Shatru Sesham: Sequel of Baahubali ✔️

Chapter Two

Under the countless stars of the night sky with Mother Earth as the bed, the vast sky as the umbrella, the soft chirping voices of the birds as music and the crickets in the thickets as the rhythm, there sat a mother and her son before a bonfire in an idyllic village of the mighty kingdom of Mahishmati.

The mother sang a lullaby in a mellifluous and soothing voice. The child had heard this song infinite number of times. But its magic never faded with repetition. It rather grew with each time he heard this lullaby.

Tonight, however, just the song alone was not sufficient to satiate the child. The growing intellect of the child was curious to know more about him and the world around him. He asked his mother, "Amma, what is a kingdom like? Is it another village like ours?"

Laughing at the naivety of the child, his mother explained, "A kingdom is made up of countless villages likes yours, and even bigger places known as towns and cities."

The child wanted to know more now "So we too belong to a kingdom?"

"Of course we do! We belong to the kingdom of Mahishmati" said the mother. Her eyes glowing with pride and patriotic fervor, "Mahishmati.....the name itself sends a thousand reverberations in the hearts of her people. She is our mother. She gives us life. She sustains and nurtures all of us.
Whatever we are today, we owe it to her. Our ancestors have said, 'Janani Janma Bhumischa Swargadhapi Gariyasi'. Nothing can replace or supplant a mother or one's motherland. They are better than heaven itself. One can never completely repay the debt to one's motherland.
Even if they are kings, they have to come for the sake of their mother or motherland countless number of times. No sacrifice is too big for one's mother or motherland. No achievement is too small for one's mother or motherland. The only feet to which one should owe one's allegiance is one's own mother and motherland."

The child was inspired by his mother's words. It had stoked his curiosity even more, "Amma, is our king Mahendra Baahubali also like that?"

His mother narrated, "He was all this and even more. He was born a king to a king. But he grew up among tribals. His grandmother, Rajmata Sivagami smuggled him out when he was still a newborn to save him from his evil uncle, Bhallaladeva. He grew up not knowing who he was.
But can one hide the greatness of a sun by hiding it behind a bush? So was our king. He was a King of Kings, a God of Gods living like a commoner among commons. But nothing about him was common. Even if the night is the darkest, it cannot stop the emergence of daylight.
He came after twenty-five years to destroy evil and reinstate order and goodness. He came to put an end to the perpetual wait of his mother Rani Devasena and his motherland Mahishmati looking for salvation from her evil captor.
He wrote a brilliant new chapter in the annals of Mahishmati history. He pioneered a new era of hope, immense hope. He was an architect of change. He is our king and the son of our great leader, Amarendra Baahubali."

The child questioned, "Then will the son of Mahendra Baahubali be just like him? Just as Mahendra Baahubali was like his father Amarendra Baahubali? Will Mahendra Baahubali's son be our next king?"

"Yes, darling! After the father, the son rules the kingdom. So, after Mahendra Baahubali, his son will be our future king. Vithu okataithe chettu inkoti authundha? (If the seed is one, will the plant be different)" answered the mother.

The boy asked, "I understood now. Our history is really great, isn't it, Amma? Rajmata Sivagami, Amarendra Baahubali, Rani Devasena, Mahendra Baahubali .......and so many other great people.....in a continuous line......I feel so proud of it!"

The mother spoke, "Yes, darling. I too take pride in it. We all should!"

"Amma, but what if there is a kingdom without a history?" posing a very tricky and difficult question in the simplistic way only children are capable of. She glossed over it, "What nonsense! If there is a kingdom, it will have a history. Even if there is such a kingdom in the world, your mother doesn't know."

That the mother did not know how to answer this question is no big surprise. But the bigger surprise that time held in her womb was the fact that there was actually going to be a kingdom without a history.