En-route to Kaampilya, Paanchaal

"What is it—what is it that you're saying, grandfather?"

Yudhishthir scrunched his forehead, his eyebrows narrowing down as he gazed at the matted-haired sage in shock. The latter had an unperturbed smile on his lips. "H—how is that even possible?" He exchanged a surprised glance at Bheem and then back at Vyaas. "No, no, this cannot be—"

"This is against Dharm, against the Ved; this cannot be—" Yudhishthir shook his head, closing his eyes. "No, I—"

"Dharm changes as per situations, son." Vyaas breathed in, his smile widening more. "And you cannot change the truth. Princess Draupadi ain't an ordinary woman, nor are you five—"

Arjun snapped his gaze at him, his brows furrowing as he looked on. He was unusually calmer than the other four, with a solemn face.

Their ascetic grandfather seemed to have knocked the daylights out of them.

"But how can a woman have multiple husbands?" Bheem instantly retaliated, massaging the corner of his temple and being equally disturbed. "Does that even happen? What—and what will society say?"

"What face shall we show to the society? I-"

"Sons...." 

"This—this cannot happen, grandfather. It's tormenting for a woman; what will people say?" Yudhishthir pinched the bridge of his nose, breathing in deeply as he shook his head. Nakul and Sahadev looked at each other a bit worriedly, while Arjun looked down for a moment, pursing his lips. "H-how shall we be in harmony in this way...?. Nothing shall be sorted, a-and...."

Princess Draupadi—was she going to be their common wife?

"Who said?" Vyaas now shot him a sharp look, "Who said that to you? Listen to me carefully Yudhishthir, you cannot disown the truth! The truth is, Krishnaa was the eternal consort of the five of you, beyond birth! Thinking that your life will be in jeopardy with her is nothing but absurdity! It's a scandal!" His eyes flared in exasperation as he stood up almost instantly.

"I, I did not mean it in that way, Maharshi; I apologize." He shook his head, mumbling silently, "I was, just, just—"

Vyaas firmed his eyes shut, his brows thinning. 

"Listen to me, sons of Pandu! Without Krishnaa, you five will be equivalent to stones without a life; the faster you understand, the better it shall be!" He concluded, his gaze shifting at Arjun for a moment. He had not uttered a word since then, silently watching as his brothers and the sage as he continued, "She ain't as ordinary a woman as you're deeming her to be! Her birth is for a special purpose, and she is bound to wed the five of you!" The constant disapproval of his words had flared his temper momentarily. He closed his eyes, exhaling deeply. "And no force, no force in this world can bend this fate!"

"Your destiny is to fight, sons of Pandu! Do not consider your life to be a bed of roses!"

"And what will society say? Was that your question, Vrikodar? Wasn't it?" Vyaas narrowed his brows at Bheem, who lowered his lashes for a while. "Then listen, son of Vayu! A society is made by conventions, Prince. I ain't saying to change them, but when righteousness demands it, it should! If society asks questions, be fearless and answer them! After all, nothing at the end but true righteousness stands!"

"If your heart and mind are in the right place, then no society or convention can bind them!" He raised his finger, solemnly gazing at the five of them. The Pandavs lowered their heads as he continued, "Krishnaa won't be just a wife to you; her presence will be a test of your patience, perseverance, and restraint in you! If you want to redeem Aaryavart, then without her, you can never!" He sat back, placing one limb above the other as his intense gaze bore into them.  Garbed in rags, matted dreadlocks, and smeared with ashes, yet his presence screamed regality and omnipotence.

There was complete silence for the moment as his words seemed to echo throughout for a while.

"The five of you and Princess Draupadi are eternal soulmates. She will be the Shri in your life, and it is your responsibility—your responsibility to embrace your fortune, your Shri." He gave a small smile and said, "Think beyond the earthly realm, Pandavs! Think beyond the earthly realm! Binding yourself to the conventions can never help every time."

"And you'll want to know, right? How can a woman marry multiple men? Right?"

"Even Lady Jatila of the Gautama lineage was married to seven sages and yet lived a life of honor and respect. Lady Rodasi is the common wife of the Maruts, and yet they pursued a life of truth and purity." Vyaas solemnly trailed his gaze at the five of them, "Because, where truth resides, righteousness too. When a mind is pure, so shall be the deeds!"

The five of them were silent by now, with lowered gazes.

The dreamy trance that they were in was suddenly shattered with the jibe of fate.

They were simply going to Kaampilya. Just to have a glimpse of the princess, wasn't it?

At least, that's what the five of them had said to each other, wasn't it?

Nakul and Sahadev had simply chuckled and said that they wanted to see the grandiose of the Swayamvar and the new capital of Paanchaal, Kaampilya; Bheem had said that he just wanted to watch the wrestling competitions that would be upheld for entertainment for the guests. Yudhishthir had just smiled at their wishes, and Arjun just nodded dreamily.

Only they knew what flicker of flame had erupted within them.

The innocent yearnings that had flickered in their hearts were grounded within moments.

How are they supposed to do it?

Arjun inhaled deeply. Till yesterday, his life was rather like a carefree soul, fluttering vagariously, weaving what had been buried within, unknown to him. Now reality had an unknown gravity in its own self.

Before he could even do it, fate had taken the reigns in its hands.

The mind once in vagary is difficult to narrow.

But Arjun could.

"Maharshi, if you permit, shall I?" Arjun softly ushered, his eyes still downcast as he folded his palms. The latter noticed a curious pair of ambers slowly peering at him. 

"Go on, son..." Vyaas gave a short nod. "Speak if your mind harbors cynicism."

"You know who Krishnaa is in reality, isn't it? " He glanced back at him without blinking. Vyaas looked down momentarily, with a short, knowing smile on his lips, "You're Narattma son....you know everything, isn't it.....? Anyways," He tilted his head, "Bound to earthly duties are you, and so am I." He mumbled. 

He gazed back at the third Pandav, who's earthly incarnation could barely obliviate his ascetic enigma.

"So listen..."

★★★★★★★★★

A/N

I like—love when Arjun is in 'Apun ich Bhagwaan hai mode' 🌝🌝🌝

Isi ke saath I welcome controversies ahead, I can clearly say that- and I accept them all. As I promised, I will share the snippet of this entire part, but only in the next chapter.

Now one more thing, Yudhi seems a bit unsettled than the others--there's reason why. He is a very firm believer of the texts and all that--to kuch bhi uske against jab hota hai he gets a bit hyper. And in fact, even at the last moment he asks Arjun to marry Draupadi only--which kind of shows his skepticism even after knowing everything.

Aur bhai....kuch logo ko aisa lagrha hai ki meri book is a response against the other ArDi books.

LOL.

L.O.L.

Mereko koi kaam dandha nahi hai? Mai ek ArDi book ke khilaf jaane ke liye poori ki poori ek series publish karu?

Then listen--I am not against one ArDi book--I am against the entire ocean of delusion ArDi books 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣.

And I have to be Rishi Agastya at this point.

Ifykyk 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Aise aise sach bahar nikalungi mai BORI CE dekhlena 🌝

Signing off for today!

Kiritija Nushkie