It was a new day. The morning was peaceful and calm, except for Divya.
"Good thing, we brought our laptop. Otherwise, we would be doomed." Divya spoke in English, typing furiously on her laptop, tending to the matters of Lucknow. Aadi rolled his eyes at her, sitting next to her. Duryodhan and Dussashan stared at the computer in awe. Karn, on the other hand, was amused by the dynamic of the two Kaliyugis.
"What is that?" Dussashan asked as he pointed at the device. His eldest brother shrugged in reply.
"You made a typing mistake," Aadi pointed out, a smug smile creeping up on his face as she fixed the mistake.
The five, lounging in Aadi and Div's shared room, were gossiping before an emergency popped up. Duryodhan seemed reluctant about tending to these matters continuously but got conviction after Aadi explained that he'd have to do the same if he wanted to be a king.
Monarchy had a burden—no personal life.
That's what Aaditya complained about to Div, but she'd just say that they weren't monarchs.
"What's the matter?" Karn asked, keenly. She sighed, unsure if she could share it or not. She looked at the other Kaliyugi for approval and he just shrugged.
"Um, er, do you know what drugs are?" She questioned, reluctantly. The three men of Dwapar Yug shared looks.
"Medication?"
"Well, sure, in a way. Just here, it refers to illegal medication, which causes pleasure for a while but is harmful. Kind of alcohol, in a way." Aadi explained as if talking to a kid, smiling to himself. Dusshasan was shocked upon seeing that a man could smile so much, but he refrained from commenting on it.
"So, what about it?" Duryo, a nickname Div called him which he didn't like, asked.
"There is a sale for it which wasn't warranted by us and the profits do not reach us either, which means we have to kick them out," Divya concluded as a smirk crawled onto her face. Aadi sighed as he realised that those people who had engaged in the sale had been let into Lucknow by Div. He didn't point her mistake out, not in front of everyone at least. But he was surely going to trouble her about it later.
"What do you think about this swayamvar?" Duryodhan asked, abruptly.
They shrugged, still not adapted to the new custom.
"The intent seems nice, but wouldn't it be a waste of a month, to all those who lose?" Aadi said.
"I suppose, but that's every swayamvar. One or the other person is bound to feel insulted if we consider their egos. There's nothing one can do to avoid that." Divya replied.
The rest of the afternoon went by in a blur for the two Kaliyugis, except for when they were called out for lunch and had to mingle with the various Kings and answer their questions, time felt like it kept stretching.
As soon as the evening arrived, the trumpets roared through the palace, calling for everyone to gather. The participants assembled in the garden, again, and those who were only here for viewing sat aside on an elevated platform.
Draupadi stood in the middle of the podium, viewing the ones in front of her with a sober expression. The task she had devised for today was to help her a lot.
Today is the day of elimination.
Dhrishtadyumna gathered the attention of the crowd before speaking, "Those who will not be participating in the swayamvar and only are participating as a custom, please sit aside." He said as the Kaliyugis sat near Krishna, small groups of people gathered near the area of non-participants.
"Today's task is simple. What it is about will not be revealed. Everyone will be given a pouch filled with lentils of one colour. They'll either be dark or light. The ones who get the dark ones will get disqualified and those with the light ones will stay. No one will check the pouches, you only have to approach Rajkumari Panchali and inform her of the colour. And do not contaminate the dal, for it will be distributed amongst the poor as a donation. The soldiers shall give you the pouches now."
As soon as he finished speaking, the soldiers hurried to distribute the pouches. Every king and prince got them. The red silk pouches with a heavy amount of lentils in it, all of them combined were enough to suffice a few families for a week of meals.
Draupadi was content with her plan. The test for honesty was her friend, Govind's idea which she was very thankful for. She had listed out so many choices for her ideal husband, each task made perfectly to figure out if the Kings had those values. The nobles who complained about her being too picky were shushed by Drupad who said that the most beautiful woman in all of Aryavarta had the right to be decisive. Draupadi would usually counter by saying her fortune is to cause a great change in Aryavarta, so a husband suiting her preference was necessary.
The participants slowly approached her in a line, whispering the colour of their lentils to her. The first King came, a prideful look on his face. "I have the light coloured lentils, Panchali."
Draupadi narrowed her eyes at him and his daring to refer to her by her name. She nodded, being patient, asking him to go and stand near the Ashoka tree in front of them.
Soon enough, most of the Kings were lined near the Ashoka tree. The other side which was supposed to be a line as well was empty. Div frowned, confused as to what the task entailed as Krishna asked her to be patient. Aadi, on the other hand, was eager to know who would be disqualified and who wouldn't.
Next was Arjun. Div finally identified him, despite his beard and Brahmin attire. The Kaliyugis had taken a glance at his paintings and portraits which were shipped to Panchal upon Panchali's request.
He held a dejected look, his eyes filled with disappointment.
"I have the dark lentils, Rajkumari." He said, clutching the pouch.
Draupadi's face lit up but she hid the expression. She nodded and asked him to stand near the Banyan tree. He agreed as his brothers followed behind and informed the princess that they had dark lentils as well.
The task soon ended and all the participants divided were into two lines—the ones who said they had light lentils and those who said they had dark ones. The one with the light lentils made a line behind the Ashoka tree and the one with dark lentils made a line behind the Banyan tree.
There were only about fifty to sixty people in the line behind the Banyan tree, including the Pandavas and Karn.
Duryodhan and Dusshasan, on the other hand, were behind the Ashoka tree.
Draupadi announced, "Participants, those who stand behind the Ashoka tree are disqualified."
Incoherent arguments broke out, complaining that the princess asked them to stand in that line. Div and Aadi shared a look of realisation as they watched the chaos.
"This was a test of honesty. The ones who said they had the light-coloured lentils were dishonest. Because everyone got the dark-coloured lentils. Those who were honest stood behind the Banyan tree. I apologise if any of you have been insulted, it was not our intention. It was merely a process of elimination." The PanchalKumari said, prideful about the task.
After a riot, arguments, a bit of drama and insults thrown, the one who lost shamefully returned to kingdoms, not wanting to watch the rest days of the swayamvar.
Duryodhan and Dusshasan felt insulted, but they refrained from saying anything. Div and Aadi expressed their disappointment in them without hesitation.
The whole friend group— Duryodhan, Dusshasan, Karn, Aaditya and Divya made their way to Duryodhan's chamber. The eldest Kaurav, discouraged upon losing though he was, made sure to congratulate Karn on passing the test. Karn, however, wasn't very keen on winning the swayamvar. The poor guy was only here to support his friends. But now that none of them were participating, he had no interest in continuing. But seeing Duryodhan's content upon his passing made him continue.
"Tch, why'd you lie, Duryo? You could've won," Divya scoffed at his mistake, knowing that either way he wouldn't have won. But, of course, she would still pester him. It was her duty as a friend.
"Whatever." He rolled his eyes, walking beside her. "Anyways, don't call me 'Duryo'. I am a Yuvraj, for god's sake." He complained as the other three guys chuckled at that.
"No can do, Yuvraj Duryo." Aadi said.
"Just you two wait," Duryodhan shouted and started chasing them down the hallway. The Kaliyugis ran for their lives and Karn and Dusshasan laughed in amusement.
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