Neev (main host):
The pandavas are still in exile.
 But they aren’t just sitting around sharpening swords and sulking.
 They listened.
 To sages. To storytellers.
 To the kind of stories that change you — from the inside out.

Co-host: Yes, we have still got some more stories for you as we wait for Arjuna to return, and Pandavas to start the next big chapter.

Neev: But before that, let’s talk about our stories today. 

Stories about twisted bodies and unshakable brilliance...
 About kings who gave up kingdoms for a promise...
 And about a wife who followed Death and negotiated her husband’s life back.

Cohost:
 Hold up — she negotiated with Death?

Neev:
 Yep. Calmly. Like a boss.
 We’ll get there.

Co-host: Cool! And to tell these fabulous stories, we are going to be joined by some special co-hosts. 

Neev: I can’t wait! This episode is all about Stories from deep in the forest…
 But meant for all of us — when we face impossible choices.

Let’s get started!

Neev:
 Let’s begin with a story about a boy…
 who bent the rules.
 Literally.

And joining me to share this story is (name). Welcome!

Neev:

This boy’s name? Ashtavakra.
 Which means… “eight bends.”

Cohost:
 Wait — eight bends? Like a human pretzel?

Neev:
 Kind of! Ashtavakra was born with his body twisted in eight places.
 But don’t let that fool you.
 He may have had a crooked body…
 but his mind was sharp as a lightning bolt.

Cohost:
 Cool! But how did that happen?

Neev:
 Before he was even born, he was learning.
 Seriously — from inside the womb.
You see, his dad, Kahola, was a good man… but not the best student.
He kept making mistakes while reciting the scriptures.
And little Ashtavakra, listening from inside his mom’s belly, would kick every time his dad got something wrong.

Cohost:
Haha!  That’s brutal. The baby was smarter than dad even before he was born!

Neev:
 The kind of brutal honesty that got him eight spinal twists before he was born.
But it didn’t stop him.

As a baby, he was already absorbing the Vedas.
 By age twelve, he was a full-blown scholar in Vedanta.

Cohost:
Interesting! How’s that going to be useful? 

Neev:
 He walks into King Janaka’s court, where the greatest thinkers of the land are debating philosophy on shastras and scriptures. 

Co-host: Is this the same time he was having a great sacrifice and yagna?

Neev: Yes, and Oh, and did I mention? His father Kagola had a debate with Vandi, the court scholar of Mithila three  years ago and lost, and then had to… drown himself.

Cohost:
 WHAT?! How could you forget to share that detail! 

Neev:
 Yeah, that was the tradition. Lose a debate, lose your life.

Cohost:
 Okay that’s—uh—definitely higher stakes than my school debates.

Neev:
 And Ashtavakra? He wasn’t there for fun.
 He came to avenge his father’s defeat with his uncle Shvetaketu. 
 

Neev:
 So, twelve-year-old Ashtavakra is at Janaka’s palace…
 not just to win a debate —
 but to honor his father, Kahola, who had lost his life in one.

Cohost:
 And who exactly was he planning to defeat?

Neev:
 Vandi.
 The royal scholar of Mithila.
 Known across the land for his razor-sharp arguments…
 …and his not-so-great habit of tossing defeated scholars into the ocean.

Cohost:
 Wait — that was real?! I thought you were joking. And this is the same guy who defeated his father, right? 

Neev:
 Yeah!. Vandi played for keeps.
 Lose a debate? Splash. Sea ya later. 🌊

As Ashtavakra approached the palace, the king’s guards tried to push him aside.
 “You can’t block the king’s path!” they yelled.

But Ashtavakra stood firm.

Cohost (mocking guard voice):
 “Outta the way, kid!”

Neev (as Ashtavakra):
 “Make way for women, for the blind, for the wise…
 and for those who carry heavy loads.” said Ashtavakra

Cohost:
 Okay that’s a power move.

Neev:
 Even King Janaka was impressed.
 He let him pass — but at the palace inner gates, the guards stopped him again.

“You’re just a child,” they scoffed. “This debate is for scholars.”

Cohost (dry):
 So much judging by appearances today…

Neev:
 Exactly. Ashtavakra said:
 “Do not judge a person's knowledge by how they look.
 Even a small lamp can light a dark room.”

And guess what?

Cohost:
 Let me guess — they let him in?

Neev:
 Not just that.
 Even King Janaka asked,
 “Aren’t you afraid, little one? If you lose to Vandi, you’ll be thrown into the sea.”

Cohost (confident tone):
 And Ashtavakra probably just smirked.

Neev:
 Pretty much.

“I’ve come to repay my father’s debt,” he said.
“I will defeat Vandi.”

Co-host: Quite confident, I must say! So tell us what happened - can’t bear the suspense anymore.

Neev:

Yes, he did defeat Vandi and won the debate..
 With arguments sharper than swords, Ashtavakra took down the royal scholar.
 And this time, it was Vandi who had to take the long walk… into the waves.

Co-host: Well, I am happy he won, but what’s up with drowning oneself..couldn’t they just have done old school - throw the losers in a dungeon somewhere

Neev: Yeah, well  - those were the times!

Neev:
 This next story is about love. 

And joining me now is another one of my frieome!nds (name). Welc

Neev:

So this love story is  
 Not the singing, dancing, movie kind of love —
 But the kind that stands up to death itself.
 Literally.

Cohost:
 Ooh — this one’s dramatic. Who are we talking about?

Neev:
 Savitri.
 Princess. Wise. Brave. Beautiful.
 When it was time to get married, she said,
 "I’ll find my husband myself."

Cohost:
 Whoa, no parents involved? That’s radical! Are you sure this is an old time story…not a modern 21st century one?  

Neev:
 Yep — and in a forest, she found him:
 Satyavan.

Co-host: Forest! No swayamvara, matrimony ads, or those apps that I hear today’s grown ups use?

Neev: haha! No. I guess she wanted to do things differently.

 Satyvan was a kind, hardworking young man — caring for his blind father and mother.
 He chopped wood to earn a living. She fell in love. And they got married.

Cohost:
 A fairytale ending?

Neev:
 Not quite. Because there was a prophecy:
 Satyavan would die in one year.

Co-host: Oh no! Did she not know about this prophecy? 

Neev: But Savitri didn’t back away. She stayed by his side, day after day.
 They lived simply in the forest. He cut wood. She made garlands from wildflowers.
 Their love grew deeper, not weaker.

Then, one day…

Cohost (gasp):
 Let me guess — the year was up?

Neev:
 It was.

Satyavan rested under a tree…
 …and there appeared Yama, the god of death.

He came to take Satyavan’s soul.

Cohost:
 Yikes. I don’t like Yama at all!

Neev:
 But Savitri followed him.

Cohost:
 Wait — followed the god of death?!

Neev:
 Yup. Step for step, into the forest of shadows.
 Pleading. Reasoning. Debating.

Finally, Yama said:
 “You may ask for a boon. Anything — except your husband’s life.”

Co-host (Sarcastic): Wow! That’s mighty “kind” of him. 

Neev: 

So Savitri asked…
“I wish to have children - sons.”

Yama said yes.

Cohost (realizing):
 But… how can she have children if her husband is gone?

Neev:
 Exactly. Caught by her cleverness, Yama smiled and said,
 “Savitri, you are truly wise.
 I give you back your husband’s life.”

Cohost:
 Aaaaand — Satyavan lives. Could Yama help me reverse my grades - you know Turn that B into an A. 

Neev:
 Haha! For that you might want to pray to Saraswati - the goddess of Knowledge..
 

So Love won.
 Because Savitri never gave up — and never let go.

Neev:
 Let’s talk about truth.
 Not just telling the truth…
…but living it — even when it costs you everything.

Cohost:
 Uh oh. This sounds like it’s going to get intense. 

Neev:
 It is.
 Because this story is about King Harishchandra — the ruler of Ayodhya. Yes - the same Ayodhya from Ramayana.
 People said he was so honest, even the gods were curious…

Cohost:
 Wait — like, “let’s test him” curious?

Neev:
 Exactly.
 And so, Sage Vishwamitra stepped in to put him through the ultimate test.

One day, while Harishchandra was hunting, he heard a woman’s cry and followed the sound…
 …and stumbled into Vishwamitra’s ashram.

Co-host: Uh Oh! Someone's gonna be in trouble!

Neev: The sage was not happy about the disturbance. 

As a form of “penance,” Harishchandra gave away his entire kingdom to Vishwamitra.

Cohost:
 Okay… generous… but also… whoa. He could have gotten away with giving something less.

Neev:
 But Vishwamitra wasn’t done.

He said, “Where’s my dakshina? The donation?”

Co-host: He wants more?

Neev: Yes, remember it's a test! 

So Harishchandra pleaded for time. “One month,” he said.

So he and his wife Shaivya and son Rohitashwa left their palace, with nothing but dignity…
 …and walked to the holy city of Kashi.

There, things got worse.

Cohost:
 Oh no. What can be worse?

Neev:
 To pay his debt, Harishchandra sold his wife and son to a Brahmin.

But it still wasn’t enough.
So he sold himself to a chandala — a man who worked in the cremation grounds.
His job?
To burn bodies. And to collect taxes from mourners.

Cohost:
 This story is sad. Can’t we change the subject…I mean story.

Neev:
 It is. But it’s also full of grit.

Because even there, in the burning grounds, Harishchandra kept doing his duty — honestly, quietly, every single day.

Then came the final blow.
 One day, Shaivya arrived… carrying the lifeless body of their son, Rohitashwa.

Cohost:
 Nooo… 😢 Give this guy a break!

Neev:
 She had no money for cremation. And the tax had to be paid.

So you know what she did?

Cohost:
 …Don’t tell me.

Neev:
 She tore half of her sari and gave it as payment.

Harishchandra — now in total heartbreak — still accepted it.

And that’s when…

The chandala transformed.

He was Yama, the god of death.
 The gods themselves appeared.

They restored Rohitashwa to life.
They praised Shaivya’s courage.
And they blessed Harishchandra as the greatest example of dharma.

Cohost:
 So… he passed the test?

Neev:
 More than passed. He became a legend. He was known as Satyavadi Harishchandra. Which basically translates to honest Harishchandra. Even today, you may hear the reference to him if anyone is being very truthful.

Neev:
 Okay, ready for one last story?
 This one is… wild.
 

Cohost:

Oh, you have been saying that for every story. And every story has been wild.  So  does it have animals?

Neev:
 Yup.
 An elephant, a giant tortoise… and a very hungry Garuda.

But don’t be fooled — this story actually begins with two… sages.

Cohost:
 Wait. What do sages have to do with animals?

Neev:
 Everything.

Because these two sages — Vibhavasu and Supratika — were actually brothers.
But they were total opposites.

Vibhavasu had a fiery temper. Supratika had never-ending greed.

Cohost:
 Not sure opposite is the right word…but the best combo nonetheless

Neev:
 Nope.

They fought all the time.
And one day, they got into such a terrible argument over — yep — property...

...they lost control and cursed each other!

Cohost:
 You mean like — “You’ll regret this!” kind of curse?

Neev:
 More like…
One cursed “You shall be an ELEPHANT in your next life!” and the other
“And YOU shall be a TORTOISE!”

Cohost:
 Okay that’s weirdly specific. - How old were they? They sound like kids (repeat curses in mocking voice). Thankfully when we say something like this - it doesn’t become true!

Neev:
Haha!  But the curses here worked.

In their next life, Supratika was a massive, proud elephant, and Vibhavasu was a grumpy old tortoise living in a pond.

Cohost:
Did they become wiser?

 Probably not.

Neev:
 You’re right.

Even in their animal forms, they kept fighting.

The elephant would stomp and scrape the edges of the water hole just to annoy the tortoise.
 And the tortoise?
 He’d stir up mud in the water every time the elephant came to drink — just to spite him!

Cohost:
 Still holding that grudge from last birth. Even with tusks and a shell!

Neev:
 Yup. Their feud went on and on… until one day…

🦅 Garuda — the king of birds — swooped down from the skies.

And just like that…
 Chomp.
 He flew off with both the elephant and the tortoise — as his afternoon snack.

Cohost:
 😬 Yikes. Did the Garuda just get tired of their bickering and decide enough was enough!

Neev:
 Haha! Yeah I guess so! And that’s how their story ended.

A sage told this tale to the Pandavas as a reminder:

📍 Anger and greed can follow you even into your next life.
 And if you don’t control them… they might just eat you alive. 🐘🐢

Neev (softly):
 And with that… our stories for today come to a close.
 But don’t worry — we’ll be back next week with more tales of valor, wisdom, and twists that’ll blow your mind.

Cohost:
 Maybe fewer angry turtles?

Neev:
 No promises. 😄

Neev:
 From wise sages to stubborn brothers, loyal queens to legendary kings…
 This episode gave us stories full of heart, courage, and some very real consequences.

Co-host: Such wonderful stories and so full of wisdom

Whether it was Ashtavakra standing tall despite his twisted form…
 Savitri outwitting the god of death…
 Or Harishchandra choosing truth over everything —
 Each story reminded the Pandavas — and us —
 that sometimes, the greatest strength comes from character, not power.

Neev:
 Yeah. Definitely. 😄

Co-host: Thank you to (names) for joining us on this episode. We loved having you be a part of this adventure.

Neev:

We hope you enjoyed this episode — and if you did, please subscribe, share it with a friend, or leave us a review on Apple and Spotify!

And hey — if you have a favorite myth or story, tell us!
You can reach us at [mythicalmasalapodcast.com].

We’ll see you next time
 Until then…

 Keep listening… and keep wondering. ✨