The Triumph of a Queen

Chapter 4

I reached the huge entrance of the dinning area, the wonderfully carved wooden doors were wide open ..,the splendid mouldings of the the Goddess Annappurnna in all her glory  with Lord Shiva, her consort near her but one step down , were carved on the entablature ..On the other side of the Goddess was a sun ,the symbol of the Suryavanshi dynasty .. the walls on either side of the doors had the mouldings of an apsara each with a ladle and a bowl of food in their hands.. they were surrounded by flowers and paddy. Every place with food should be considered as an abode of the Goddess Annapoorna...I heard Maa's voice in my head. 

On entering the huge hall, my eyes searched for Maa.., she is not my biological mother but the love and respect that I had for her was no less.. Maa is the one who took care of us when my mother was busy with the official duties.. she takes care of the royal household and even at time cooks for the family herself.. when asked, she says that she loves to be a dotting wife , mother and daughter in law who takes care of her family's needs , even the smallest one, but at the same time she is a very wise and shrewd lady.. There she is ,giving instructions to the maids.. "Maa.." I hugged here.. "Oh my sweet Bhanu.." she planted a kiss on my forehead.. her right hand cupped my face 

"You said you were hungry, have something" Brother Sagara said as he stood beside Maa with his brother..

"Yes , Thank you for reminding" my stomach growled again as if angry with me.. my eyes went to the long dinning table in the middle of the room , it was filled with various delicacies , fruits and drinks , I would get to have it , but not now, the breakfast can begin only when everyone arrive. 

Soon everyone arrived, my Mata. Dadi , two little brothers and last my dear father too.

The King of Kalinga , my dear father, he is the person who I love and admire the most. For him , I'm his most valuable jewel and he is too protective of me ... that's the reason , why my eyes have never known tears..

The breakfast got over without much events .

The whole family stood up after doing a short prayer silently like they did before having the food. The king left soon after .

A conversation came up and it somehow led to Hastinapur.

There were reasons why Hastinapur is a frequently discussed subject in the Kalinga household .., while one reason is of love and friendship ,the other is of anger and hatred.

The former queens of Hastinapur , Queen Kunti and Queen Madri were childhood friends and cousins of the two queens of Kalinga respectively .., For Queen Samyukthana , Queen Kunti is still her Pritha . For Queen Gayathri , Queen Madhri is her Madhuri whose name itself says about her sweetness and charm.

But for the Queen mother Kousalya Devi , Hastinapur was a matter of anger.., it reminds her of the humiliation that her husband had to face.., the plight of her dear sisters- in law , the bloodshed of the numerous wars that followed and how all this damaged her dreams of a happy family life.

It all started when she was still a new bride , her father in law , King Kashya , decided to hold a swayamvar for his three daughters , namely Amba , Ambika and Ambalika. She was very happy when she supervised the preparations and helped the servants at times. Princess Amba already had a lover , the King Salva of Saubala.. Finally the anticipated day arrived, everything was going on smoothly , Princess Amba had raised her hand to garland King Salva while the other two princesses were still confused ...

All of a sudden the whole scenario changed..," Maharaj Kashya , how dare you insult Hastinapur!!" came a roar .., at the entrance stood the great warrior Bhishma , son of the late Maharaj Shanthanu and Goddess Ganga. Kashi hadn't sent an invitation to Hastinapur as the king thought there was no one eligible there. The eldest prince , Gangaputr Bhishma was too old for the princesses and moreover had taken a pledge of celibacy , the second prince Chitrangadha had died in a fight with a gandharva king and the youngest prince Vichitravirya was said to be afflicted with some disease making him weak and it was Bhishma and the dowager queen Sathyavathi who ruled the kingdom ..,King Kashya didn't want his daughters to choose such a weak man even by mistake.