CHALLENGING DESTINY

TURNING POINT OF LIFE

The outskirts of Anga

It was a night of Amavasi, a night shrouded in darkness, the periphery of Anga was eerily quiet to the point that it creates a sense of desolation and gloominess in the hearts of the passerby. But that doesn't seems to be the case for the exuberant youth nearing the city walls on a majestic black horse. Donned in black from head to toe he left nothing for ones imagination. But the most striking features on him were the pair of chocolate brown orbs that held a sharpness and ferocity like that of a leopard ready for his hunt. 

Soon the rushed footsteps of the horse came to a halt. The rider jumped down from the horse and went towards the river bank. Ahead him was the confluence of the mighty river Ganga and Champa but today its roaring waves were unusually gentle, perfectly blending itself with the soundless atmosphere. Maybe it was the calm before the storm and true to the guesses the eyes that once held ferocity is now replaced by a conflux of emotions, anger and indignant being the apparent one.

A few hours ago

The kingdom of Southern Panchal was adorned as a bride to bid of its young princess. The arena was filled with the cheers of kings, devas, yakshas, rakshas and gandharvas who were gathered for the marriage ceremony. Soon the announcement was made for the entry of the Panchal princess...the bride......

Eyes were eager to see the epitome of beauty. A glimpse of the fireborn were enough to make all those men insane. Her dusky skin were mysterious as sky and dark eyes were deep as ocean as she were accompanied by hundreds of maids to the arena where her Swayamwar was organized. 

Time went by but none were capable of fulfilling the task at hand. A task chosen by King Drupad himself to fulfill his desire to attain the world's best archer as his son-in-law. Knowing archery isn't his area of expertise, the eldest Gandharinandhan insisted his archer friend to participate in the game and show the world his worth and valor. Maybe because archery was his life or because he doesn't want a girl to be shunned by the society if the swayamwar fails, so despite being uninterested in the bride he went towards the stage. 

His rough hands encircled the handle of the divine bow only after bowing respectfully towards it. Lifting up the divine bow came as easy to him as picking up a normal one, a feat achieved by none till now. He was confident in his skills and his Guru's teachings but what he didn't expect was the discourteous rejection,

'Stop' a shrill voice of a woman reverberated in the arena. There stood the Drupad kumari, her face held disdain and disgust towards the archer.

'I would never marry a Sutputra '

Roars of laughter vibrated through the arena. The others were indignant and why not, each  one of them belonged to the mighty clans or royalty and were hailed as one of the best so how can their egos not hurt when they were proven inferior to a archer from the lower caste, who they also believe to became a king through charity. But soon their laughter died down when they felt a burning sensation on their skin. The sun rays got intensified displaying the anger of the Suryadev, a helpless father who were bound by rules and regulations.

'Calm down your anger Suryadev' the lord of the universe tries to pacify the sun god.

'How do you expect me to Vasudev, my son is suffering, he had been since his birth and you know what the most agonizing truth is, there is no fault of his, he is paying for other's mistakes. Why is his destiny so cruel Vasudev?'

'Destiny has always been cruel Suryadev it was never lenient towards anyone and neither you nor I have the power to go against her. But I assure you of one thing Suryadev after this fiasco nothing would be in the control of Destiny because chaos is afoot although it may be for the better or worse ' By the end Krishna has a solemn look on his face.