Transmigration - Accidental or Intentional - On Hold

Chapter 2

16th Century

Amer

Bharmal had been pondering over the situation throughout his journey from Shadbad to Amer. Bharmal was a warmonger during the initial years of his reign. Victory gave him happiness and pleasure. He always wanted to extend the limit of his Kingdom. After he had married Mainawati, he had followed her advice and decided to stroll around his Kingdom in disguise to check about the livelihood of his citizens. During his visit, he had accidentally come across the house of a widow. She had lost her husband during one of the wars and since then been suffering. When Bharmal noticed her fate, he felt ashamed of himself. His work till then felt worthless. It was then he decided to be a pacifist. His subjects had warned him that such a drastic step will always have repercussions. He had made himself ready for repercussions. However, he never thought that he would have to pay such a huge price for his choice.

Lost in thoughts, he didn't realize when he reached Amer. He slowly entered the palace making himself strong to face his family. Amer's Chief Minister, Rawat, was the first one to notice Bharmal. He called a servant to gather the ministers along with the Royal family. He then rushed to Bharmal to question him but he was taken aback looking at the dejected look that Bharmal had. He placed his hand on Bharmal's shoulder and asked him gently, 'Mitr (friend), you look dejected. Are you fine?' Bharmal, who had controlled himself till then, let his emotions take control and wept on the shoulder of his friend. Rawat immediately understood that the matter had become more serious than expected. He patted his friend and let him cry his heart out.

Meanwhile, the guard announced the arrival of the Royal family and the ministers. Bharmal somehow controlled himself and moved to take his seat in the room. The important members of the court gathered in front of Bharmal and settled themselves after wishing him. Bharmal closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He then said in a stern voice, 'Mughal Ruler, Jallaluddin Mohammed, has accepted to not wage a war against us.' The people in the room except Rawat rejoiced at that. Rawat knew something was amiss. He slowly questioned, 'Maharaj, it is next to impossible that the Mughals have taken a step back. What is it that we have to offer in exchange for peace?' Bharmal took a deep breath before answering, 'The King wants to marry Jodha.'

For a second, everyone was stunned by the revelation. Rawat was the first one to gain his senses back. He asked the most dreaded question, 'Did you agree?' Everyone looked towards Bharmal half expecting to have rejected it. But they knew that he would never accept going on a war for any reason. Bharmal slowly nodded his head indicating his answer. Every eye in the room had anger except for two pairs of eyes. One was Rawat who knew Bharmal's state of mind. The other was Jodha, who felt hurt by the news. Before anyone could speak, Bharmal raised his hand and spoke, 'I know this is not something any Rajput would want for their daughter. But there is nothing we can do. Everyone in this room knows how the Mughals are. Even if we succeed in defeating them, they would never let us live peacefully. They might attack us again combining with our enemies. If they succeed in defeating us, they would kidnap the girls of our kingdom. God knows what they would do with them. Is this what we want?' 'To save the girls of the kingdom, are you willing to give away one daughter off to them?' Jodha's voice held sadness and anger. Her eyes were shining with tears of betrayal. Jodha couldn't believe her ears. Her heart refused to believe that her Bapusa will send her off to the Mughals. She wanted to shout at her Bapusa for sacrificing her. She wanted to shout at God for creating such a situation. She wanted to shout at Jallal for forcing her Bapusa to do something like this.

Jodha's question silenced Bharmal. He looked directly at his daughter with helplessness. Jodha, though angry, realized his condition and knew there was nothing he could have done. She ran away from there to her room. She locked herself up and cried her heart out. After an hour of crying, she slowly took the bottle of poison she always carried and drank the contents of it.