can these men be to fall for the same trick over and over again? She asked herself.
Instead of screaming, she found herself patiently nodding along to yet another heroic rakshaka tale. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a glowing prince. She left her suitor babbling to himself and stood to fully survey the stately prince she saw walking alongside Indra. She knew him to be Arjuna. His heroism was well-known throughout earth and heavens. Many asparas prayed that a Pandava would come and claim them.
But in that moment, it was not awe that filled Urva's heart. It was rage. Arjuna represented everything she was supposedly made to please. Why? Why am I supposed to please him? Urva surveyed him closer. She was angry that her purpose was relegated to that of a submissive wife. She decided no more. She marched up to Arjuna and cursed him so that women would find him revolting.
Arjuna was angry, but Indra realized the error he had made. He told Urva her curse was rightful and vowed to right his wrongs. He shut down the factory and promised to sponsor a March for Women and Aspara Rights.
Author's Note: This is meant to be a facetious story to highlight the problem that these Indian Epics have with subjugating women characters. I decided to play off of the aspara role because the story made it sound like they were designed to be beautiful wives of heroes and gods. I wanted to give the story a bit of a happy ending with Indra realizing his errors and vowing to support Women's rights.
Bibliography: Mahabharata PDE
... but in Swarga, Indra's celestial city, she looked exactly like the hundreds of other aspara women mass produced in the Heavenly Brides Inc. factory. Asparas were Swarga's number one export. They were practically the entire basis for the thriving economy of the city. Heroes, gods, and gandharvas from across the heavens made their way to Swarga to claim their faultless brides. Urva's model was the latest and most desired.
Urva spent her days prancing around the city, flaunting her looks and trying to attract the attention of potential suitors. She was quite good at pursing her lips and widening her eyes to fain interest as her prospective husbands rambled on and on about their adventures fighting rakshakas. If I have to hear one more story about a rakshaka disguising himself as a brahmin or a woodland animal, I'm going to scream. How dense can these men be to fall for the same trick over and over again? She asked herself.
Instead of screaming, she found herself patiently nodding along to yet another heroic rakshaka tale. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a glowing prince. She left her suitor babbling to himself and stood to fully survey the stately prince she saw walking alongside Indra. She knew him to be Arjuna. His heroism was well-known throughout earth and heavens. Many asparas prayed that a Pandava would come and claim them.
But in that moment, it was not awe that filled Urva's heart. It was rage. Arjuna represented everything she was supposedly made to please. Why? Why am I supposed to please him? Urva surveyed him closer. She was angry that her purpose was relegated to that of a submissive wife. She decided no more. She marched up to Arjuna and cursed him so that women would find him revolting.
Arjuna was angry, but Indra realized the error he had made. He told Urva her curse was rightful and vowed to right his wrongs. He shut down the factory and promised to sponsor a March for Women and Aspara Rights.
Author's Note: This is meant to be a facetious story to highlight the problem that these Indian Epics have with subjugating women characters. I decided to play off of the aspara role because the story made it sound like they were designed to be beautiful wives of heroes and gods. I wanted to give the story a bit of a happy ending with Indra realizing his errors and vowing to support Women's rights.
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| A statue of an Aspara |
Bibliography: Mahabharata PDE
Hey Haley!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this story. I was very impressed by the phrases you used in the story. These phrases really allowed me to visualize the characters in my head! It was amazing how close you had this story to the plot of the Aspara role. Great story again! And I look forward to reading your Future Stories!
Hey Haley! This was such a creative story! I think that if you were ever to expand this story, it would be the perfect platform to raise awareness of real life issues that women face in dynamics like the one that Urva was in. Who was perpetuating and profiting off of the export of brides? Why did Urva feel as if she was destined to please men like Arjuna? You could also incorporate gender roles and norms of why men expect a women to be submissive or why women feel so much pressure from society to get married. One question that I had when I finished the story was "Did Urva ever lift the curse off of Arjuna?!"
ReplyDeleteHi Haley,
ReplyDeleteThis story is great. You do a wonderful job with varying your sentence structure. That really stood out to me the most. You also do a great job of developing your characters in your story. This provides great background information and keeps your audience engaged throughout the story. The themes presented in this story are also very important. Great job!
-Andy
Hi Haley!
ReplyDeleteI just finished your story and I must say, "Bravo!" It was fun, entertaining, and had a happy ending. I actually laughed out loud when she was thinking about how stupid the heroes are to fall for the same trick every time. I totally understand where you are coming from with the epics and their beautiful damsels in distress. I look forward to reading more of your unique stories.
Hi Haley!
ReplyDeleteI'll be honest with you and tell you that I giggled to myself when I read the "mass produced in the Heavenly Brides Inc. factory" part, I can literally picture a type of chain line production of these brides. The curse that Urva put on Arjuna definitely causes a lot of what happens later on, including the fact that Indra realizes his error and works to correct it. Awesome story!