Arjuna and the Crocodiles

Arjuna was roaming in the forest. That had become the plight of him and his brothers. Powerful princes, born of a great dynasty, they had been reduced to wandering nomads thanks to losing a wager in gambling match to their cousins.

This day was particularly difficult. The five brothers – Yudhishtira, Bheema, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva – had gone in various directions looking for food. Arjuna was tired and hungry. More importantly he wanted to get food for his hungry brothers and wife Draupadi.

He sees a ashram like structure and saw some cattle in the middle of a cluster of trees. Arjuna is over joyed. He felt if there is some structure and there are cattle, there should be some sages. And if there are people, hopefully there would be food.

Eager to check it out, Arjuna entered the ashram. He was happy to see a thriving community. There were many sages there. They were happy to see Arjuna too and welcomed him. After initial pleasantries, Arjuna asked the sages why they were looking worried. They hesitated about sharing their burdens but eventually told him.

One of the senior sages said “Oh mighty Prince, we do not want to burden you with our problems.” Arjuna bowed and said “Guruji, it is my dharma to help people who need it. Please do tell me your problem. I shall try my best to solve it.”

After a brief hesitation the sage said “We have been having a thriving community here where we do our rituals and yagnas. This place is in the middle of the forest and the only source of water we have are the five ponds around the ashram. We use the water from these ponds both for drinking and other needs. Things were going well. But we find that all the five ponds have a crocodile in them and we are afraid to go near the ponds.”

Arjuna decided to help them. Apart from being a warrior, he had a special advantage. He had a boon from Ulupi (the princess of the Naga kingdom who was married to Arjuna) that he will not be harmed by any aquatic animals or creatures.

Confident and brave, Arjuna entered the first pond. He dragged the big crocodile and thrashed it on the ground outside the pond. To his surprise the crocodile turned into a beautiful woman.

The woman bowed before the gathering and said that she was Varga, a fairy who was residing in the kingdom of Kuber. One day she and four of her friends were roaming the forest. They disturbed a sage who was in meditation. Angry at being disturbed, the sage cursed them to become crocodiles.

Varga looked gratefully at Arjuna and said “By taking me out of the pond, you saved me. Can you please save my other friends Saurabha, Samichi, Lata and Budbuda? They are my friends who are stuck in the other ponds as crocodiles.”

Arjuna gladly did what she said. He removed the other crocodiles from the ponds and they got relieved of their curse. They took leave of the gathering and went back to their world.

The sages and their families thanked Arjuna for solving their issue. They gave him a good meal and also gave him food to take for his brothers and wife. A grateful and happy Arjuna went back to his family.