The time in Vanvas was going rather smoothly for the family. They had eventually reached the place where their lives had begun, the village where they lived before going to the palace. Priyamvada and her daughter would daily cook food for the brothers and the others would do the daily tasks of inviting the rishi munis for bhog. It was a peaceful life, until someone asked Dayanidhi, if he had seen her before, and despite her stern refusal, he was persistent.
That very night the family left the village.
They were moving through the Kamaky forests one day, when....
" Bhrata. Please stop. We are very tired. " Ashwanath said, panting.
" We can't stay here long Ashwanath. We need to keep moving. " Bal told him sternly.
" But bhrata-"
"Ashwa! " Priyamvada cried, when he collapsed, his tired body unable to take the strain of having to survive without food since the past four days.
" Ashwa! Ashwa! Wake up you idiot. You still have to find a very beautiful bhabhi for me to match your beauty. Wake up. " Dayanidhi said, each moment he lay fainted increasing her heartbeat.
" Jyeshtha. Please calm down. He'll be fine. Bhrata Rujut, bring some water, and neem leaves with two stones. " Sahdev ordered calmly.
" Kumari, mata ,shant. He'll be alright. See Gopal is making medicines for him isn't he. He'll manage. We only need to feed him. Come, we'll search for fruits, and if we find some root vegetables, we'll cook them over the fire. Come with me. " Vasuni told them, trying to pacify his family. Ever since they knew the truth about his birth, while Dayanidhi was an exceptional anuja, she often slipped into her roles as the eldest, but her family's harm reminded her of the struggles they were facing, and she became someone she had left long back. The girl who was sitting in front of her Narayan, crying about her father's death. In one world, she allowed herself to be vulnerable. It was at these moments when Vasuni realised how much she had suffered. Howuch they had suffered. All at the hands of a vile man who was misleading his own nephew.
Who in their right mind would still hold so much compassion in their hearts, after repeated threats to her families lives. He was sure, that if mata allowed, she would be ready to stand in front of even Pitamah Bheeshm to fight for her family, as would the rest of them. But these incidents only increased his respect for her , the one who became his friend before anything.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
" Dharmjeet told me that you were crying the other day. Is it true? "
" Me? Crying? When? " She asked, perplexed.
" When you went away mad at us all because of our teasing. "
"Oh. No it's fine. I had a moment of weakness. Now I'm alright. " She said, eyes downcast to hide the truth.
" You do know it is not advisable to suppress your emotions right?" He asked gently.
" Jyeshth, we have come here to find fruits and vegetables for Ashwa's health. It is better we do that rather than meditating about past incidents. " She said, finality ringing in her tone.
" Alright. I accept that. But you do understand you can talk to me, right. I'm your Jyeshth. " He said, old fears creeping in.
" Avashy Jyeshth. Oh look. I see some watermelons near that pond. We solved both our problems. " She yelled excitedly.
Suddenly, the grass rustled, and both the siblings took out their katari.
" Who's there! " Vasuni asked.
When they heard no response, carefully inspecting the area , they found some rishis, huddled together, but their state made the Lakshmija want to bawl. Her eyes fell individually on each wound that marred their ascetic body, and her eyes tracked their fear. She sheathed her katari, silently asking her brother to do the same.
" Jyeshth. You help them over to our hut. I will ask Ashwa and Gopal to make aushadhi for their wounds. Mata and I will prepare some food for them." She said, running back towards their hut.
" MATA! MATA! Mata quickly, we must make some food for the rishis ! "
" Rishi? Who? Where? "
" Me and Jyeshth had gone to the pond for water, and fruits where we found six rishivars. They are gravely injured. Gopal, Ashwa, I am glad you are alright Ashwa, please go and make some aushadhi for their wounds. It is possible they might be infected as well, so prepare accordingly. They are very frightened. " She told them in one breath, panting, and then running to the makeshift kitchen and starting a fire.
While Vasuni brought the rishis back, the others had completed their jobs.
" Rishivar. Please forgive me and my Jyeshth. We were just trying to protect ourselves. " She said, while serving them cooked shakarkand.
"You don't need to apologize putri. You did what any manushy would do with a threat around them." One of the rishis said, while gratefully looking at this wonderful family.
By one look, even they seemed to be royals, with the tej on all of their foreheads.
" But rishivar. Who has reduced you to this state? " Dharmjeet asked.
" Panchal Naresh. Drupad. He demands a son for himself. He is adamant on defeating the five panduputr. "
" But, aren't they dead?" Bal asked, warily.
' Oh! This was when they all went for Gurudronachary's dakshina. ' Dayanidhi thought.
" They might be, who knows. Such pratapi kumars and their sister can't be killed by a mere fire, but everyone choses to believe it, as they haven't witnessed their prowess. "
" So what is the problem. Why couldn't he have his son? What is the connection of his son with you? " Rujut asked, quickly evading the subject.
" He is not destined to have a son. When you go against the kaal chakr, you suffer consequences . We are only alive due to the mercy of Maharishi Yaj and Upyaj. They had promised Drupad to give him a son, but it won't be limited to a son. To balance the chakr, the devs gave him another daughter. That is the mahayagy that happened in Paanchal . "
" But why couldn't you do the same? " Dayanidhi asked, carefully massaging their feet.
" We don't have as many merits putri. They do. They conducted the yagy for him, to beget a son for him from the devtagans. The son and daughter both took birth from the fire as fully formed adults. They are fireborns. They are swayam Agni . "
" That is fine then. So what is the problem? " Priyamvada asked.
" Devi, the King of Panchal is cruel. He asked for all the sadness in the world for his daughter. He asked for all the pain and anger and apman for his daughter, yet she would remain steadfast in her
opinions. "
Dayanidhi sat there, tears streaming down her eyes. No one should suffer through this much pain. If she could, she would take all of that pain meant for the Panchal Kumari for herself. That is her vow.
Lightening striked in the sky as she thought so, but no one paid heed.
" So what now? Where are you going to go to Rishivar? Should we help you back to the
villages? " Gopal asked.
" If you are so willing. "
" Bal, Dharmjeet, Rujut, Gopal, Vasuni and Ashwa, carry the rishis on your shoulders. We will help them till the next village. "
" Jo aagaya mata. " They chorused.
While walking, Rujut spotted Ashwatthama coming towards them.
" Jyeshtha, we must move out of his way. If he sees us, it will not end well. If not us, then he'll definitely recognize you." He whispered.
" Yathart Rujut. We must move towards the inner forests."
" Brahmin dev, we can stop here. We will find our own way from here. "
" Rishivar,in good conscience we cannot allow you to move through these forests alone."
" Don't worry, we see King Ashwatthama. We will ask for his help. "
" Alright. " Dayanidhi reluctantly agreed.
The children bowed down to touch the rishis feet.
" Putri, you have been a wonderful influence in our life. Your quick action on seeing us injured, and your and your brother's seva has made us very happy. We bless you, that as long as you stay with your brothers, they will never run out of food. You'll become their own annapurna, and your brothers will not be affected by any thorns in their path. They will be able to traverse the forests easily. Deerghayu bhav. " They blessed the children, while their mother stood back, proudly.
" We must leave immediately Jyeshth. If Ashwatthama recognises us, it's game over. " Dharmjeet said.
" Uchit hai. We'll mov-"
"Who's there? " Came the voice of the Drauni.
" It is us, Maharaj Ashwatthama. We are rishis moving towards the villages. "
" I am the king here. Your safety is my responsibility. Are there any more ? "
" Yes Maharaj, there is a family of eight, two women and six men, one of them is their mother. "
" A family of eight? Senikon. Look for them. Quick! "
Fearing this exact situation, Vasuni had hid his family and himself behind the largest rock they could see, and waited silently, hoping that they could pass by quietly.
" No one is here Maharaj. They must have left. "
" Where would they have gone off to! Look for them." He ordered, realising the gravity of the situation.
The family ran for their lives, hiding behind trees, until eventually, they entered an unusual part of the forest. It was dimly lit, and had little to no green leaves.
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Now that they have entered the forest of Kamaky, we'll finally meet our first uppandav. Ghatotkach
It is true really how Narayan makes so many of us sehensheel. It reminds us that no matter the type of yug, compassion is the key to society.
While the star plus mahabharat was not completely accurate, it did have an interesting range of casting.
Rohit Bharadvaj as Yudhishthir literally embodies what it means to be the eldest sibling, and this is coming from an elder sibling (🥲😂) . Plus he looks cute as the prince. Like people are dying over Arjun's smile, but have you seen his. It's so pure and cute.
But thats my rant.
Do you guys read the Percy Jackson series? I have another Mahabharat book, and one about Percy Jackson, Heroes of Olympus edition in my mind. We'll see where I am once we finish this one though 🤣.
As always, much love.
Radhekrishn❤