The Parka brothers lived in the Himalayan Mountains for years in hiding. They disguised themselves as holy priests and lived this lifestyle for ten years. Ten years they waited and waited for the princess Elizabeth to mature into a princess fit to be wed.
And finally came the day that the great princess Elizabeth would be fit for marriage and need a suitor to be her divine King. Among the country came the brightest, strongest, and charming men to attempt to be her husband. The father of princess Elizabeth deemed that the only man worthy enough of his daughter should be able to hit a target 300 yards away with a bow. That target being a giant golden salmon. In addition, the bow to be used was not your average mortal's bow. This bow required the strength of someone as powerful as a god to draw back its holy limbs. Even the arrows for the bow had gold dipped fletching’s.
One by one the suitors came up to the stage to try and hit the 300-yard target. The first few that attempted were left with only embarrassment, the crowd’s laughter, and the king’s disapproval, as they could not even draw back the mighty bow. Many of the suitors in line started to leave, in fear of being humiliated and not being strong enough to flex the mighty bow. A suitor named Goliath from a neighboring land came to the event. He was a royal prince who displayed much poise, bravery, and arrogance as he stepped up to the stage. Many suitors were fearful of him, but the Parka brothers in disguise did not seem to think much of him. Goliath said, “If I can’t flex the bow and hit the target, then no one in all of the mortal world will be able to!” As he drew back the bow, his arms seemed steady and his back arched strong. He let loose the golden arrow and it flew through the air whizzing at great speed. As the crowd and the king watched they began to grow anxious that finally someone would complete the challenge. However, the holy priests watched feeling calm and worriless. When the dust settled, the crowd and the king let out a devastated sigh, as the golden arrow had fallen only one yard short of the target. The royal prince himself was in disbelief and cursed the whole event. Sulking in his failure, he rode on his chariot back to his home without the beautiful princess Elizabeth.
Princess Elizabeth began to grow sad as she thought of not having anyone be able to be fit for marriage. Everyone at the event began to look around and there were no suitors left who had not already attempted to hit the target. Then suddenly one of the holy priests stepped up onto stage. He removed his disguise and underneath was a very charming and masculine man. A man that sent a feeling of enchantment to the onlookers of the event. Without announcement he grabbed the bow and whizzed an arrow downrange towards the target. The golden arrow struck the target and exploded gold amongst the patrons of the event. The princess let out a sigh of relief and grew exponentially excited to meet her new husband. Many of the suitors were in complete disbelief and became angry that the holy priest in disguise won the princess as his wife. Some thought of ambushing the accomplished contestant. However, none of the suitors was brave enough to question the great feat he had accomplished. Without any further hesitation, the father of princess Elizabeth declared his daughter, Elizabeth, as the wife of the mysterious man in disguise. The princess asked her new husband to tell her his name. The man finally revealed his identity as Argo, a trained warrior, prince, and blood of the Parka brothers.
Argo in disguise with a Golden Bow & Arrow (flickr)
Author’s Note: This story was inspired by the story of Draupadi’s Swayamwara in the Mahabharata. Argo is portraying the character of Arjuna. The strong and mighty suitors who all line up to try to win Elizabeth as their wife directly relate to the love-sick monarchs trying to win the love of Draupadi. I did not specify that Argo was watching upon the contest the whole time because I wanted his entrance be somewhat unexpected and suspenseful. This differs to the traditional story and how the reader is aware that the Pandava brothers and Arjuna are among the crowd and watching the event. I feel that this element only foreshadows that one of the Pandavas will intervene into the scene, therefore my story differs slightly. However, my main goal was to add detail to the story and show how some of the different suitors failed to accomplish the challenge. In addition, the traditional story of the Mahhbharata showed that Krishna, who attended the Swayamwara, was aware of the attendance of the brahmins and their lineage. I also wanted to use the word priest rather than brahmin to show that this story isn’t a “caste” type society or belief. Lastly, I hope I was able to draw more suspense to who the final winner of princess Elizabeth. My lasting effect on this story was to change the delivery and give a third person omniscient view of other characters’ thoughts and feelings in the story.
Source: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913).
And finally came the day that the great princess Elizabeth would be fit for marriage and need a suitor to be her divine King. Among the country came the brightest, strongest, and charming men to attempt to be her husband. The father of princess Elizabeth deemed that the only man worthy enough of his daughter should be able to hit a target 300 yards away with a bow. That target being a giant golden salmon. In addition, the bow to be used was not your average mortal's bow. This bow required the strength of someone as powerful as a god to draw back its holy limbs. Even the arrows for the bow had gold dipped fletching’s.
One by one the suitors came up to the stage to try and hit the 300-yard target. The first few that attempted were left with only embarrassment, the crowd’s laughter, and the king’s disapproval, as they could not even draw back the mighty bow. Many of the suitors in line started to leave, in fear of being humiliated and not being strong enough to flex the mighty bow. A suitor named Goliath from a neighboring land came to the event. He was a royal prince who displayed much poise, bravery, and arrogance as he stepped up to the stage. Many suitors were fearful of him, but the Parka brothers in disguise did not seem to think much of him. Goliath said, “If I can’t flex the bow and hit the target, then no one in all of the mortal world will be able to!” As he drew back the bow, his arms seemed steady and his back arched strong. He let loose the golden arrow and it flew through the air whizzing at great speed. As the crowd and the king watched they began to grow anxious that finally someone would complete the challenge. However, the holy priests watched feeling calm and worriless. When the dust settled, the crowd and the king let out a devastated sigh, as the golden arrow had fallen only one yard short of the target. The royal prince himself was in disbelief and cursed the whole event. Sulking in his failure, he rode on his chariot back to his home without the beautiful princess Elizabeth.
Princess Elizabeth began to grow sad as she thought of not having anyone be able to be fit for marriage. Everyone at the event began to look around and there were no suitors left who had not already attempted to hit the target. Then suddenly one of the holy priests stepped up onto stage. He removed his disguise and underneath was a very charming and masculine man. A man that sent a feeling of enchantment to the onlookers of the event. Without announcement he grabbed the bow and whizzed an arrow downrange towards the target. The golden arrow struck the target and exploded gold amongst the patrons of the event. The princess let out a sigh of relief and grew exponentially excited to meet her new husband. Many of the suitors were in complete disbelief and became angry that the holy priest in disguise won the princess as his wife. Some thought of ambushing the accomplished contestant. However, none of the suitors was brave enough to question the great feat he had accomplished. Without any further hesitation, the father of princess Elizabeth declared his daughter, Elizabeth, as the wife of the mysterious man in disguise. The princess asked her new husband to tell her his name. The man finally revealed his identity as Argo, a trained warrior, prince, and blood of the Parka brothers.
Argo in disguise with a Golden Bow & Arrow (flickr)
Author’s Note: This story was inspired by the story of Draupadi’s Swayamwara in the Mahabharata. Argo is portraying the character of Arjuna. The strong and mighty suitors who all line up to try to win Elizabeth as their wife directly relate to the love-sick monarchs trying to win the love of Draupadi. I did not specify that Argo was watching upon the contest the whole time because I wanted his entrance be somewhat unexpected and suspenseful. This differs to the traditional story and how the reader is aware that the Pandava brothers and Arjuna are among the crowd and watching the event. I feel that this element only foreshadows that one of the Pandavas will intervene into the scene, therefore my story differs slightly. However, my main goal was to add detail to the story and show how some of the different suitors failed to accomplish the challenge. In addition, the traditional story of the Mahhbharata showed that Krishna, who attended the Swayamwara, was aware of the attendance of the brahmins and their lineage. I also wanted to use the word priest rather than brahmin to show that this story isn’t a “caste” type society or belief. Lastly, I hope I was able to draw more suspense to who the final winner of princess Elizabeth. My lasting effect on this story was to change the delivery and give a third person omniscient view of other characters’ thoughts and feelings in the story.
Source: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913).
