As The Arrow Moves - Arjun's Mahabharat

Chapter 1

Mother always tells us five brothers a story before we go to sleep. The story of the Earth, the mother, the trees, the leaves, the jungle, and a land, which I never could relate to or found passion in. My homeland . Mother described it in the most golden words possible.. "The halls of the palace are full of precious stones made by the best of makers. The lovely woods around it too seemed to be made by Nature himself. The gold covered the darkness in the corners of the palace.. and any man, human or inhuman longed to be the master of that land. The land of the Kurus, the land of the blood, and the land of glory. " I was tired of hearing about this land. Home, my home, had always been the Earth, and its surroundings. Which land in the world had the slightest difference with our Earth? All of it is nature's creation. I put my head on mother's lap, and listened to those slow, whispering words of hers, but the stars in the sky distracted me badly. I liked counting the stars. I know it is unattainable, but there is so much to learn from them. They are the witness to everything. They might have also seen flourishing of that unknown motherland Mother talks about. Mother's lap smelled of fruits. Known fruits, and that helped me go to sleep, slowly.
One night, mother's words struck me. "Any man, human or inhuman" she said. I got up from her lap, and looked at her face. Mother smiled, and ruffled my hair. "Why inhuman mother?" I asked. Mother smiled, and did not answer my question. "I mean a diverse group of people" she said to me when I asked her the same question from that night again. I did not find the answer convincing. "Arjun.." Bheem, my second eldest brother called me. Mother pressed my cheeks and gestured me to join them. It was the study time I think. Father must be calling us. I went running to my other brothers. "Father is calling us." whispered Nakul. "Why?" I asked. Bheem and Nakul shrugged. We all walked over the marshy lands to our cottage.
"Come my sons, come sit." Father said. Mother, as I refer to Devi Madri, stood at the corner of the room. Bheem was whispering something into Nakul's ear, but Mother told them not to. In the room, sat a sage, I was not sure of his name, as Father had already introduced him to all of us, but I did not hear. Our eldest brother, Yudhishtir, walked to the great sage, and touched his feet. "Ayushman Bhava" said the great sage. For once I thought he looked at me from the corner of his eye. He was tall, and strong, and had ashes , maybe , all over his body . His eyes were not still. It moved here and there. Bheem went and touched his feet like an obedient boy. It was my turn now. I went slowly to him, and touched his feet, and don't know why, looked straight at him to his eye. Father had always taught us not to look at an elderly person into the eye. It was disrespectful. But I wanted a message, or maybe he wanted to give me a message.
"What is your name boy?" asked the sage. "Arjun" I replied. He took my hands into his lap. I kneeled down infront of him. I felt embarrassed with the amount of dirt, mud and grass in my palms. "Boy, your hands are made for the love of woods." I did not quite understand what he said. "You will live, live for years, and the dirt and mud in your hand will be the representation of your dedication and thus, the glory you will attain." The sage said these words, his eyes glowing, and his face shining. He touched my head, and told me, and everyone else to follow him out of the cottage. Two young boys, maybe some years elder to me were sitting outside. "Get him the noble weapon." the sage said. He was holding my hand. I looked up, to see the sage's face, and then looked at father. After some time, I saw the two boys, pulling a weapon from this side and that side. Both wanted to be honoured, to carry it to their Guru. The sage took the weapon. I was mesmerized by the nobleness of the the weapon. Mother had once said, this was the Bow, or the Dhanush. The Princes used this. "Take up the glory, the treasure of the Kshatriya Clan. The Bow, dear boy." Father looked enlightened by the sage's words. I bowed down to touch his feet again, and then he handed me the bow. The sage blessed my other brothers, and Father too, and then looked at me again. "Take care of it." he said, and walked through the trees, and the falling leaves covered his footprints on the mud. The new weapon made me feel excited! The first thing which I could consider my own! It is not that I did not like sharing. Our Mother and Yudhishthir always taught us to share, as we cannot afford to be have everything separately for each one. But this Bow was just for me. I could do whatever I please with it! I turned it and looked at it, when Father said, "That's not the way to hold it, Arjuna." and took it from my hands. "This way," he said. Father looked like a hero with the Bow! I too would look like Father, isn't it? I asked myself. Definitely I would. I wish I could see myself holding my bow. I imitated Father's way of holding the bow, and I succeeded. Yudhishthir, Bheem, and the twins clapped when they saw me. Father patted my back. I quickly ran in to show the Bow to my Mother. "Ohh!" Mother exclaimed when she heard what happened. "Maharshi Ved Vyas gave you a bow! That is such wonderful news for me." My parents and we hardly got wonderful news. So, such things were quite wonderful for our ears. Sometimes we got news from Hastinapur, that is what they called Father's homeland which he once ruled, from sages who came to visit us. Like today, Mahamuni Ved Vyas came to visit Father. Mother and Mata Madri served them with whatever possible. The days were quite simple and ordinary. I spent most of my times thinking about different things in the World, fantasizing about the stories Mother told us, and playing with my brothers. The twins were younger than me, Nakul and Sahdev. They were delightful boys. Nakul was the most beautiful brother anyone could have, and Sahadev was the most intelligent among us. I had two elder brothers, Yudhishthir and Bheem. They never made me feel alone. Yudhishthir loved all of us so much, and Bheem was very caring. In short, I was the most useless of the lot.

Later that afternoon, when Mother was asleep, we all brothers were playing together outside our hut. "You happen to be a Prince, boy" one of the Nishads who sometimes came to visit us near the forests asked me. "I heard I was." I murmured. "What are your titles? We are glad to meet a Prince." the Nishad warrior looked excited. "They call me Arjuna." I said, "My mother's name is Pritha, thus, my named Mother Madri, and Father refers to me as Partha, and Kaunteya is a common call for my two elder brothers and me. I dont have any other names. I have no titles." I said. The Nishad Warrior did not look impressed. I did not enjoy talking about golden names, and prestige which everyone longed for. "Partha.." I joined my hands in front of the Nishads gesturing a pranaam and picked up my bow from the ground, as Yudhishtira was calling me. "We are playing a game." Yudhishtir said. My mind shone at the thought of actions, and excitement. Soon enough we began the game. Bheem had a very favourite toy, or I should say weapon which he used. It looked like a Gada, as Father described it. I loved making wooden arrows and practising with them. I wanted to aim the other tree which stood on the other side of where we were playing, and I left the arrow from my bow. But danger, not in disguise was waiting for me. It hit Bheem's favourite toy, and my arrow had pierced into the handle, made partly of mud. Bheem looked at me with angry eyes. I moved back, hoping Mother would come. "Arjun..!!! How dare you! " Bheem said, and I could not control my feet. I held my bow in my fist, and ran through the tall trees. I felt the slippery marshes under my toes. Bheem was still running after me. I could not even tell him that I could fix that thing of his, because I did not know how to! So, I just let these cheerful moments pass through, until time spoils them. I hid under a big banyan tree, and climbed into the lowest branch. I always climb up to the highest, so Bheem would be checking the highest one if I was not wrong. But to my surprise, I did not see Bheem at the ground. He must be lost. So, I just got down, and picked up sticks and stones, trying to shape the sticks straight. I loved doing these small things, because somehow, the fun, the innocence in it will not be everlasting as it seems. Maturity, intelligence will make you lose them.
It was almost lunch time. A quarter or so left. Mother must be worrying about me. I was thinking all this, when I dont know how or when, I fell asleep. It was almost evening when I woke up, when I felt my mother's arms near my bare chest. I opened my eyes, and found my head on her Mother's shoulder. She had picked me up. I put my hands around Mother's neck, and looked infront. What I saw beyond my philosophy. An elephant, as white as milk, with shining and soothing jewellery all around bowed his huge head in front of Mother's feet. I felt a small touch in my feet with his white trunk. Then, it slowly disappeared from my sight. I held out my hand to touch it, but it just disappeared. "What was that Mother? How did you find me? What was that elephant doing there?" Mother looked very pleased and happy. Such a soothing smile in her face was very rare. She put me on the ground, and kneeled down in front of me. "Why did you runaway from your brothers?" "I did not runaway. Bheem was chasing me, and I was lost. But how was that elephant here Mother? And where did it go? I want to ride it." I told Mother. "Remember Son, Airavat, the mighty belonging of the King of the Gods Indra was there for you today. You are a part of him, my dear, and thus, seeing you in danger, the King must have sent his elephant." Mother said. I did not understand. Why would that mighty God who I can never reach feel for me? Since he did, I had to thank Devraj Indra. I promised myself I would do so when I grow up. I never knew Gods had so much emotion in them. I hardly knew them. But that elephant, Airavat, showed me something new. I always wanted to learn things, be it just a small technique or a lesson, it never failed to amaze me how much we ourselves have to teach ourselves. I walked, holding Mother's hand to our cottage, and Bheem came running to me, almost picking me up, showing how glad he was that I was back.

The next few nights, I could not stop dreaming and thinking about Devraj Indra and his abode. How magnificient would his abode be! Would Airavat be there? Was it golden or was it plain and simple like our hut? In my dreams I saw Indraloka, the heaven, full of bards and ministrels, ponds of milk, fountains of gold, rivers of Happiness and beautiful green gardens with flowers. Deep blue clouds on a white sky, and purple mountains, as pleasant as can be for sight. Maybe I would go there someday, and see for myself how it is. Slowly, I fell asleep as the pictures of Indraloka in my minds eye went away and away and away from me, and slowly it disappeared as I closed my eyes.