It took four years for Arjuna to balance his emotions with his austerity and to master the art of detachment. It wasn't like he had actually become detached from his loved ones but he became able to deal with his present with more toleration than before. His mind was less inclined towards chaos and was more inclined towards spirituality. He adapted himself fully into the path of exile and did not experience as much pull towards Indraprastha as before.
He still missed his family and wanted to go back to them but not before the twelve year exile period. He gathered the equanimity and the patience that is required for the remaining eight years of his exile in the past four years. The advice of Ulupi to make peace with his feelings for Krishnaa and not run away from them, aided him in fructifying his penance to the best extent that he was capable of. He realized that averting one's attention from feelings never helps one achieve self-restraint. It is when they are speculated and solved, that we become free of their effect.
His pilgrimage and austerity were going fine but there was one regret that remained with him through the passing years and that's his inability to share the news of his marriage with Ulupi with his family members, especially with Krishnaa, on his own. He had informed everything to the Brahmana travellers at Gangadvara as he had known that they would take the news to Indraprastha. He wanted his mother, his brothers and his wife to be informed about this important development in his life. But it was his responsibility to let his first wife know about his second marriage directly from him and if not, at least through a direct message from him. But all that he could manage to send her was indirect news.
It's not like he hadn't contemplated the idea of a direct message but he had any safe way to send any personal message to his wife. Previously, Kalindi had carried his message and she had maintained their privacy but there was no such trusted person with him to take his message to Krishnaa again. If he trusted any outsider with their personal messages, it could be risky to his and Krishnaa's reputation, in the delicate situation they were bound in.
What if the messenger turned out to be deceptive and spread misinformation about them? The entire purpose of his exile would go in vain then. The honor of not just himself and Krishnaa, but the honor of Pandu Kula was at stake, and he wasn't willing to take that risk. He hoped that she would understand him and his hope was his lone saving grace at the face of such helplessness. It's not that his hope was unrivalled, there were times when uncertainty crept up into his heart, and he feared how she would have reacted to the news and what she would be thinking about him.
He usually managed to invalidate his apprehensions with his belief on his love that she understands him like no other. He might speak one word but she listens to everything that he intends through that one word. But Krishnaa demands that he speak at least that one word. She doesn't appreciate ignorance and silence at any cost. That's the reason he was worried about the lack of communication between them. But he also knew that it was inevitable to act according to the circumstances sometimes. His wife might be assertive but she was also adaptive, and she will surely understand when he will explain his situation to her later.
With such hope and belief within his heart, though his unsaid words bothered his peace at times, Arjuna resolutely continued his pilgrimage. He reached the Southern part of the Bharatavarsha during the fifth year of his exile on foot. Though a lot of Brahmanas had accompanied him to the Himalayas, to the Eastern Bharatavarsha, to Vanga and Kalinga, they all bid him farewell when he crossed Kalinga and stepped onto the land of the Pandyas. Other than a few tourists who had gone their own way in the Kingdom, he was all alone as he traversed through the lanes of Manalura, the capital of the Pandyas.
He was not unfamiliar with the surroundings of the Pandya Kingdom or the Dakshina Bhumi in general. He had already led a conquest of the Southern land along with his brother Vrikodara when they were living in Hastinapura before they went to Varanavata. Though he had conquered Manalura in battle back then, he found an ally in King Chitravahana who had preferred to befriend him instead of nursing any animosity against him.
King Dhritarashtra was still the overlord of Manalura it seemed as Arjuna could see the flag of Kuru along with the flag of Pandya flying on the top of the royal palace. The guards who were standing before the main gates had noticed him and invited him inside, considering him as a Rishi who sought royal hospitality. The son of Pandu accepted their request as he wanted to meet the King once and followed the guards inside the gates.
He noticed a huge vigraha of Mahadeva carved out of white marble near the entrance, with several men and women gathered around to worship. They were probably the workers and the servants in the royal palace. He immediately paused in his steps and joined his palms to offer his obeisances to the Three-Eyed Lord. As he prayed with devotion, a distraught voice interrupted him and diverted his attention.
"Hey PinakaPani, all the subjects of Pandya Rajya have a single wish! We want our future to be secured! But when will you fulfil it?" A middle-aged woman knelt down wearily. "Who will take up the responsibility of Manalura after Maharaja Chitravahana and his daughter? The Pandya lineage will end with Kumari Chaitravahini. After that, the subjects will be orphans! What will happen to the Kingdom? Will the Pandyas' existence be wiped out?"
Arjuna wondered what was going on with the inheritance of Pandya that everyone was talking openly. It wasn't the first time he was hearing whispers about this matter since he entered Manalura. It reminded him of the times when Hastinapura's inheritance was in speculation and how people wanted his brother as their ruler while his cousins were fully against it from the start. The entire Kuru had broken into open discussions about the inheritance and e future, which was a sign that the political situation of the country was messed up.
"We're hoping that our princess gets married and gives birth to an heir. But unless you perform some miracle, that won't happen, Prabhu!" The woman sighed and continued, "Which prince will sacrifice his rights on his child? Who will agree to give his wife's lineage to their child? It all seems far-fetched."
The guards led Arjuna into one of the guest rooms where everything was arranged as per the preferences of a saint. They told him that they would inform their King soon about his arrival and left from there. But the son of Pritha was lost in thought about what he had happened to hear outside.
Manalura had numerous allies including illustrious nations like Hastinapura and Vidarbha, and plenty of moral support as well, but still such a problem persisted. Were princes of Bharatavarsha self-centred? Or didn't they want Pandya to flourish?
He went towards the window of the chamber and absent-mindedly stared at the adjacent corridors. His mind was busy in analyzing the issue which was not just political but social. Manalura needed a son-in-law who would give more importance to the princess of Manalura than himself in the marriage.
As he stood there thoughtfully, a young woman around twenty five springs walked into the corridors where his eyes were stuck, draped in royal silk clothes. A small golden crown sat on her head, revealing her status and her identity. The princess of the Pandyas, Chaitravahini Chitrangada. She had a reddish-brown skin complexion, and she was tall and proud in appearance.
When he was travelling through the Pandya Kingdom, he had heard the story about the lineage of Maharaja Chitravahana and the boon of a single child that his ancestor had received from Lord Shiva. Chaitravahini was the single child of her generation and that was the cause of worry for everyone.
As he gazed at the princess who was interacting with the workers around the palace with an affectionate smile, he was reminded of Krishnaa's queenly aura and kindness. The princes and princesses who considered their Kshatriya identity as their duty were rare when compared to the ones who claimed it as their privilege. The fame of Princess Chitrangada who dedicated her life to her kingdom was far-spread. Perhaps no prince could accept that his wife gave more importance to her kingdom than his.
As he watched the beautiful daughter of Chitravahana, an inexplicable surge of tenderness flooded his heart. For some unknown reason, he felt as if Shiva himself had led him to the royal palace of Manalura, signalling that he was the solution to the problem that his boon had generated. He could take the hand of Chitrangada in marriage and beget an heir for the lineage of the Pandyas. As he was free from his own royal duties, he could give his complete care for the Pandyas and the Pandya princess for the time-being.
He would also attain the love of a family through this marriage, a feeling that had become a past memory for him. If King Chitravahana and Princess Chitrangada consented to his proposal, everything would go well for both himself and Manalura.
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Note:
Chitrangada was from the Pandya dynasty and the source for this is the Kumbakonam Edition (Southern Recession) of the Mahabharata.
BORI CE does not mention the name of the Kingdom/dynasty. Only the city name is mentioned and it is called Manalura. Not Manipura. And this Manalura is located in the present day Tamil Nadu.
The conquest of the South (and East) by Arjuna and Bhima is mentioned in the KMG version of the Mahabharata. I'm surely building fictional threads here, but not without basis, so just wanted to clarify. Let me know your thoughts on this chapter!