(Book 1 of "Krishna-Bhaarya" Series)
गरुडध्वजसुन्दरी - The beautiful woman of the one with the flag of Garuda.
Rukmini, the daughter of Vidarbha Prince Bhishmaka, was a woman of substance, who never bowed her head to the rotten politics of the Bhara...
A velvety voice accompanied the soulful tune of the Veena as the murti of Lord Vishnu towered over the tiny form of the Princess of Vidarbha, almost touching the high roof of the chamber. Her gentle fingers plucked and strummed the strings with an expertise that spoke of not just her relentless practice but her innate talent and skill, her lotus eyes closed.
Thirteen year old Rukmini was lost in the ocean of devotion and bliss that had come naturally to her heart as she created music that was rarely heard in in the entirety of the Bharatavarsha.
Her musical composition arrived at an abrupt halt when she heard the beats of battle drums in the background, swiftly turning her peace into agitation. She opened her eyes as the heavy sounds continued to resound in her ears, making her heart thud in alarm. She moved a little away from the Veena that was placed on the rich red carpet and a quick prayer to the instrument before rising up on her tender feet.
She rushed to the single open window in the temple located within the royal palace, and her sight went as far as the main gates of the palace where the soldiers and the army general were gathered. Her eldest brother Rukmi was instructing them something and standing along with her brother was the Magadha King Jarasandha, who was receiving their hospitality in Kundina for a while. On the other side were the Chedi Prince Shishupala, her brother's close friend, and Shalva Maharaja, one of the latter's allies.
The scene was clearly conveying to her that her kingdom was going to attack some kingdom, and Shishupala and Jarasandha were mainly involved in it, but she failed to understand which kingdom they were going to attack. Vidarbha had no known enemies, thus it was strange to witness the Vidarbha army preparing for such a full-fledged attack. She knew that Jarasandha had this habit of constantly attacking and troubling the Yadavas of Mathura, but why would Vidarbha kingdom do it? They had only supported Jarasandha and Shishupala till then, and had no other rivalry with the Yadavas.
She had fallen into a daze of perplexion and apprehension but it was broken soon by the sound of someone entering the temple. She turned to the direction of the sound and found her father bowing down to Hari. He then turned towards her and smiled at her affectionately while she frowned. "Pita, what is happening? Whom are we attacking?"
"Who else, Putri, the Yadavas!" He replied casually but Rukmini's eyes went wider. Though she had questions, she had the answers too.
She knew that if Jarasandha or Shishupala asked her brother Rukmi to attack Mathura from Vidarbha, he would immediately accept it with pleasure. Unfortunately, her father and her grandfather, the King of Vidarbha, had given Rukmi too much freedom from his early childhood. It was fair and good as long as it was for Rukmi's personal decisions to choose his friends but he began choosing political allies for the kingdom and always involved the whole Vidarbha into whichever fiasco he stepped into. Without even possessing any royal position in the Kingdom yet, Rukmi had gone to the extent of putting Vidarbha's reputation at the stake of Jarasandha's senseless revenge on the Yadavas.
