I was most intrigued by the birth story of the girl-boy
fraternal twins born of the Chedi king, Uparichara, and a cursed apsara
(celestial nymph) in fish form, according to Wikipedia. The story creates an odd
image in your head: somehow Uparichara’s semen “fell into a river” as he flew across
the sky in a crystal car sent by Indra, God of the Heavens, only for his sperm
to be consumed by a female fish. How a creature can be impregnated through her
mouth seems anatomically absurd. This type of mystical, preposterous conception
is common so far in the Mahabharata, as we later learn of the bizarre birth of
the Pandava twins. However, with these twins being the topic of my Storybook,
my attention is more focused on other twins and/or close-in-age siblings like
Satyavati and her brother whom she was separated from since Nakula and Sahadeva’s
parts haven’t picked up yet since we’re only on Section A.
Another significant feature from this episode that caught my
eye was that her foster father was a ferryman on the river Yamuna, which also I'll point out is the sanscrit word for 'twin'. This is the
same Yamuna that is so named after the twin deity also known as Yami, who symbolizes
light/life (and her brother, Yama, darkness/death). It is in this river she is approached by the brahmin Parashara in
the next episode who compensated her by giving her a sweet fragrance to replace
her fishy smell on the condition that she has his son, which by the language
of it sounded like she had no choice as his impregnating powers apparently emanated
from a cloud that fell upon her boat. After the “wonder had been accomplished,”
she was somehow reverted back to her virginal state which again defies logic
and left me scratching my head since someone sexually pure with a child seems
paradoxical. It also leaves me to speculate why this is necessary if in the next
episode she ends up bearing King Shantanu's sons anyway. I know I decided on the
Pandava twins as the subject of my Storybook, but after reading Satyavati’s
story I’m tempted to talk about twins of the Mahabharata more individually to include characters like her.
Bibliography:
Author: Various
Title: Mahabharata
Source: PDE Mahabharata, web
(Image Source: Pixabay Stock Photos)
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