The elephant who had been kept starved of water for some time plunged into the river, drinking the water and spraying its parched body with its trunk.
A stewa rutu is perhaps best thought of as a water monster. It is said to be a vicious and deadly bloodthirsty creature which has the appearance of the rubbery wall of the stomach of a cow with twisting tentacles with which to grasp its victims. It is said that many many years ago there was such a deadly creature under the bridge in Wangdiphodrang. Not only was the creature vicious and bloodthirsty but it was also known to have some kind of supernatural powers. Every day some unfortunate person or cattle would fall prey to this creature which, it was said, had an insatiable appetite and would devour as many animals and humans as it could get in a day. The people in the region knew about it and they tried to keep away from the river. It was usually an unsuspecting traveler passing through Wangdiphodrang who fell prey to this monstrous creature. It was said that the prey did not have to be physically caught by the stewa rutu. With its supernatural powers it could actually draw the victim’s blood through his or her shadow. So, every time somebody crossed the bridge and the shadow fell on the water the stewa rutu would hold onto it. The victim would stand on the bridge transfixed and dazed until all his strength and power was drained out. The lifeless body would then drop into the river like a block of wood. As soon as the body touched the water the stewa rutu would clasp its numerous tentacles around the victim and devour him. It was indeed a horrible sight and many who saw this actually happening were haunted by memories of it for many years later.
This creature was a scourge, and fear and anxiety gripped the inhabitants. One day the villagers assembled in the Wangdiphodrang dzong courtyard and implored the dzongpon to do something about the monster. “Our lives have come to a standstill ever since this creature appeared in the water. It cannot be a god; it must be a demon. We have to get rid of it,” they said in unison.
Now the dzongpon was not only a very ingenious man but also one who was willing to take risks. He arranged to obtain the strongest elephant from Lhostam, the southern part of Bhutan where elephants were found in plenty at that time. As he did not tell the people his plan everyone was very curious and wondered what his next move would be. So one day when he summoned a hundred women to come forward with their frying pans, the rest of the population could not resist following the women. While the people stood at a cautious distance from the river and watched, he instructed each woman to fry a panful of sand. Then he drove the elephant into the river. The elephant who had been kept starved of water for some time plunged into the river, drinking the water and spraying its parched body with its trunk. As everyone looked on there was a sudden swift and movement in the water close to the elephant, and the next moment the stewa rutu had entwined its many fleshy tentacles around the hind legs of the elephant. The elephant trumpeted loudly and began to move towards the sandbank. But the stewa rutu seemed to possess extraordinary strength too and resisted the movement away from the depths of the water. A most grisly struggle ensued, while the silent audience watched in complete horror. The struggle went on for a long time until finally the elephant, now staggering a little, was able to walk to the sandbank with the creature still clinging to its legs. This was exactly what the dzongpon had hoped would happen.
The elephant stumbled and went down, first on its front legs, and then the whole body crashed under its own weight, for its body was drained of every drop of blood! The dzongpon, who had been watching the whole thing very attentively knew exactly what to do. As soon as the elephant’s mighty body crashed to the sand, he commanded the women to pour the now red-hot sand onto the creature that still clung to the dying elephant. There were sizzling and burning noises when the brave women poured the sand onto the stewa rutu. It shrunk and became smaller with every panful of sand. Eventually the huge creature had shrunk to the size of a dried-up cow intestine. In fact that’s just what it looked like. The only things that still appeared to be alive were its luminous saucer-like eyes that stared into space, registering nothing.
The remains of the monster were then burnt and its ashes buried under a black chorten. This scourge of Wangdiphodrang was thus removed and the people could once more travel freely to and fro and life continued as before.