The Wrath 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 28

Hastinapur, Dwapar Yuga

Jayant/Duryodhana POV

The corridor was dark and empty. I was slowly walking through it. My naked feet helped me concealing any sound that might be created by my legs. A few moments later, I came in front of a door. I looked at both sides. There was no one. No guards, no maidservants, no soldiers, anyone. Slowly, I entered into the room. The room was dimly lit with a few lamps. There was a large, four poster bed in the room. On the bed, Yudhisthir was sleeping peacefully. From the window, the faint moonlight was falling on his face.

Yudhisthir, I thought to myself, meant the one who could stay calm in war. One who could stay calm in war then he could stay calm in any situation. I looked at his face again. He was sleeping like a baby, lying on his mother's lap.

I felt something in my right hand, something hard, and something cold. My eyes went to my hand and the pistol glowed in the moonlight. There was something in my left hand too. It was the silencer. I slowly fixed it on the gun.

"This is one single chance. Yudhisthir will never learn what hit him. One shot, one bullet between his eyes, and he will never know what hit him. This time, he will directly go to heaven without knowing about the death of his brothers and wife."

I took out one magazine, loaded with ten bullets. I fixed it in the gun. Now it was locked and loaded. I pointed it on his forehead.

"That's it, Jayant. Finish your enemy. With Yudhisthir gone, the Pandavas become sightless, guideless. Your path towards the throne will be clear. Press the trigger."

My index finger went to the trigger.

"Press it now!"

Suddenly Yudhisthir opened his eyes. His eyes directly met mine. A small smile came to his lips.

"Bhrata Duryodhana! Welcome to my...", his gaze fell on the gun in my hand. His eyes became a bit hard, but his smile never left.

"So, you are ready to take the shortest path, the path of Adharma?"

"Sam, dam, dand, bhed...this is my path."

"Then what are you waiting for? Do it then."

There was a challenge in his voice. His voice never trembled. His eyes were on my eyes, looking directly in my soul.

"Aryaputra!"

The loud scream caused both of us to turn at the source of the voice. Priya was standing there, pale in fear. Suddenly, I felt that someone pushing me.

"Aryaputra, Aryaputra...wake up!"

What the hell!

Slowly I opened my eyes, and found myself on the seat of my moving chariot. I slowly turned my head towards my wife, who was pushing my shoulders.

"What is it?", I slowly said to her.

"Well, you are talking in your sleep, and it feels like you are talking in two different voices. You are speaking about Adharma, sam-dam-dand-bhed."

I heaved a sigh. My mind was slowly processing the surroundings. Today, we started the journey from Hastinapur to Mathura.

"You are sleeping from the moment the chariot left Hastinapur, and now you started talking in sleep.", she took a scented handkerchief and wiped out my sweat. Then her eyes looked at the bandage in my left hand.

"How's your wound?"

"You tell me. After all, it was you who had the intense medical knowledge.", I smiled at her.

"I also know that when you again used your boon on it, then it would totally heal. But, still, there is something that compels you not to throw away that bandage. I saw you looking at it, and I felt the turmoil inside you."

I looked at the bandage.

"Yes, you are right. Cut it down, and keep it safe, will you please?"

Priya looked at me, possibly irritated because of my somewhat feeble attempt to not answer any questions. But then she smiled.

"Can I do it later?"

I nodded affirmatively. Then I looked at my surroundings. Beside us, Arjun was riding on the chariot send by Shri Krishna. Well, only he deserved it. Shri Krishna himself complemented him as the greatest among humans in Bhagawat Gita.

"What am I? I am just a normal, common human being from Kali Yuga."

I smiled, no, literally laughed in my mind. I knew how much I sounded like a jealous hypocrite. I turned towards my charioteer.

"Pratikami, where are we now?"

"Rajkumar, we are now at Kurukshetra."

Kurukshetra! Kurukshetra! Kurukshetra!

"Pratikami, stop the chariot.", I ordered him. He stopped the chariot. I jumped on the ground. The other chariot was also stopped. Arjun looked at me, with questions in his eyes.

"I want to explore this place for sometimes. If you want, then you can go ahead."

Arjun looked at me for a moment and then a soft smile came into his lips.

"The horses need a little rest too. It would be fine to take a stop here." He took his bow and came to the ground too. I stretched my body and legs for a few seconds.

"Priya, are you coming?"

She smiled and nodded affirmatively. Then she took her umbrella made with palm leaves, and walked towards us. She was looking so beautiful, that I couldn't help but admired her beauty. The three of us started walking. Our chariots, charioteers and the hundred horsemen were left behind.

"This is the place where Pitamah fought with Bhargava.", I spoke slowly. Arjun nodded.

"Before that, Bhargava made five lakes of blood here with the blood of slain kshatriyas. But, before that, our ancestor, Maharaja Kuru came here on a golden chariot. He ploughed this land with a golden plough to make a place where eight religious virtues would grow. These are truth, yoga, kindness, purity, charity, forgiveness, austerity, and celibacy. Then Indra Devta came to him, and pleased with his work, he granted him a boon. Kuru asked that the land ever remain a holy place named after himself, and that anyone dying there go to heaven regardless of his sins or virtues. Indra laughed at the requests .Undaunted, Kuru performed great penance and continued to plough. Gradually, Indra was won over, but other demigods expressed doubts. They said that death without sacrifice did not merit a place in heaven. Finally, Kuru and Indra arrived at a compromise: Indra would admit into heaven anyone who died there while fighting or performing penance.", Arjun finished his story.

"Here, Devarji, have some water.", Priya took out the copper made water bottle strapped on her back. The bottle was covered with wet clothes to keep the water cold. Arjun gladly accepted the water and drank some of it. I looked at the soil. It was pale whitish yellow in colour. I remembered my visit to Kurukshetra city in my previous life. I saw the red soil there. Science and geology said that this land had a huge amount of iron oxide. Legends told us that the blood of the slain people in the war made the soil red.

"Well, blood has haemoglobin, which contains iron. Each molecule of haemoglobin contained four iron atoms.", I thought inside my mind. Then I remembered that this is the land where warriors like Bhishma, Dronacharya, Karna, Drupad, Susharma, Satyajit, Jayadrath, Abhimanyu and uncounted others laid their lives. An era had ended in this land. I couldn't help myself but looked at Arjun standing beside me, bow in hand.

"Ati darpe hata Lanka, ati mane ch Kaurava!", I muttered the ancient verse. A deep sigh automatically came out of my lungs. Well, in this Yuga, my mind was becoming the subject of constant turmoil. On one side, there was politics and family drama, on the other side, there was Kali inside me. My brain was literally fried up sometimes.

"Hey, Arjun.", I picked up a stone, similar to the size of a cricket ball. He curiously looked at me.

"Hit this stone.", I threw it with all the strength in my hand. In the next moment, I heard the sound of his bowstring and an arrow hit the stone, turned it into pebbles. I picked up another stone, size same to the previous, and handed him. He held out his bow, but with a polite hand wave, I refused and took the pistol from my waist holster. Arjun curiously looked at it.

I cocked the gun, then spoke, "Throw it."

He threw it with a huge force. I looked at the flying stone, and pointed the gun at it.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The stone fell on the ground in front of us. The third Pandava went to pick it up. He came back after a couple of minutes and showed me the target. The three bullet holes proudly presented themselves.

"Partha, I know that you are ambidextrous, right."

I picked up another stone, "Let's try with our left hands, shall we?"

I heard the sigh coming from Priya. She was probably thinking about us boys and our pumping blood with weapons. Arjun smiled at me, his eyes were glowing with challenge. His left hand was ready with a glowing arrow.

The stone went to the sky, followed by the arrow. The arrow shattered the stone into pieces. Arjun was smiling, the proud smile of a winner. He picked up another stone and looked at me. I took the gun in my left hand, nodded to him.

The stone again flew to the sky, and came back with three bullet holes in its chest. With each gunshot, it felt like my mind was becoming clearer. Oh, how much I missed the smell of cordite, the recoil of the weapon. The paratrooper commando, Major Jayant Roy is still somewhere inside my blood and soul. There were three of us inside me. Jayant, Duryodhana and Kali were inside me.

The man from Kali Yuga was standing now on the sacred ground of Kurukshetra.

"Let's see where my fate, and the supreme one takes me."

So, this is chapter 28. Please read, vote and comment.

Ati darpe hata lanka/ ati mane ch Kaurava/ ati dane Bali vadha/ ati sarvatra garhitam

Ati ends in itee.