Tarot Tales: V is for Victory (The Chariot)

Welcome to the 2021 A to Z Blogging Challenge! My theme this year is Tarot Tales. I am making a selection of folktales, legends, and other traditional stories that correspond to tarot cards. Storytelling and tarot go well together. Do other stories come to mind? Let me know in the comments!

The card: The Chariot

Meanings: This card is about being in control. It symbolizes willpower and confidence to stay on task, stay on course, follow through, and work towards a goal with passion and focus. It is about driving through obstacles, not being distracted, standing up for yourself, and standing by your decisions. It is a card about being assertive and stepping up. It's a "this is a hill I'm willing to die on" type thing.

Selection process: I was tempted to pick some tales from Celtic traditions again, but decided the series needed to be less Eurocentric. I wanted a story that symbolized both focus and perseverance, and featured a form of transportation, even if not a chariot.

The story: Behula

Origin: Bangladesh

Summary: This story is still told today, and is the topic of several epics. Mansa Devi, a snake goddess worshiped by a "lower caste" of snake charmers, wants to rise into the higher echelon of deities. For this she needs to receive a divine offering from the hand of a rich merchant. She tries to bribe one to worship her, promising untold riches, but he refuses. In revenge, Mansa Devi sends a venomous snake which kills the merchant's son on his wedding night. Since snakebitten corpses can't be cremated, the mourning family puts the body in a ship, sending him down the river to be devoured by crocodiles and fish. 

However, the young bride Behula loves her husband so much even in death that she decides to accompany him on his last journey (despite the family trying to dissuade her). She gets into the boat, and sets out down the river with the body of her husband. As she travels, she goes through many dangers - crocodiles, storms, wind, rain, torrential waters, robbers, witches, nothing can stop her journey. Eventually the gods take notice, and Parvati, wife of Shiva starts demanding they should revive the husband, because she is worried the faithful Behula would become an even greater goddess than her. The gods have a council, and order Mansa Devi to revive the young man. In exchange, his father worships the minor goddess, and she gains her place in the Heavens.

(In some other versions, Behula actually visits and convinces the gods to revive her husband.)

Sources & notes: Read it in this book. The story also has its own Wiki page.

Runner-ups: I have already blogged about Loktanur, the woman who invented the first sails in Marshallese legend. I was also considering Eachtach's Revenge, a sequel to the famous Irish love story of Diamruid nad Gráinne. The daughter of the tragic lovers grows up and wages war on Fionn, who caused her father's death. She is such a force of nature that she breaks Fionn's magic shield which is supposed to be unbreakable.

What is the cause or mission you are most passionate about?