अर्जुनप्रिया - Arjuna's beloved.
They had dreamt of a life with each other, for each other, and in each other, but the said life made them face the reality that they had to stay apart from each other for twelve long years. Those young hearts who cou...
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The Pandavas had taken special care for the safety of the citizens after the Khandava incident. Though Takshaka had promised Indra that he would never harm any innocent person again, Arjuna considered it better to be cautious and employed tight security all over the city and especially the places close to the forest. They stayed alert about the Nagas for a few days post Sutasoma's rescue but their attention diverted when Subhadra's son was born. Since nothing suspicious was spotted or repeated from Takshaka's side, they were somewhat relieved and though the security was still in place, the worry was greatly reduced, and the security had become formal rather than strict.
When Subhadra delivered her child, Satyabhama, Pritha, Krishnaa and the latter's other co-wives looked after her and her child. As the line of distance between Krishnaa and Arjuna was blurring with each passing day, Krishnaa's brother and sister-in-law were satisfied as they wanted nothing but that love and harmony between the couple. Hence, both Sudarshanaa and Dhrishtadyumna participated in the celebrations of Abhimanyu's birth heartily. The baby had become the means of connection between some bonds which could've never formed or repaired themselves otherwise. Being a replica of Krishna, he won the hearts of all the family members effortlessly.
Krishnaa was happy that all the conflicts had come to a proper end before the birth of the child. She never wished the newborn baby to face the consequences of the elders' past. Twelve years ago, she and her family rose from their depressed state of parting with Arjuna for Prativindhya's childhood. In the same way, Subhadra's son would also obtain the peaceful childhood that he deserved. Just like how hers and Arjuna's separation didn't occur in a flash, their reunion and her acceptance was also a process and along with Arjuna, she had begun to accept his son too as her own. Before the process of acceptance, the future had seemed vague but after resolving all the problems, she could witness how bright the future would be.
After a couple of weeks, fixing a sacred muhurta, the Pandava family planned to organize the Namakarana ceremony. As they had already planned, they were supposed to invite the Kurus from Hastinapura to attend this celebration. The Hastinapura family had not been a part of the celebrations of Arjuna's wedding with Subhadra or Subhadra's Simantonayana. As they were excluded from all those occasions, inviting them for the Namakarana was mandatory. They sent invitations to Hastinapura, separately for Dhritarashtra, Bhishma, Kripa, Drona and Vidura. As the Panchalas had already attended the Simantonayana a few months ago and the crown prince was present on their behalf, they didn't invite them again as per Dhrishtadyumna's suggestion. From the Vrishnis' side, Krishna and Satyabhama were present, and Krishna too opined the same that there was no need to invite the others again.
A couple of days prior to the day of the Namakarana, Bhishma, Drona, Kripa, Vidura, Ashvatthama, Duryodhana and his brothers including Yuyuta, arrived at Indraprastha with their families. As the Pandavas, Dhrishtadyumna and Krishna stood at the palace gates to receive them, the brother of Draupadi released a heavy sigh of relief, amusing Arjuna who was standing right beside.
"Thank Mahadeva that the King of Anga didn't come along with them!" Dhrishtadyumna uttered, perplexing his brother-in-law with the mention of Duryodhana's close friend.
"What?" Arjuna exchanged. "Why would he come to Indraprastha?"
"He had attended Prativindhya's Namakarana with his friend, Bhaginipati," Dhrishtadyumna informed. "He wasn't invited then too but as he was Prince Duryodhana's comrade and an ally of Kuru Rajya, he had to be welcomed nonetheless."
Arjuna's eyes widened. "You had mentioned about someone who had commented on Krishnaa that she's the misfortune of my life. Was that him?"
"Yes, Bhaginipati." Dhrishtadyumna pursed his lips. "Krishnaa doesn't want you to know all this. If you tell her that I've revealed it, she will admonish me."
"You haven't revealed anything, Dhrishtadyumna. I guessed it when you revealed that AngaRaja had come to Prativindhya's Namakarana. But I will not discuss it with your sister. It was important for me to know, that's all."
The conversation had ended that way as the formal welcome of the guests was followed. Once the Kurus were escorted to the guest palace, Arjuna headed to the common hall in the antahpura where he knew that all the women of the family were present, preparing themselves for the occasion. But only Krishnaa wasn't there and she was not present in her chamber either. He started roaming in the corridors as if he had lost his way until he noticed Krishnaa walking into the antahpura from the entrance, holding a jewelry box in her hand.
Arjuna rushed towards her as if she was a magnet as she looked into his eyes surprisedly. He kept gazing at her lovingly. Though no words were spoken, his eyes conveyed everything he had to, that she was the greatest good fortune of his life, that she was the one who owned his life, and unknown to herself, her cheeks flushed. It has become a constant thing these days.
"I was looking for you." She forwarded the box towards him. "Open this box!"
"What is this?" He blinked curiously as he took the box and followed her instructions. The box revealed two beautiful golden chains with the lockets in the shape of a lotus. He picked one of them up and examined the design.
"To give Saubhadra for his naming ceremony!" She explained smilingly.
"And the second one?" Arjuna glanced at the chain that remained in the box.
"For Babhruvahana," she said softly. "Whenever I get the opportunity to meet him, I will give him the chain."
Arjuna smiled gently and closed the box after putting the chains inside. Holding the box in one hand, he wrapped his other arm around his wife's shoulder. "I'm so fortunate to have you, Krishnaa!"
He could feel her moving closer to him, clutching his uttariya so tight that his heart skipped a beat. She had often done that when she couldn't express her feelings in words. It was very rare as she was naturally expressive in words. He thought she would not say anything in response to his statement but Arjuna was completely sure that he heard her faint voice caressing his ears, whispering something akin to...
