Shivi

Devika spun round as a sharp cracking noise reached her ear. The Aarti thali meant for Kotikasya's welcome had fallen on the marbel floor, broken into pieces. She hurried and held Kotikasya's arm as he was about to slap a maid who stood there to greet him.

"Bhrata! What is this?"

"Stop insulting me this way, all of you!" Kotikasya screamed. "I have failed. Didn't you know? What for this grandeur then? To mock my failure?"

"You are not in your senses." Devika calmly replied. "They did not mock you. They just greeted their Yuvaraj with due respect and regal rituals. What made you show this anger on the innocent maids thus?"

Kotikasya raised a finger. "I did not want an explanation from you. Did I?"

"You didn't. I felt compelled to explain. I cannot see my brother lowering himself thus in everyone's eyes." Her tone changed as she looked away, biting her lips. "Already what you did in Kampilya has demeaned Shivi and Shaivyas enough to the rest of Bharatavarsha."

"Oh really?" Kotikasya flared up. "And what Drupada did was very fair, right? What right did he have to insult all the kshatriyas of Bharata thus?"

"Apologies, Bhrata." Devika turned her gaze again to his face. "But he did nothing to insult the Kshatriyas. He can never do that, being a Kshatriya himself. It's those Kshatriyas who insulted themselves by launching an attack on a bride in her own swayamvara!"

"Don't comment on anything you don't know fully!" Kotikasya snapped. "That bow was a joke to our valour, our prowess. I couldn't even figure out how it rebounded back in the effort of pulling the string." He bit his lips. "Definitely Drupada has used some illusion inside!"

"A wise mechanical technique cannot be termed as illusion, Bhrata. I have heard everything from the spies. The bow was off-centered which was done just to test a suitor's ability and intellect. Accept that you had neither!"

"Devi!" A raged Kotikasya's hard slap descended on Devika's right cheek, making her skin red. She didn't scream in pain but faced her cousin with more power within her.

"Showing your 'valour' on me will not change the bitter truth, Yuvaraj Kotikasya! And why are you so extremely frustrated? Should I presume that it's not about your and your friend Jayadratha's failure but something else?" She retorted.

"Is it that you all are still unable to accept that Pandavas are alive? Is it really the outcome of swayamvara that frustrates you or the fact that Pandavas prosper now, ruining all their enemies' conspiracy?"

"Did you say Pandavas? Huh! Are they even a topic worth concern?" The Prince jeered. "Mark my words, Devi! Their so called prosperity isn't going to last long. After all, how long that proud King of Panchala tolerate the ridicules hurled on his daughter's character? Just wait for him to dismiss this wedding in a few months, or even less!"

"Keep dreaming, Bhrata." Devika laughed. "He has willingly given permission for this marriage. And he did want an alliance with the Pandu household for political reasons and he will never break that."

Thanks to Krishna that Devika was aware of the political need of Drupada after the painful division of his kingdom. She knew that Drupada also needed a strong support as much as the Pandavas. Maybe this was why he finally agreed to the polyandry.

"He will, when no one in Hastinapura will accept his daughter as their kulavadhu, and Panchala will have no political gain from this ridiculous wedding."

"It might be ridiculous to you and your favourite Duryodhana, but everyone in the Kuru family are not fools to deny Princess Draupadi. Rather you mark my words, she will be welcomed there with due pomp and show!" Devika said with confidence.

"Ha ha, foolish girl! What do you know about the over-exaggerated honour of Kuru dynasty? That old Bhishma, who could abduct women for his brother, do you think he will accept such a shared woman as his granddaughter-in-law?"

Devika fumed at his way of talking.

"First of all, stop calling her marriage a 'sharing'. If Draupadi had four more sisters and Arjuna got married to all of them, could you say that Arjuna has been 'shared' among five women? By your logic, all the men of Aaryavarta who have multiple wives should be condemned. Why no one does that?"

Kotikasya's face flushed in growing wrath. He had never imagined that his sister could have spoken like this!

"If men's multiple marriages is not wrong, why should women be blamed for that?" Devika finished, looking straight into her brother's eyes.

"You dumbhead, men do marry on their own wish. How dare you..."

"And women cannot marry on their own wish, right?" Devika's lips curved in sarcasm. "Now I see why you all are so furious on Princess Draupadi! It's just because she dared to do something equal to men. Am I correct?"

Kotikasya found himself tongue-tied for a while. But his male ego never learnt to accept defeat to a woman, that too to his own little sister.

"No..not at all!" He fumbled a little, searching for a good argument. "Everyone is rather concerned for her misfortune that she has to marry in such family where one brother's wife is lusted by the other brothers."

"Enough!" Devika snapped. "Before blaming their family you must look at the mirror once, Bhrata! Draupadi has been saved from the worse misfortune of being wife on anybody from you all, who could even try to kill her and Arjuna right there! Pandavas are far better than all of you!" Her eyes glowed in pride. "At least, they have given her a loving and protective marital home that's every girl's dream!"

"It would have been much better for her to die than being tortured thus in the name of marriage!" Kotikasya said. "But you won't understand all these! Company of that cowherd Ranchhod made you so blind to his cousins that you cannot even see the injustice they are doing on an innocent woman in the name of marriage!" He mocked.

"Stop bringing Dwarakadheesh everywhere!" Devika raised a finger along with her voice. "He is my Guru and I'm not going to tolerate a word against him! And regarding his cousins, I defend them because I myself feel like. Bhrata Krishna never 'made' me do that.

"And who told you polyandry is a torture on women? Do you even know the history of Bharatavarsha? The ten Prachetas were married to a single woman. Rishi Kanya Varkshi was married to seven Rishis. Even our own family has seen one woman marrying five men in past."

"Devika!" Kotikasya fumed. "Do you even remember who you are arguing with?"

"Someone who doesn't even know his own clan's history!" Devika continued in the same tone. "Our own ancestor Princess Bhaumaswi, the daughter of King Ushinara, had married five Princes of Matsya. And her husbands are still ruling there, she being the chief Queen of that land! Have you learnt all these properly during our gurukul days, today such thoughts could never come to you!"

"I do not need you to teach me about my family history, foolish girl! It's you who need to open that Krishna Vaasudeva's blindfold from your eyes. Princess Bhaumaswi herself chose to marry five men. She was not forced to do that!"

"How did you know that Panchala Kumari was forced? Forget not that she is not an ordinary girl. She is Agnijaa. And fire cannot be forced! They get burnt who even try to!"

Devika thanked her memory. In the past few days she had gathered all the news regarding Pandavas' secret living from the spies. That had come to help.

"Maharani Kunti and her eldest son are such gems of person who could even honour the wish of a demoness of forest and make her their kulavadhu. How could you even think that they would not care for wish of the daughter of Maharaj Pandu's friend?"

"Too much courage you have got nowadays!" Kotikasya hissed. "Nice! Keep speaking for the few months more before..." His lips curved into an evil smile. A chill ran down Devika's spine, realising what he meant.

"I can answer to all your stupid words. But I would not." Kotikasya added. "My action will answer you soon! Only this much you keep well in your thick head that Pandavas will never get the throne of Hastinapura back! That's my challenge!"

Without waiting for Devika's reaction, he hurried back to his chamber. The Princess stood clueless, rooted where she was. Kotikasya's last sentence left her worried.

She knew what awaited her and she was enough to protect herself from that. But the Pandavas? What were these people planning to do with them?

Devika made her mind. Whatever it might be, she had to know it earlier and take necessary action to save them.

She would never let any more danger befall the ones she still considered her family, within her heart!
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Author's note: The story of Princess Bhaumaswi is found in Harivansha. She was the daughter of Devika's ancestor King Ushinara. She married five sons of Matsya King Nitantu. King Virata (Uttara's father) was her son.