Prince Arjun In Magical Valley

Once upon a time, there was a city named Haripur. It was a big and prosperous city with tree-lined roads, beautiful homes, huge marketplaces, expansive gardens and majestic fountains. This city was ruled by a benevolent king named Jayvardhan. He was a just king who was kind to his subjects and harsh on criminals and enemies.

King Jayvardhan had a son named Arjun who was intelligent, brave and loyal to his kingdom. Prince Arjun was the ideal future king in making. But his true test was yet to come.

One day a wicked sorcerer named Juno came to Haripur from some far off land. Upon seeing Haripur’s wealth; he secretly wished to depose King Jayvardhan and rule the city himself.  Using his crafty ways and smooth talk he managed to get a job in the royal palace. Using his dark sorcery, he got the royal family arrested and put them in prison and declared himself as the ruler of Haripur. 

But Prince Arjun managed to escape from the palace prisons and took refuge in the forests. Some of his loyal subjects came to his help. They discussed how Juno spread lies about the royals among the common people and got them arrested. The subjects told Prince Arjun to do something and save the kingdom from such a greedy and wicked man.

One old man among the people gathered told Arjun that deep into the forest, lies a magical valley where he can find a miraculous herb named “Sanjivani”. The old man explained that the herb had a quality that the one who sniffs it will start talking truth and confess his wrongdoings. 

Prince Arjun needed just that! He knew that if he could get Juno to confess his crime, the people will reject him as their king.

But the old man warned him that the way to the magical valley was full of dangers. 

But the courageous young prince set on his journey to the magical valley. He encountered bandits and wild animals on his way. He fought them off and forged ahead. Then came the real test. He had to cross a river which was full of hungry crocodiles. The crocodiles said to him, “Give us food and we will let you cross the river.”

Prince Arjun knew he had to find a permanent solution to this. He remembered the hyenas he encountered in the jungle. They were always on the lookout for food and often preyed on young cubs of wild animals. Arjun promised them lots of fresh fish if they went with him to the river. The hyenas followed him. Seeing the river, they jumped in not knowing that crocodiles waited to ambush them.

With the crocodiles busy eating hyenas, Arjun crossed the river and went to the magical valley. It was indeed a beautiful place. Like heaven on earth! He felt like living there forever but he was on a mission.

Arjun collected the Sanjivani herb and headed back. This time, the crocodiles did not bother him as their tummies were full.

Arjun slipped into Haripur disguised as a cook in search of a job. His loyal subjects who helped him earlier took him to the palace kitchen. Pretending to be an extraordinary cook, he claimed that he can cook a dish that the king would never dislike. He was allowed to show his culinary skills. Prince Arjun cooked a curry and sprinkled Sanjivani leaves as garnish. He personally went to present it to Juno who had now become a fat glutton. Juno couldn’t resist the aroma of the exotic dish.

As soon as he sniffed the herb, Juno started confessing all his past misdeeds. The palace guards immediately arrested him. Prince Arjun now revealed his true identity and won the admiration of his subjects. He freed his father from prison and in return Jayvardhan crowned Arjun as the new king of Haripur.

King Arjun proved to be a good king and his kingdom prospered in the time to come.