Week 9 Story: The Trial of Arjuna

“Silence! Silence in the courtroom!” the Judge calls as she pounds her gavel emphatically. “Now what do we have going on here?”

The prosecutor’s lawyer clears his throat and stands. “Your Honor, I am here today to represent Duryodhana, brother in law of Jayadratha, who accuses the defendant of murdering Jayadratha.”

“I see,” says the Judge, with a hint of interest. “Defendant, what do you have to say?”

The defendant’s lawyer stands and says “Good morning Judge, I am representing Arjuna, who is being tried for the murder of Jayadratha.”

The Judge barks, “Well, don’t keep me in suspense, defendant! What does he plead?”

“Guilty, your honor.”

“Well then, what’s the debate? Why are you in my courtroom?” The Judge had not had her morning coffee and may have been a bit hungover from the night before, so she was not in the mood to draw this out.

The defendant draws a lightly nervous breath – he knew this case was a far stretch, but he was being paid to give it a shot. “Your Honor, Arjuna believes that the murder was justified. You see, the murdered party in question, Jayadratha, had trapped and killed Arjuna’s young son earlier that same day. What else was Arjuna to do but to avenge the death of his only son?”

The Judge feels her headache intensify at the decision she’s going to have to make, but a flicker of curiosity prompts her to ask, “How, exactly, did the defendant murder Jayadratha?”

The lawyer responds, “You see, your Honor, Arjuna had made a fairly specific vow that he would kill Jayadratha that same day. Jayadratha, however, learned of the revenge plan and decides to hide for the rest of the day. I won’t pass any judgement on his character, your Honor, but…that’s up to you. Anyway, Arjuna learns of his target’s location and recruits a friend with special effects capabilities to fake a sunset. When Jayadratha sees that the sun had supposedly set he leaves his hiding place, and Arjuna kills him to fulfill his vow.”

The Judge really just wishes she had a Gatorade and an Advil right now. “Well he’s definitely guilty, but I guess it was justified. Free the man, let him go. Case closed.”

The courtroom swells into a rumble of disbelief, and Duryodhana drops his cup of coffee as the prosecuting lawyer shoots to his feet, “But your Honor-“

“SILENCE!” The Judge pounds her gavel hard enough to make herself wince. “I have made my decision! Now all of you get out of my courtroom!”

Arjuna Kills Jayadratha [Wikimedia, link]

Author's Note: I took the brief story from the Mahabharata about Arjuna killing Jayadratha and modernized it. I consulted the list of different writing stories to maybe mix things up a bit, and the "courtroom setting" looked like it would apply well to a story about murder. To keep the story short, I gave the judge a hangover so she wouldn't be in the mood for a bunch of debating. And frankly, she had to let him go so he could go kill more people later on in the Mahabharata.

Source: Reading Guide for Narayan's Mahabharata, by Laura Gibbs [link]