The Riddles at the Yaksha's Lake

Transcript

Evidence labels distinguish sourced context from the episode's fictional story.

1. The lake was dark and silver, and somewhere out on the water a loon gave a long, wavering call. Kannan pulled his blanket up to his chin. He was seven, and he did not love strange sounds in the night. Mira, eleven, sat beside him on the cabin steps with a flashlight turned low, and the boards creaked under them as the wind moved through the pines. The air smelled of cedar and cool water, and a few last crickets sawed away in the grass. "That's only a bird," she said. "But you know what? Lakes and mysterious voices go together in one of my favourite stories."

   Evidence:Fictional scene

2. "Is it spooky?" Kannan whispered. "A little hushed," said Mira. "Mostly it's a mystery, and a riddle. And it ends happily, I promise. Do you want to hear it?" Kannan nodded slowly. He thought for a moment, chewing the corner of his blanket. "Only if you do the voices." "Deal," said Mira. She clicked off the flashlight, and the stars came out over the water, one by one, as if they were also listening.

   Evidence:Fictional scene

3. Long ago, in a great forest, five brothers were wandering: the Pandavas. A deer had run off with a Brahmana's fire-sticks, the little sticks he used to light his sacred fire. The brothers chased that deer through the trees, deeper and deeper, until it vanished as if the forest had swallowed it whole. Now they were tired, hungry, and very thirsty. They found a great banian tree in the deep forest, and they sat down in its shade to rest.

   Evidence:Supported

4. Mira's voice dropped low. "Picture it, Kannan. The leaves whisper. A branch creaks somewhere above. Five tired brothers sit in the dim green light, and there is not one drop of water anywhere. The air is warm and heavy. Even the bees have gone quiet. Their tongues are dry as paper, and every one of them keeps glancing at the trees, hoping for a glint of blue." Kannan listened. Far off, the loon called again, and this time he almost smiled.

   Evidence:Fictional scene

5. The eldest brother was Yudhishthira. He turned to Nakula and asked him to climb the tree and look for water. Nakula climbed up through the branches until the whole forest spread out below him. He saw trees of the kind that grow close to water, and he heard cranes calling. Where there are cranes and water-loving trees, water is usually near. So Yudhishthira sent Nakula off to fetch water, with quivers to carry it in.

   Evidence:Supported

6. "Quivers?" said Kannan. "Like for arrows?" "Those very ones," said Mira. "Hold that thought, though. Water is about to get complicated." Kannan tucked his feet under the blanket and leaned a little closer to her. "Complicated how?" he asked. Mira only smiled in the dark. "Listen and see."

   Evidence:Fictional scene

7. Nakula hurried through the trees, and soon the forest opened. There lay a lake, clear as crystal, shining and perfectly still. He knelt at the edge, so thirsty. Then a voice spoke from the sky. No person stood anywhere near. "This lake is already mine," the voice said. "Answer my questions first. Only then may you drink."

   Evidence:Supported

8. But Nakula was so thirsty that he ignored the voice. He drank, and at once he fell down, still and silent, as though he had drifted into a deep, deep sleep. When he did not come back, Sahadeva went to look. He heard the same voice and the same warning. He drank anyway, and he too lay still. Then Arjuna, the great archer, went. At the voice, he shot arrows toward the speaker, but the speaker stayed invisible. Warned again, he drank anyway, and he fell. Last went mighty Bhima. He was warned too, and he also drank and fell. The lake lay quiet.

   Evidence:Supported

9. Kannan hugged his knees. "Are they okay?" "Hold on to this," Mira said gently. "This story is going to be all right. Everything gets set right by the end. You can hear all of it, and still sleep soundly tonight. Besides, I'm right here, and so is the flashlight."

   Evidence:Fictional scene

10. Back under the banian tree, Yudhishthira waited and waited. The shadows grew long, and the forest seemed to hold its breath. At last he stood and went searching, following the path through the trees to the shining lake. There he found his brothers lying by the water. He looked at them carefully. Their faces had not faded. So he judged that the water had not been poisoned, and his thoughts grew steady and clear.

    Evidence:Supported

11. "Listen," Mira breathed. "He is thirsty too. His hand reaches toward the water. And then..." Kannan leaned in so close that his blanket slid off his shoulders, and he did not even notice.

    Evidence:Fictional scene

12. As Yudhishthira went toward the water, the voice spoke. It called itself a crane, and it warned him not to act rashly. Yudhishthira stopped. "Who are you?" he asked. "I am a Yaksha," said the voice, "and it was I who brought your brothers down." Then a figure appeared, huge as a palmyra palm, tall as the tallest tree in the forest. Yudhishthira did not run, and he did not shout. He agreed to answer the Yaksha's questions.

    Evidence:Supported

13. Mira made her voice slow and deep, the way she had promised to do the voices. "Picture the shadow stretching across the water," she said. "Picture the reeds bending, and every frog suddenly silent. And right in the middle of all that hush, one calm man, standing very straight, with his hands open."

    Evidence:Fictional scene

14. "A palmyra palm?" said Kannan. "Taller than our cabin?" "Much taller. Imagine the tallest tree you've ever seen." Kannan thought about it. "I would answer from behind a tree," he decided. Mira laughed, and the loon laughed back, or at least it sounded that way.

    Evidence:Fictional scene

15. The Yaksha asked many questions, far more than we have time for tonight, so here are only a few. Yudhishthira said that the sun is raised by Brahma, and that it stands established in truth. He said that the mother is weightier than the earth, and the father is higher than heaven. And he said that the mind is fleeter than the wind, faster than anything that blows.

    Evidence:Supported

16. Mira paused, letting each answer settle. "He never rushed," she said. "He thought before every reply, like someone setting stones carefully on a wall, one after another, until the wall stood firm."

    Evidence:Fictional scene

17. "The mother is heavier than the earth," Kannan repeated slowly. "I'm going to tell Amma that tomorrow." "She'll love it," said Mira. "Then ask her for pancakes." Kannan grinned in the dark. The fear in his shoulders had slipped away somewhere between the pine trees.

    Evidence:Fictional scene

18. Then came riddles about the world around us. A fish does not close its eyes while it sleeps. An egg does not move after it is born. A stone is without heart. And a river swells with its own force, rolling on and growing, with no one pushing it along.

    Evidence:Supported

19. "Fish!" Kannan whispered the answer before Mira had finished. "I got the fish!" "You did," Mira grinned. "The loon is impressed." Out on the lake the bird called again, and neither of them jumped. Kannan even called back, very softly, just to see.

    Evidence:Fictional scene

20. There were riddles about people, too. Who is the friend of someone far from home, someone sent away into exile? Yudhishthira answered that it is a companion, someone who walks beside you. And who is the friend of the householder, the person who keeps a home? His wife.

    Evidence:Supported

21. Mira smiled at the dark water. "Funny. These riddles aren't tricks. They feel thoughtful, almost like a conversation about what matters. I wonder what the Yaksha was listening for." "Maybe he just liked good answers," said Kannan. "Maybe," said Mira. "Wait. Now comes the big one."

    Evidence:Fictional scene

22. The Yaksha asked, "What is most wonderful?" Yudhishthira was quiet, and the whole forest seemed to wait with him. A breeze crossed the water, and then even that was still. Then he answered. Every day, countless creatures go to the home of Yama, the lord of death. And yet those who remain behind believe themselves immortal, as if they will go on forever. That, he said, is the most wonderful thing.

    Evidence:Supported

23. Kannan was quiet for a while. "That's a little sad." "A little," Mira said softly. "But maybe it can also be a gentle nudge. Notice today. Hug someone. Eat the good thing while it's warm, and don't spend all your time pretending nothing ever changes." Kannan nodded. "That's a big idea for a small night," he said, and Mira laughed so hard she almost woke the owls.

    Evidence:Fictional scene

24. The Yaksha was silent a long moment. Then he said that Yudhishthira had answered truly. As a gift, he would let him pick one of his brothers to bring back. Yudhishthira thought, and he chose Nakula.

    Evidence:Supported

25. "Imagine having to choose," Mira whispered. "Four brothers, and only one wish." Kannan pressed his lips together and frowned. "That's the hardest riddle of the whole night," he said at last.

    Evidence:Fictional scene

26. Why Nakula? The story as it has come down to us does not say. Listeners and tellers have always been left to wonder about that for themselves.

    Evidence:Supported

27. And then, all at once, the Pandavas rose up. Nakula, Sahadeva, Arjuna and Bhima stood on their feet as if waking from a long, deep sleep, and the lake rippled with morning light in their faces. Their hunger and thirst were gone. Then the Yaksha spoke, and his voice was gentle. He was no stranger. He was Yudhishthira's own father, the Lord of justice.

    Evidence:Supported

28. Mira smiled. "Picture them," she said. "Stretching, laughing, hugging one another so hard they nearly tumble into the reeds. The whole forest breathes out at once, and somewhere a bird starts to sing."

    Evidence:Fictional scene

29. "See?" said Mira. "I told you." Kannan let out a long breath he hadn't known he was holding. "All five brothers," he said, "standing together. And the lake is just a lake again." "Just a lake," Mira agreed. "And tonight, so is ours."

    Evidence:Fictional scene

30. Here is something to talk about together with your family. If you could ask a wise voice by a lake one question, what would you ask? And if it asked you, "What is most wonderful?" what would you say? Take your time. There are no wrong answers, only interesting ones.

    Evidence:Fictional scene

31. Out on the water, the loon called one last time, long and low and friendly. Kannan yawned. Mira switched the flashlight back on, just for the walk to the door. "Goodnight, lake," whispered Kannan. The ripples lapped the shore like a lullaby, and a soft breeze carried the scent of pine across the steps. The two of them went inside, warm and sleepy, with a riddle or two still floating in their heads.

    Evidence:Fictional scene

Source notes

These notes show what a source supports. They do not turn fictional dialogue or scenes into historical claims.

• The Mahabharata (English prose translation, Project Gutenberg text, Vana Parva portion)

  Translated text of the Mahabharata; narrated by Vaisampayana (translator not named in the excerpt)

  Evidence:Supported

  Nakula found a crystal lake and heard a voice from the sky. It said the lake was already its own and that he must answer its questions first. He ignored it, drank, and dropped dead. Sahadeva, Arjuna and Bhima were each warned and each drank anyway and fell. Arjuna first shot arrows at the invisible speaker.

  Claims: c3 · Evidence: e122-brothers-drink-and-fall-v1

  View the registered source

• The Mahabharata (English prose translation, Project Gutenberg text, Vana Parva portion)

  Translated text of the Mahabharata; narrated by Vaisampayana (translator not named in the excerpt)

  Evidence:Supported

  In the Vana Parva account, a deer carried off a Brahmana's fire-sticks and the Pandavas chased it until it vanished. Tired, hungry and thirsty, they rested under a banian tree in a deep forest. Yudhishthira asked Nakula to climb the tree and look for water. Nakula saw water-loving trees and heard cranes, so he was sent to fetch water in quivers.

  Claims: c1, c2 · Evidence: e122-deer-chase-and-thirst-v1

  View the registered source

• The Mahabharata (English prose translation, Project Gutenberg text, Vana Parva portion)

  Translated text of the Mahabharata; narrated by Vaisampayana (translator not named in the excerpt)

  Evidence:Supported

  Among Yudhishthira's answers: the sun is raised by Brahma and established in truth; the mother is weightier than the earth and the father higher than heaven; the mind is fleeter than the wind; a fish does not close its eyes while asleep, an egg does not move after birth, a stone is without heart, and a river swells with its own impetus; the exile's friend is a companion and the householder's is the wife.

  Claims: c5 · Evidence: e122-riddles-and-answers-v1

  View the registered source

• The Mahabharata (English prose translation, Project Gutenberg text, Vana Parva portion)

  Translated text of the Mahabharata; narrated by Vaisampayana (translator not named in the excerpt)

  Evidence:Supported

  Asked what is most wonderful, Yudhishthira answered that countless creatures go to Yama's abode each day, yet those who remain believe themselves immortal. The Yaksha said Yudhishthira had answered truly and let him pick one brother to revive. He chose Nakula. Then all the Pandavas rose up and their hunger and thirst left them. The Yaksha revealed he was Yudhishthira's father, the Lord of justice.

  Claims: c6, c7 · Evidence: e122-wonder-and-reviving-brothers-v1

  View the registered source

• The Mahabharata (English prose translation, Project Gutenberg text, Vana Parva portion)

  Translated text of the Mahabharata; narrated by Vaisampayana (translator not named in the excerpt)

  Evidence:Supported

  Yudhishthira found his brothers lying by the lake and judged the water was not poisoned because their faces had not faded. The voice called itself a crane and warned him not to act rashly. When he asked who it was, it said it was a Yaksha who had slain his brothers. It appeared huge, like a palmyra-palm, and Yudhishthira agreed to answer its questions.

  Claims: c4 · Evidence: e122-yudhishthira-meets-yaksha-v1

  View the registered source