"Do you see little bright spot next to it.... "Shakra pointed to the little bright star. "That is Arundhati Nakshatra. "
Arundhati.
She was the mind daughter of Brahma who was reborn as Kardama's daughter—the illustrious wife of Vashistha—her brilliance, which is unchallenged even today. Her name is synonymous with greatness that no other woman has reached. Even the saptarishis listen to her discourse on Vedas and Vedanta.
Her fame was so brilliant that she has a spot in the saptarishi Nakshatra, next to the bright star representing Vashistha Maharishi.
The husband, during the time of marriage, points the star of Arundhati to the wife, giving her the inspiration to reach the same level of greatness and find her position equal to her husband as the great Seer Arundhati had.
Shakra looked at Mayurakshi while she stared into the sky at the great constellation and the bright star just near it. Mayurakshi spotted the brilliant star by it.
After a few moments, their marriage was done. Raashi's efforts were all in vain.
Shatrujit saw Mayurakshi. He signaled to Gowri, and she instantly brought a tray. "I welcome you to our family, Rajkumari. This is a welcoming gift from my side." They gave a large royal order to her. Shatrujit had gifted her a beautiful mansion on the banks of Godavari.
Mayurakshi just looked at it in wonder. She hadn't expected anything more than what she had already received. It made sense to her now why everyone from the Kalika Empire was giving her gifts. They all had already known that Shatrujit wanted Mayurakshi to be married to Shakrajit.
"Thank you..." She thanked him. Everyone from the Kalika Empire congratulated them on the wedding.
Karma came ahead with a tray. "I suppose it is only fair that you accept this now." The gift that Shakra had sent for her, which she had earlier, refused. Sri Chandika's nosering. Mayurakshi turned to look at Shakra. He smiled at her and encouraged her to take it.
"Both of you must be hungry. You have been fasting for so long. Go eat something first." Amritakumari suggested to the two of them. The wedding had started early in the morning, during Brahma Muhurta. It had gone through the whole day.
Mayurakshi and Shakra sat in a corner to eat food. The guests had all finished their dinner. They served the dinner to the couple who sat next to each other. Two curries, two rice dishes, sambhar, two fried items, and two sweet varieties. Shakra knew her love of sweets and saved one of his sweets for her. Her mood would especially be bad with the suddenness of everything. She would want to eat more sweets.
Shakra just couldn't stop looking at her. It still felt like a dream. Mayurakshi was married to him.
"You are Mayurakshi, right?" He asked softly. The unusual softness surprised her. He was usually playful with her.
"Why are you asking silly questions?"
"I don't know. It still feels like a dream. I have dreamed for 8 years how it would be if you were my wife, but now I worry that this is nothing but a dream."
"I wouldn't put it past you to make sure your dreams become reality. I had little a choice."
"I have no hand in this one event, Mayurakshi."
"You want me to believe that you have no hand in forcing all of them? What do you think I am? A child?"
"I wouldn't insist on marrying you if you were a child." She rolled her eyes at his commentary and returned to her food.
Finishing their food, they sent the bride and the groom into their chamber. Mayurakshi returned to her room and noticed everything being packed by her maids. When she entered, all of them looked at her. The girls saw the mangalsutra over her neck and the toe ring on her second toe. Her white saree with golden borders made her look like a goddess.
"Rajkumari..." They slowly walked to her. Mayurakshi sat down before the mirror and looked at her reflection. Just a little kumkuma was applied at the hair partition. The mangalsutra hanging around her neck. It was more noticeable than any diamond and ruby jewelry she wore along with her saree.
Diksha instantly wrapped her arms around Mayurakshi. "I'm so sorry, Rajkumari. Nothing seems to benefit us. All our hard word is now a waste."
"The whole idea seems to be given by Guru garu himself," Mayurakshi told them. She couldn't understand his reasons at all. He said nothing to her ever about herself and Shakra. Then, suddenly, he suggests Maharaj Shatrujit change the bride from Yuvika to Mayurakshi.
"Rajkumari, if Guru garu himself suggested this, then it is only for our best. Who can know our best better than our Guru garu? He has always wished for your best." Diya added.
"Do you want us to keep him out of the room?" Meena asked.
"Who?"
"Rajkumari..." The maid moved before her, "you realize that this could be your first night? After marriage, people expect a couple to sleep in the same room and the same bed. It is the tradition. After marriage, they consider it unholy for the bride and the groom to sleep separately. Yuvraj is known for being the impatient Prince and he has wanted you for 8 years. Now, you are his wife. He will demand his right over you."
The sudden realization almost alerted her.
Well, at least something good will come out of this now. At least now we don't have to daydream about being in his arms. He will be there to please us to our content.
"We will keep him away if you want us to." Meena offered.
"Are you insane? It is inauspicious to keep the bride and groom away from each other. The gods can get angry." Bahula argued, "Already so much bad has happened. It is only right for us to do everything auspicious from now on." She then turned to Mayurakshi. "It isn't unethical for you to ask him to wait for a few days. You may say that you aren't prepared for intercourse.."
"Really? Then what are they going to do? Just go to sleep?"
"Of course. It is completely allowed. She may say no. It is upon him to get her approval. That's what I've heard from some ganikas."
They all looked at her. Mayurakshi truly didn't know what she thought of that. She already had a glimpse of how pleasing Shakra could be if he wanted to be. Her stupid heart was already in Nandana Vana with this marriage.
The bedside that Mayurakshi finally noticed had a glass. As per tradition, the groom and the bride get milk mixed with saffron, jaiphal, and ashwagandha. It is Kama's divine mixture.
They heard giggles from outside. A large group of girls were giggling non-stop. "Shshhs...." Mayurakshi heard the grin in Shakra's voice. The door opened and Shakra was pushed inside, "excuse me!!!!" He expressed offense at the push. They only replied with a giggle.
Mayurakshi felt her heart beating faster. Nervousness spread through her body.
"We'll probably be leaving for Ambikapuram tomorrow morning early," Shakra informed her. "I guess your things are already packed."
"Rajkumari...." Her maids waited for her decision about what to do with the situation.
"It's okay. I'll be fine. You all get some rest." She assured them, masking her nervousness. The maids waited for a few moments and then left.
They left Shakra and Mayurakshi alone in the room. Mayurakshi walked back to the mirror and took off the heavy jewelry. Shakra walked over to her, kneeling behind her and watching her in the reflection. Playfully, he moved his hand over her face in reflection and gave her a flying kiss.
"Such perfection is impossible to find elsewhere, bangaram."
She didn't reply to his appeasement. She was a bit confused about what she wanted to do. One part of her was happy about finally being free to own him as she wanted. The other part of her felt cheated by the love she was hoping to receive from her father. It was an argument within herself. The part of her that had latched itself to the little attention she got from Shakra and the part of her that wanted attention from her father were at war with each other.
He sighed loudly. Even with her refusal to answer, the smile on his face was contagious. Nothing could ruin his happiness. "I feel like Amma Kalika has finally answered my prayers. I know that this might be hard for you to accept, but I only hope that you'll soon accept me completely."
"I don't see how I'm allowed to not accept you..." She held up her mangalsutra and showed it to him, "This is a promise for 7 lives now. I have to fulfill it whether or not I find it hard."
"7 lives seem too short with you. It seems like even a moment away from you is like yugas passing by, but with you, even 7 lives seem like a moment."
He moved before her and kneeled before her. "You have every right to be angry at me, Mayurakshi. I will bear it. I didn't plan to force a marriage on you using a blade. I wanted us to be together by choice. I recognize that this is rakshasa vivah, but I promise you I'll always stand by you. You will always have me on your team. Whether or not the times are good, I will be there with you in them. I want you to love me and if I have to go through your anger before I get there, it is completely fine. I want you as my partner, my companion, my friend, my lover, and my guide. I will be your partner, your companion, your friend, your lover, and your guide. Do you know how they say that the mangalsutra is a sign of your husband being alive? It is true because my life is your property now. It is a turmeric laced thread and two gold plates around your neck."
"Well, at least it is better than being your whore as it was initially seeming to be."
He rolled his eyes and gave her a look. "You hit me where it hurt the most, and I returned the favor. You and I are both aware I wouldn't ruin my love for you by making you my whore. If I wanted to, then I would have demanded to you the very first moment your brother was in my control." He pulled out the dagger she had used while attempting to assassinate him. "I was thinking about what you were doing when someone tried to kill me. It was as if someone had purposefully tried to set me off with excessive incense."
Mayurakshi remained calm and did not show any reaction. Shakra had now recognized that facial expression. She wears that mask tight on her face.
He moved towards the bed and laid down on it, looking carefully at the dagger, "But you know what surprised me?"
"That they escaped you, the master warlord, and the Yama of the battlefield?"
"The incense."
"I mean, you say they meant it to put you off."
"It cannot be a hired assassin. That incense is expensive. I cannot imagine a hired assassin having enough money to buy that. The Kalika Empire particularly trades this incense. The only trader who trades in it is my friend, Kalki. His trading business has me as a shareholder."
"Someone from the Kalika Empire must have wanted you dead as well."
Shakra laughed at her attempt to turn it around. Mayurakshi was smart, but not so much as to know the way he worked as an enemy. He was baiting her, and she took it. That incense was a gift Shakra gave her on her 18th birthday.
"It is funny to think that I am unaware of an assassination attempt on me from the Kalika Empire."
"You aren't an all-seeing deity, Yuvraj."
"Is that what you plan to call me?" Shakra sat up quickly and signaled her to come towards him. Shakra discarded his anga vastra as she walked over to him. He had a flower bracelet around his wrist. "That's for me, right?" He pointed to the milk glass.
"Yes... one of them is for you and one for me."
"Can you pass them over?"
Mayurakshi took a deep breath. She was expecting some coercing on his part. She had to prepare herself for the activity that Shakra wanted to do for so long. She handed one glass to him. Taking it from her, he winked at her and drank it.
He resembled a perfect warrior. His bones were not visible on his chest at all until he stretched over particularly. A thin little roll just below his belly button, just a little bit. It could almost go unnoticed. Mayurakshi knew why that came over. Shakra loved food as much as he loved swords and the battlefield. A few scars were over his chest from his battles. He didn't have much hair over his chest, but the spots near the scars didn't grow hair at all. His shoulders were perfectly sculpted. His arms were strong, like a lion's limbs.
He threw the glass away, brattishly, when he finished drinking. "Tsch,... what are you doing?" She moved to pick it up, but Shakra caught hold of her hand.
"Leave it there. They'll pick it up in the morning."
Shakra slowly traced her cheeks with the back of his fingers. "Finish drinking it..."
She drank her milk and put the glass aside. Shakra didn't let go of her and pulled her closer the moment she placed the glass down. To steady herself, she held on to his arm. He stood up from the bed and held her face.
"Yuvraj...." She didn't know what she wanted to say. Without a word, Shakra pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly. At first, she was taken aback. She hadn't known hugs so much. She had left her mother for her father. In her early childhood, she received many hugs from her but the later part was usually heavy arguments to receive hugs. Her father wasn't so affectionate to give her loving embraces. Shakra usually crowded her and flirted with her while pushing her into a corner.
It was a memory that Shakra was her husband. He wanted her to know that he would give her the love and care she wanted from her family. He was her family. He was assuring her that everything would be fine. Mayurakshi took a moment but wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
"I'm there for you."
Mayurakshi was usually cold off to him but she felt herself wanting to hide in him. Hide from all the ache in her heart. Hide from her wishes to be her father's favorite child and disappear into his attentive embrace.
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Context
1. Consent
According to tradition, a bride can actually refuse to consummate her marriage on the first night. The groom has to find a way to convince her and get her approval. They suggest trying to romance her, get her gifts, and try ways to get her consent.
Mahabharata mentions that Lopamudra married the great sage Agastya. He wanted to have a child so that he can help his ancestors. Lopamudra, in her right, refuses to bear a child until he brings some riches for their married life to have a good balance of materialism and asceticism. So, Maharishi Agastya fulfills her condition.
2. Nandana Vana
It is a beautiful garden present in Swarga. It is a euphemism for a place of great pleasure. Gandharvas and Apsara play music and dance there to please Indra. The Nandana Vana has several flowering trees, evergreen trees, fruit bearing trees, and the divine Kalpavrika that can grant wishes.
3. The turmeric milk
Ayurveda says that warm milk mixed with turmeric increases stamina. Saffron, Jaiphal, and Ashwagandha are also known as aphrodisiac. It is known to increase sexual desire and reduce sexual dysfunction to a certain degree. Saffron is particularly noted to help erectile dysfunction in men.
So, in ancient India, these special ingredients are mixed in warm turmeric milk to give couples more sexual stamina and pleasure. They may add almonds for the taste.
That's Kama's Divine mixture. Kama's job is to make sure that desire are heightened so that procreation goes on and the creation doesn't die out.
Don't mind my tidbits of information. I just enjoy sharing some research that I do while I write the story. I feel that a lot of our ancient culture isn't explored in most of the stories based on Indian historical romance. I know that ancient culture isn't the main theme between the characters but I just find this addition as an interesting part of my story.
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