The Treasure of the Ten Avatars
Encyclopedia
The Treasure of the Ten Avatars is a 1996 Donald Duck
story by Don Rosa
.
has bought land in India's Punjab region
, and arrives on the scene together with Donald and his nephews
to inspect what he has bought. He meets with the local maharaj to seek his help in enlisting work force, but the maharaj openly admits being thoroughly corrupt and blatantly declines to help.
Left on their own, the Ducks begin their quest, when they accidentally discover a stone pillar
, dating back to 326 BC
, and tells the tale of Alexander the Great's attempt to conquer the Punjab. However, the conquest failed, with Alexander's men fleeing India in utter terror. The tale also tells that Alexander was seeking Shambala
, an ancient Indian city containing untold riches. When Scrooge hears of this, he sets out to find the city for himself. The maharaj overhears this and follows the Ducks in secret.
The Ducks eventually find Shambala in ruins, but the city is still booby-trapped with mortal dangers. Near the main temple they find some sort of control panel with ten buttons, each featuring a different Hindu
Avatar
. The boys stay at the control panel while Scrooge and Donald venture deeper, maintaining radio
contact with the boys.
All sorts of Indiana Jones
-like trap situations occur when Scrooge and Donald progress on their way, with the boys saving them every time by telling them what to do and pressing the right button at the right time. Scrooge and Donald eventually find the treasure, but it is protected with one last booby-trap. The boys are about to clear this trap too, but the maharaj has caught up with them, and prevents the boys from pushing the button, and the treasure is flushed into the river. The maharaj pushes another button, which sets off Shambala's self-destruct mechanism. The Ducks and the maharaj flee the city post haste.
When arriving back in the maharaj's village, the Ducks find that the river has brought the treasure all the way to there, and the people have taken the treasure and got rich beyond their wildest dreams. They abandon the village, leaving the maharaj all alone.
As the Ducks depart, Scrooge reminds the maharaj that he has unlimited resources of one thing left: the number 0
, a famous invention of the Indians.
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit with a cap and a black or red bow tie. Donald is most...
story by Don Rosa
Don Rosa
Keno Don Hugo Rosa, known simply as Don Rosa, is an American comic book writer and illustrator known for his stories about Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck and other characters created by Carl Barks for Disney comics, such as The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck.-Early life:Don Rosa's grandfather,...
.
Plot
Scrooge McDuckScrooge McDuck
Scrooge McDuck is a cartoon character created in 1947 by Carl Barks and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Scrooge is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a red or blue frock coat, top hat, pince-nez glasses, and spats...
has bought land in India's Punjab region
Punjab (India)
Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...
, and arrives on the scene together with Donald and his nephews
Huey, Dewey and Louie
Huey, Dewey, and Louie Duck are a trio of fictional, anthropomorphic ducks who appear in animated cartoons and comic books published by the Walt Disney Company. Identical triplets, the three are Donald Duck's nephews. Huey, Dewey, and Louie were created by Ted Osborne and Al Taliaferro, and first...
to inspect what he has bought. He meets with the local maharaj to seek his help in enlisting work force, but the maharaj openly admits being thoroughly corrupt and blatantly declines to help.
Left on their own, the Ducks begin their quest, when they accidentally discover a stone pillar
Column
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a vertical structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. For the purpose of wind or earthquake engineering, columns may be designed to resist lateral forces...
, dating back to 326 BC
326 BC
Year 326 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Visolus and Cursor...
, and tells the tale of Alexander the Great's attempt to conquer the Punjab. However, the conquest failed, with Alexander's men fleeing India in utter terror. The tale also tells that Alexander was seeking Shambala
Shambhala
In Tibetan Buddhist tradition, Shambhala or Shangri-la is a mythical kingdom hidden somewhere in Inner Asia...
, an ancient Indian city containing untold riches. When Scrooge hears of this, he sets out to find the city for himself. The maharaj overhears this and follows the Ducks in secret.
The Ducks eventually find Shambala in ruins, but the city is still booby-trapped with mortal dangers. Near the main temple they find some sort of control panel with ten buttons, each featuring a different Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
Avatar
Avatar
In Hinduism, an avatar is a deliberate descent of a deity to earth, or a descent of the Supreme Being and is mostly translated into English as "incarnation," but more accurately as "appearance" or "manifestation"....
. The boys stay at the control panel while Scrooge and Donald venture deeper, maintaining radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
contact with the boys.
All sorts of Indiana Jones
Indiana Jones
Colonel Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., Ph.D. is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Indiana Jones franchise. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg created the character in homage to the action heroes of 1930s film serials...
-like trap situations occur when Scrooge and Donald progress on their way, with the boys saving them every time by telling them what to do and pressing the right button at the right time. Scrooge and Donald eventually find the treasure, but it is protected with one last booby-trap. The boys are about to clear this trap too, but the maharaj has caught up with them, and prevents the boys from pushing the button, and the treasure is flushed into the river. The maharaj pushes another button, which sets off Shambala's self-destruct mechanism. The Ducks and the maharaj flee the city post haste.
When arriving back in the maharaj's village, the Ducks find that the river has brought the treasure all the way to there, and the people have taken the treasure and got rich beyond their wildest dreams. They abandon the village, leaving the maharaj all alone.
As the Ducks depart, Scrooge reminds the maharaj that he has unlimited resources of one thing left: the number 0
0 (number)
0 is both a numberand the numerical digit used to represent that number in numerals.It fulfills a central role in mathematics as the additive identity of the integers, real numbers, and many other algebraic structures. As a digit, 0 is used as a placeholder in place value systems...
, a famous invention of the Indians.