The Gall of Gammon

Disclaimer: This story is my humble attempt to write a fanfiction of the epic Mahabharata. My intention is not to hurt anyone's sentiment.

Aum Namah Shivay!!

Major Jayant Roy, SM is a fictitious character. Any similarity with any living person is merely a coincidence.

Chapter 14

Hastinapur, Dwapar Yuga

Kunti POV

In the evening, I was sitting in my room alone. My mind was full with thoughts. Actually, the events happening in the palace were literally making me afraid.

Two days ago, Bheem fought with some Kauravas. Then Duryodhana barged into my son's room with a knife. He threatened Yudhisthir and then fought with Bheem. My second son was born by the blessings of the Pavan Devta (god of wind). He was born with immense strength. But that day, Duryodhana literally overpowered him and left him battered and bleeding. Then I came to know that he was unconscious for two days. After he woke up, he was tried in the royal court for attacking my sons.

Then what happened today morning in the royal court was something that I couldn't forget ever. Duryodhana argued his side so cleverly and thoughtfully, even I praised him in my mind. But the problem was that he literally painted my Bheem as some bully who took pleasure tormenting his brothers. Every single courtier took his arguments in their hearts. I could feel those in my heart.

But then Duryodhana said something, which literally shaken me to the core.

I closed my eyes. The voice of sister-in-law Gandhari's elder son was ringing inside my head.

"Equal to abandoning a newborn child in the river by its own stone-hearted mother!" Those were his exact words. His every single word was piercing my heart and soul. He even looked at my face, no, in my eyes when he said those harsh words.

Did he know about it?

No, no, no, that couldn't be.

How could he know about my firstborn son born with the blessings of the Sun God? The child was born with golden armour and earrings. The child had a radiant face just like the sun. The baby boy was looking into my eyes, with a small smile in my face. And what I did with him?

I abandoned my little golden boy. I put him inside a basket and floated the basket on the water of the Ganga River. Duryodhana was right. I became stone-hearted that very time. The fear of the society, the fear of my father's insult as the father of an unwed mother made me stone-hearted.

But the Devtas are my witness, that I hadn't forgotten my elder son. Every single day, the rising sun reminded me his little face. Every single day, I prayed for his safety.

I was thinking while sitting alone in my room, when I heard the footsteps of my five sons. I quickly wiped out my tears and forced a smile on my lips. The cousins of my sons were not happy that we came to live here. Fortunately, the elders in the palace, Bhishma and Vidura, they both loved my sons. Maharaja Dhritarashtra and Maharani Gandhari also loved my sons, but filial love is a very powerful force to fight with.

I heaved a sigh and saw my five sons coming inside the room. They were all smiling, except Bheem, who had a scowl into his face. They came to me and touched my feet. I blessed them from my heart.

Then I sternly looked at Bheem.

"You disappointed me, putra. You are blessed with super strength, but you must remember to respect your strength. That means no fighting with your cousins, understand?"

Bheem silently nodded. Then I handed him a plate of sweets, which brought back his smile. The other four were smiling too. Their smile literally blew my worries like wind blown away the clouds. But still, a corner of my mind was filled with the thoughts of my eldest son. My heart knew that he is alive.

Where was he now?

Who found him on the river? What type of people were they? Did they love my boy like I would have love him?

I looked at my five sons sitting in front of me. The two sons of Madri, Nakul and Sahdeva, they also called me their mother. The whole world respected me as the mother of five Pandavas, but only I knew that there was a sixth son, my eldest.

But I had to be careful now, because, something in my mind telling me to do so.

From the first day of our arrival, Duryodhana saw Yudhisthir as a rival to his throne. Now, I saw that what he could do. The bleeding mouth of Bheem was something that cannot be wiped out from my mind, ever. I thought him as a rash and hot-headed boy, but, after his performance in the royal court, it was crystal clear that he also had a sharp mind. The combination of strength and intellect was a deadly combination.

Another cause of my weariness was the brother of sister-in-law Gandhari. Shakuni was a shrewd man. That man always acted like a sweet knife. He was poisoning Duryodhana's mind against my sons.

My thoughts were interrupted with the voice of my youngest son, Sahdeva.

"Matashri, can I ask you something?"

I took his little hands in mine, and sat him on my lap. Sahdeva blushed a bit.

"Tell me, putra, what is in your mind?"

Sahdeva was silent for a moment. He was probably organising his thoughts. Then he said,

"I was thinking about bhrata Duryodhana."

I immediately became cautious. My other sons were also looked at him.

"Did he harm you, Sahdeva?" Arjun asked. His voice was hard.

"Tell me, little brother. I will go now and beat him black and blue." Bheem literally growled. He was standing up when Yudhisthir grabbed his hand.

"Bheem! Calm down now." His voice was calm. I took pride on my Yudhisthir. He would not lose his calmness even in front of the strongest adversary. Then he looked at Sahdeva.

"Tell us anuj, what is in your mind?"

"That day, when bhrata Duryodhana was threatening bhrata Bheem, he used the word 'first four'. Then he again used the word 'first, third and fourth'. Why?"

"You are so tiny, that he could not even see you, Sahdeva." Bheem started laughing. Arjun and Nakul joined in that laughter. Yudhisthir was silently smirking. Sahdeva looked at his four brothers with a pout, and then he also joined in their laughter.

The smiling faces of my boys made me smiling to. I quickly prayed to Narayana that my boys would be always together, smiling and laughing like that.

At the same time, Guru Sandipani's Ashram

"Kanha! Kanha!" Balrama was calling his little brother. He was searching for his brother when he found him sitting under a banyan tree. Krishna looked at his elder brother with his beautiful eyes.

"Pranipaat, Dau!" the dark one smiled at his elder brother. Balrama came to him, and sat beside his brother.

"What are you doing here, alone? Are you feeling sad about home?"

Krishna took out his flute from his waist. He was looking at it intensely.

"To tell the truth, Dau, yes, I am feeling a little bit sad. But this is the way of life. A child must come out from his parent's shelter to face the hardships of life. Coming here is just the first step. The darkness of mind can only be cleared by the light of knowledge. But, there are a lot of people in the world, who doesn't understand this simple truth. They have only memorised the shashtras, but did not understand it."

Balrama nodded affirmatively.

"But tell me, Dau, you like the shastra more than the shashtra, isn't it?"

Balrama looked at his brother.

"Kanha, are you trying to tell me that I am ignoring my studies?"

Krishna looked at his elder brother, and then he started laughing. Balrama looked at his brother for a moment. Then he joined in his brother's laughter too.

Suddenly, Krishna saw someone, and then he called, "Mitra Sudama! Come here."

Sudama was a Brahmin boy, who was a fellow student in the ashram. Krishna and Sudama are the example of the greatest friendship, Balrama thought to himself.

Sudama came to them and sat beside them.

"Pranipaat Krishna! Pranipaat Dau!"

Balarama smiled at him. Krishna called him Dau. Now, like him, every single student in the ashram was now calling him Dau. But still, he liked the boy. Sudama was the epitome of simplicity.

Balrama was chatting with Sudama. Krishna was listening to them with closed eyes. Suddenly he opened his eyes, and sat straight.

"What happened, Kanha?" Balrama was a bit startled.

"Nothing Dau, just someone is constantly trying to reverse back the wheel of time and fate. He is a good person in heart, but misguided. But he is not aware of his potentials Dau. Sometimes, the one tries to clear the sin; the sin sometimes took refuge inside him."

Balrama and Sudama looked at each other. Krishna was again talking in cryptic language. They sometime couldn't understand their brother and friend. Then Krishna looked at them, and smiled a bit.

"Let's go to the ashram. Otherwise, gurudev would be angry on us. Time is passing by." Krishna stood up and started walking. Balrama and Sudama followed him.

While walking, Krishna said, "Do you know, Dau, what is the greatest thing about friendship? The greatest thing about it is that the emotion comes from straight to heart. The purest form of emotion is mother's love. True friendship is just the second after that." Then he looked at Sudama, who was smilling. Krishna smiled too.

"Yes, Kanha, you are right." Balrama said.

"Both of you will meet someone in your life, who values friendship just like that. Now, let's walk faster, otherwise, gurudev will scold us."

The three of them increased their walking speed. The dark one was leading them; the other two were following him.

So, this is chapter 14.

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