I PROMISE: AN ONESHOT

 I PROMISE

                                                                                           -By SleepyArcher

Disclaimer: I own neither Mahabharata nor the characters.

He entered the Samragyi’s bed-chamber, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the brilliance inside. This particular room in the entire palace shone with most light due to well-positioned mirrors. The arrangement was as per the wishes of the mistress of the palace, who had felt the natural light and colours to be more magical than anything else the other-wordly palace had to offer.

The Samragyi herself was standing at one of the humongous windows, her long unbound hair hanging behind her in a silky fall. As it would for the next thirteen year. ‘Or, for even more years if you fail’, an inconspicuous voice whispered in his mind. A voice that sounded very familiar to him. He ignored the dread those words flared in his heart.

 She stayed silent as he approached though they both knew that she was aware of his presence. Coming to stand beside her silent form, he stared at the side profile of the world’s most beautiful face as his mind searched for the words he had prepared for so long yet forgotten as soon as he was in her presence.

To be truthful, he always became somewhat muddle-headed when left alone with his rather temperamental first-wife. Maybe that’s why, he felt so comfortable with his fourth wife, Subhadra. She was someone he could impress easily with his skills both in the battlefield and in their bed-chamber. Subhadra could be scolded and dazzled with gifts.

These things could not be done with Drapaudi. And it was not for any fault on her part. It was not her fault that she always gave a majestic, queenly aura that made her appear untouchable. No, the fault lay with Arjuna. A constant guilt made him uneasy around her. A guilt that told him tirelessly that he hadn’t been able to fulfill his responsibilities towards her. Instead of cherishing her, he had gotten her married to his four other brothers. Then he had disappeared for tapasya when it was the year he was supposed to spend with her. And when he had returned, he had returned with a wife, who was to stay with them at Indraprastha, which had been a taboo. Panchali had treated her like a sister but he had seen the pain flash in her eyes when she saw them together for the first time. After Subhadra’s arrival, he had spent even less time with her, stating the upcoming Rajsuya Yagya as the excuse. And finally yesterday, at Hastinapur Raj Sabha, where he and his brothers had done exactly nothing to protect her from the Vastraharana. They had shouted, bowed their heads in shame but none had taught Dushasana or Duryodhana or even Karna appropriate lessons for their actions and speech. But they hadn’t and Panchali had to turn elsewhere for protection.

“Ready for departure?”, her soft voice broke both the silence and the line of his thoughts.

“Yes. We will be leaving in the next ghatika after a final meeting with our praja.”

“Good”, she turned towards him and his breath caught as his eyes fell on the wound on her forehead. She ignored his gasp.

“I have asked Govind to send our letters to Kampilya. It’s a good thing that our sons are already there. I have packed the basic necessities.”

“Panchali, I-”, he was cut off by her.

“Aryaputra Yudhishthira and I have decided to acquire anything else by the means of hard labor.”

“Panchali, there is-”, she interrupted him again.

“Our sons and relatives will be able to visit us but we cannot take any material help from them. We are also to take a very small collection of weapons with us and-”, he didn’t let her complete.

“PANCHALI, I HAVE SOMETHING TO TELL YOU!”, she finally became silent and met his eyes.

“I want to both give and take an oath from you.” he searched that stunning face for show of any emotion but it remained enigmatic as always.

“And?” her voice was perfectly calm.

“In the next thirteen years, there will be numerous times when our resolve to fight for justice will weaken due to our love for those who have sided with Adharma. But yours won’t. Your strength to hold on to a resolve is far greater than any of us. I want you to promise that when that happens you will remind us of the sins committed by them and by us for not fighting against them, then and there. And, I promise you that I will slay those present in the Sabha other than the 100 brothers. Being Elders and aware of their sins won’t protect them from the wrath of Nyaya.”

She stared at him for a long moment while he tried to keep his features as steady as hers. They both knew that his demand was practically another greater sacrifice for her, one which would assign her the image of a cold-hearted, selfish and vengeful monarch to history. He wondered whether he had finally crossed a forbidden limit.

But Panchali took his hand in hers and said in a steady and quiet tone, “I promise.”

*        *        *

[Author’s note:- This short fic was inspired by the 2013 Star Plus Mahabharata TV series and written that year. However, this tiny plot is entirely my own creation for I have no idea if Draupadi and Arjuna indeed had such a conversation before leaving Indraprastha.]

Notes:

Adharma: It is the antithesis of Dharma, a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy. It has no single-word equivalent in Western languages.

Aryaputra: Descendant of Aryan race; women used this term to address their husbands.

Ghatika: A measure of time equal to 24 minutes. 

Hastinapur: Capital of Kuru kingdom in Mahabharata and Puranas. It is situated in the Meerut district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

Indraprastha: Capital of Pandava-led kingdom. It is situated to the south of present New Delhi.         

Kampilya: Capital of Panchal kingdom ruled by Drupada. It is located near Farrukhabad in current Uttar Pradesh.

Nyaya: Literally means “rules”, “method” or “judgement”; one of the six systems of Indian philosophy.

Praja: Subjects.

Raj Sabha: Royal Court.

Rajsuya Yagya: Imperial Sacrifice or the king's inauguration sacrifice performed by the ancient kings of India who considered themselves powerful enough to be an emperor. It is described in detail in the Mahabharata.

Samragyi: Empress.

Tapasya: Penance (one of the meanings which matches the story).

Vastraharana: Taking off the clothes; literally means stealing the clothes.

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