Prophecies

Warning! This page contains spoilers for *Aru Shah and the City of Gold*. Enter at your own risk.

**Prophecies** are predictions of the future. Usually, a prophecy will foretell some form of a major event about to happen or an event that will happen much later in the future.

## Description

A prophecy, or prophecies in general, is a prediction of events about to happen in the future. Prophecies can appear in a number of ways, but almost all are cryptic and their true meaning will not become clear until after the events of the prophecy have come to pass. Also, those with the ability to see the future are unable to reveal what a prophecy means, as giving the answer would make the answer irrelevant (meaning that the events in the prophecy could change if the events are told). It is also said that trying to figure out what a prophecy means or trying to force a prophecy to come to pass may result in disaster.

## In the Mahabharata

Out of all the five Pandava brothers, Sahadeva, the youngest brother, had the power to see the past, present and future. However, he didn't always have the power of prophetic license.

### History

Pandu, the wife of Kunti and Madri, and father of the Pandavas, had predicted his own death. He had meditated for years and gained a great amount of knowledge of past, present and future. Before he was about to die, he called up his sons and shared a secret. He told them about his great knowledge and asked them to eat his flesh after his death, which would enable them to gain the prophetic power.

When Pandu died because of the curse he was placed under, his body was made to be cremated. The Pandavas couldn't do what their father asked them to do, since they couldn't bear to eat the flesh of a dead man. Everyone, except the youngest brother. Sahadeva noticed some ants carrying small pieces of the flesh with them. Those small pieces were part of his father's corpse. He put one of the pieces in his mouth and instantly he knew about the past, present and future of the world. He, being a young and curious kid, put one of the pieces of flesh into his mouth and just as Pandu had promised, he instantly gained the power of prophetic license.

As soon as he knew everything, Sahadeva ran towards his brothers and his mother to tell them everything when a stranger stopped him. The stranger turned out to be Krishna, who asked him to keep quiet and never tell anybody anything voluntarily. Also, he advised him to reply to every question with a question. Sahadeva had no choice, but to obey Krishna. Hence, he always knew everything but couldn't say anything to anyone.

## *The Pandava Quintet*

The reincarnation of Sahadeva is Sheela Jagan, who, from her previous incarnation, has gained prophectic powers and hence is the main oracle, or clairvoyant in the series. Most of the prophecies said in the series are narrated by her, especially in *Aru Shah and the City of Gold*.

## *Aru Shah and the Song of Death*

### Meenakshi's Prophecy

*The girl with eyes like a fish and a heart snapped in two*

*Will be met in battle by a girl name Aru.*

*But take care what you do with a heart so broken*

*For uglier truths will soon be spoken.*

*You, daughter of Indra, have a tongue like a whip,*

*But be wary of those whom you serve lip,*

*For there is a tale beyond that soon you shall see.*

*But all that depends on your surviving the sea.*

### Unraveling the Prophecy:

1. Meenakshi, whose name meant "the one with fish-shaped eyes," carved out her soul song to use Kamadeva's bow and arrow to create an army of heartless zombies.
2. Meenakshi would battle Aru Shah, reincarnation of Arjuna, under the Ocean of Milk.
3. Meenakshi had a broken heart to to her brother, Ravana, killing her husband.
4. Meenakshi would tell Aru Shah and her friends the actual true stories of her life and how the devas did injustice to her.
5. Aru Shah, the soul daughter of Indra, had a tongue which spoke as swiftly and sharply as a whip.
6. This is meant to caution Aru, meaning, that she should be cautious of those people she is agreeing to, because she would be torn between the sides of the devas and the rakshasas.
7. This line talks about the true tale of Meenakshi, and her true self, beyond what Aru has known and learned.
8. 'Surviving the sea' can either mean surviving the army of the Heartless on the Ocean of Milk, or surviving through the Naga-Loka, which is basically under the sea.

## *Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes*

### The Prophecy of the Kalpavriksha

*The scorned powers are on the rise,*

*To claim their stolen immortal prize.*

*One sister shall turn out not to be true.*

*With a single choice,*

*The world shall receive its due.*

*One treasure is false, and one treasure it lost,*

*But the tree at the heart is the only true cost.*

*No war can be won without finding that root;*

*No victory had without the yield of its fruit.*

*In the five days the treasure will bloom and fade*

*And all that was won could soon be unmade.*

### Unraveling the Prophecy

1. The 'scorned powers' refers to the rakshasas and the asuras, and their disdained and disrespected that they've been holding in for too long. 'On the rise' refers to the Sleeper's army which is rising with the power of those rakshasas and asuras.
2. *Amrita* is hidden in the Ocean of Milk, which is the key to immortality.
3. Kara, the reincarnation of Karna and the secret Pandava, turns out to be untrue when she sides with the Sleeper at the end of Aru Shah and the City of Gold
4. Only a single wish can be made on the Kalpavriksha.
5. The world shall either be destroyed or be saved, with that one single choice that could be made on the Kalpavriksha. Despite the outcome, the world shall receive it's ultimate prize or punishment.
6. The 'false treasure' refers to the fake Kalpavriksha which had been planted in the heavenly Gardens in Amaravati. The 'lost treasure' refers to the real Kalpavriksha which has been hidden away in Aranyani's Garden in the mortal world for millennia.
7. The Kalpavriksha, which is assumed to be located in the heart, aka the middle of the Mortal Realm.
8. Only a proper wish made at the roots of the Kalpavriksha could turn any war victorious.
9. Nothing could ever be victorious without first submitting the fruit of hard work. This line plays more of a metaphorical meaning to the Prophecy, rather being an actual relevant line.
10. The time period given to the Pandavas to complete their given unofficial quest which is 5 days.
11. Every war which had turned out victorious up until that point could be made 'unmade', because if Aru didn't make a proper wish at the tree, the Sleeper's army could take over the Otherworld and all the wars that had been won would be of vain.

## *Aru Shah and the City of Gold*

### The Road to Lanka Prophecy

*You must remember to be polite*

*Even to things far out of your sight.*

*Not everything that glitters is gold...*

*The truth will lead to Lanka road.*

*Choose poorly and you'll find that there's no way out,*

*And you'll end up where no one can hear you shout.*

### Unravelling the Prophecy

1. This line refers to the marmots' gold mine. In order to get past the mines, to the Lanka road, they will have to be polite.
2. "Even to things far out of your sight" refers to the glittering road, which was out of their sight, given that it was foggy upon first sight.
3. The sphere that the mongoose was holding, was gold from the outside, but lead in the inside, implying that "all that glitters isn't gold".
4. The truth is that the real sphere is the gold one, will lead to the Lanka road, if the golden one is tossed into the basket.
5. If the Pandavas choose the wrong sphere, they will end up in a place where there's no way to escape. This is proven when they actually choose the wrong sphere and end up in a gold pit.
6. The gold pit is very deep and is filled with a lot of gold, hence nobody can hear the shouts of the people trapped inside.

### Sheela's Prophecy

*Two trials before you;*

*Two friends will return.*

*One you will welcome,*

*The other you’ll spurn.*

### Unravelling the Prophecy

The above lines imply that the Potatoes still have two trials before them. In the span of time, two friends will return. One refers to Rudy, prince of Nagaloka, whom they shall welcome open-handedly. The other one refers to Boo, whom they are upset at, for betraying them to the Sleeper.

1. The Pandavas along with Aiden and Kara still have two trials left before them.
2. In that span of time, two friends of theirs will return
3. One friend will be Rudy, the Prince and Heir of the Naga-Loka, who was their fellow companion on their last quest.
4. The other friend will be Boo, whom the Pandavas are upset at, for betraying them to the Sleeper and also underestimating them.