Week 10 Storytelling: The Unknown Soldier

Day 1

It was pitch black outside. The only light came from that of the fires burning at the campgrounds as the rest of my unit begin to suit up for battle. With my sword in my left hand and a torch in my right, I walked over to the edge of Kurukshetra Field and just stared. Other soldiers began to join me. I turned around and saw what must have been at least a million men all gathered along the field in anticipation. 

I looked around some more and realized that dawn was growing near. It was not until sunrise that we could begin the battle. The next thing I knew, Arjuna and Krishna were standing five feet away from me in their beautiful gold-plated chariot. I could literally feel my confidence growing. I knew I had made a wise decision in choosing to fight alongside of the Pandavas.

Day 3

Thus far there has not been one clear victor. It has pretty much gone back and forth. Each day the battle commences at sunrise and ends at sunset. I like that everyone has a strict understanding of this because it keeps things fair and honorable and it allows me to get some rest. After everyone ceases fighting at sunset, we normally retreat back to our tents so that we can relax. At night some of the men will play music, sing songs, dance, and generally be merry. Personally, I prefer to sit back and observe the jolliness. I find it best to conserve as much energy as possible. I can have my big celebration after this war is won and the Pandavas are seated in their rightful kingdom.

Day 4

I am hopeful about the outcome of this war. The losses have not been too great thus far and we have been fighting tirelessly. Many of the Kauravas have been slain, while we have only lost a few. My entire unit is still intact! My commander has been wise in his strategies. Our formations have been complex and difficult for the Kaurava's army to counterattack. Our counter-moves have also been strong, especially with Bhima and Arjuna by our sides. Yesterday, as I was engaged in a sword battle, I had the privilege of fighting right alongside of Bhima! Well, it was not directly next to him, but it was pretty close.

Day 7

A devastating blow has occurred to our army. I do not think that even the God of Death, Yama, could have predicted such devastation. In only two days our losses have been thousands. Twenty men from my unit perished at the hands of the Kaurava army. And today I was informed of the death of Nehru, my closest and dearest friend. I feel hopeless to continue. Not even the encouraging words of Krishna can keep my spirit alive.

Day 12

The once beautiful ground of Kurukshetra Field is now soaked with blood and the stench of rotting corpses is almost unbearable. I lie awake at night unable to sleep through the screaming and moaning of mutilated men left behind to succumb to their extensive injuries.

Each day as I head into battle I pass thousands of mangled corpses stained crimson. The mercy of quick death no longer comes to those defeated, only slow suffering and agony. Even the fading colors of the sunset seem to reflect the gore of the battleground.

I could feel the warmth of crimson cascading down the side of my face. The scarlet droplets rhythmically tapping on my shoulder. I did not know whether this warm, ruby liquid was mine or if it belonged to that of my enemy. The faint sounds of gasping and wheezing echoed in my ears as I trudged through the sea of butchered bodies on the long journey back to my tent.

I have no way of knowing if I will survive this war.

Indian Soldier Walks Alone (Source)

Author's Note. This storytelling is based solely on page 149 of "The Mahabharata" by R.K. Narayan. That one page gives a very brief introduction of the war, but it had enough for me to think about how the war would have been for a random soldier. Since that page did not go into great detail about the war (unlike the pages to follow) I felt as though my storytelling should reflect just that. I wanted to make the storytelling more about what a regular soldier would have experienced – how he felt, the things he saw, what he smelled – which is why the detailed elements of the Pandavas and Kauravas were excluded. A young, low-ranking soldier would not have know about any of the intimate details of the war unless he was directly involved.

I chose to make each day a different aspect of the war: Day 1 – preparation and anticipation, Day 3 – free time, Day 5 – hopefulness, Day 7 – despair (Day 5 and 7 are descriptions of the see-saw that is discussed on page 149), and Day 12 – the description of what the war looked like. Each day, while representing different components of the page, includes the thoughts and emotions of the Unknown Soldier. Since he was of low rank, he did not know much detail as to what was going on and he only knew the things he could see, smell, and feel. I chose to leave the story open-ended so that the reader could decide the young soldier's fate.

Bibliography. Narayan, R. K. (1978). The Mahabharata