Storytelling: Arjuna the Last Pandava

Yudhishthira. Bhima. Nakula. Sahadeva. Long ago the four brothers lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when Yudhisthira played the dice game. Only a Pandava, master of all four weapons, could stop him. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.Thirteen years have passed and Shiva and Urvashi discovered a Pandava named Arjuna, and although his weapon skills are great, he was a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone. But I believe the Pandavas can save the world.

Shiva and Urvashi have guided Arjuna in his journey to obtain powerful weapons for the future such as the pashupata. Arjuna's destiny was to reunite the Pandavas and stop Yudhishthira from gambling his life (and his brothers' lives.. and his wife's life...and his possessions..and his kingdom..) away to the evil Duryodhana. However, the brothers have been separated into different corners of the world. Arjuna, Shiva, and Urvashi traveled to several cities, fighting crime and discovering new talents, to find the rest of the Pandavas. Duryodhana realized that Arjuna was alive and well. In order to stop Arjuna from saving Yudhishthira from his gambling addiction, Duryodhana sent his brother Duhshasana to bring Arjuna alive. Duhshasana searched high and low for Arjuna and his allies, hoping to make his brother proud by bringing honor to the family. During their journey, Arjuna found Bhima by answering riddles to discover Bhima's name. During his time apart, Bhima learned how to mold earth with his bare hands. Nakula was found at the North pole where he mastered powerful water-healing abilities. Sahadeva was the last brother to be found in Durodhana's kingdom as an undercover sword-master. The Pandavas were almost united, except Yudhishthira was still gambling with Duryodhana. The Pandavas created an elaborate plan with all of their skills and weapons to save Yudhishthira and destroy Duryodhana. Bhima overthrew Duryodhana's army that guarded the city of Amaravati with his earthly forces. Nakula healed the wounded soldiers with his mystical water powers, and confronted Duhshasana in an epic battle. Sahadeva teamed with skilled swordsmen to attack the naval fleet in Duryodhana's kingdom. Ajura then confronts Duryodhana in his palace where he was holding Yudhishthira hostage. Using his pashupata, Ajura stabs the weapon through the evil king's heart, which officially ends the war. Yudhishthira was released from his gambling prison (but still had to go to rehab for his addiction). Bhima successfully relieved the city of Amaravati from Durodhana's army. The Pandavas were finally reunited, and brought balance to the world.

My take on the Pandavas. Source.

Author's Note: In the original story, Duryodhana challenges Yudhishthira to a dice game which results in Yudhishthira gambling everything he has ever owned away. The Pandavas consists of five brothers - Yudhishthira, Bhima, Nakula, Sahadeva, and Arjuna. The brothers are exiled because of Yudhishthira's gambling. During this time, Arjuna collects weapons from the gods and reunites the Pandavas to take revenge on Duryodhana.

I decided to write the story with a twist from the Nickelodeon series Avatar: The Last Airbender. The introduction was based off of the original introduction from the show, but I changed a few words. Instead of being four nations, I had the introduction changed to four brothers. If you're not familiar with the series, here is a link that gives a summary. In short, the avatar must defeat the evil firelord from taking over the world. In my story, Arjuna is Aang, Shiva is Sokka, and Urvashi is Katara. I had the brothers represent the characters from the Order of the White Lotus (a secret organization from the show). Bhima is Bhumi (Earthbending King), Nakula is Paku (Waterbending master), and Sahadeva is Piandao (master swordsmen). I had Duryodhana represent the firelord and his brother Duhshasana portray Prince Zuko. I had Arjuna reunite his brothers in order to save Yudhishthira from his gambling problem. When I was reading the original story, I couldn't believe that this brother kept gambling everything he owned! That's why I made his addiction the dilemma that brought imbalance to the world. It's not perfect, but it'll do.

Bibliography:  The Mahabharata: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic by R. K. Narayan (1978).