ARYAVARTA

chapter 4

Hastinapur

Dhritarashtra was going through the reports with aid of his trusted charioteer Sanjay. Sanjay was not just a charioteer for him .He was a true friend too .After veer and bhisma it was Sanjay whom he trusted more .He always valued the opinions of Sanjay before taking a hard decision.
Sanjay saw Dhritarashtra standading up from his seat.At that moment Maharathi Bhishm entered the room It is always a wonder for Sanjay how Dhritarashtra could sense and guess someone by hearing their footsteps listening to their breath and through their smell.Bhishm entered the room and saw Dhritarashtra standing sensing his presence. He was proud of his nephew though fate was against him he fought against it . Mastered his all other senses become one of the strongest warriors of Hastinapur.

" What's the matter tAtashree "
" Putra Dhritarashtra I am here to talk about your brother Veer"
" Is he okay? Is there any problem "
" No ,he is okay I am here to talk about something else Don't you think it's time for Hastinapur to have a queen"
" I see so did you talk about this to him he is the one who should take a decision"
"No but I will talk about it soon after he comes home"
" Do you have anyone in mind"
" Yes ,there is a princess Amba too loves the idea of her being our daughter in law"
" Who is she?"
"GANDHARI"

Kuntiboj

Veer was in a dream world he didn't mind anything Pandu talking about ,All he could think of was her,her dark blue eyes that beautiful smile he wanted to see her again no matter what ,he has to "
" I want to see her " veer said
Pandu understood what his brother was talking about .he had seen how he looked at the princess
"It's impossible she is a princess" Pandu said
" So what ,I am a king "
" Are you? Last time I remembered we are brothers from Chedi not princes of Hastinapur and even if you mention whom you are they may arrest you or worse  kill you.Don't forget it was tAtashree who killed the brother of king shurasena during their Ashwemedha yagya ."
Smilingly veer said " you are moodkiller brother"
" I would say more realistic" they both laughed at that
" I will see her again Pandu ,I will"

At kuntiboj palace king shurasena called for her daughter Pritha(kunti) .He received a letter from his second son Vasudev about the birth of his grandson Krishna .Vasudev is the king of Dwarka . Dwarka was conquered by shurasena and his brother during their ashwemedha yagya . Shurasena still remember that day ,how his brother's head was cut off from his body by bhishm.He was undefeated during the yagya with his brother beside. Until they reached Hastinapur where his army was crushed by that Parusharamshishya Bhishm.He still hasn't forgiven bhishm for killing his brother .At this moment his elder son Nandan and daughter Pritha entered the room Nandan is his heir , holding Nandan's hand was his first grandson Balram who is 4 years old now. Then there was her daughter  the gem of kuntiboj his Pritha

"You are looking happy father . what's the matter" asked Nandan
" Your brother Vasudev has become a father" replied shurasena
" That's great news when are we going to see him and devaki " asked Pritha
" I and your mother will go after 2 days Nandan will look after the kingdom in my absence and you my daughter will conduct the puja this year "

Every year a woman of kuntiboj dynasty conducts pooja in the goddess Durga temple for the safety of kingdom . During this period the forest will be closed ,no one other than the one who is conducting the pooja are not allowed to enter the forest ,A hut is built for the royal staying, near the temple
Pritha was happy to hear this she always wanted to do this pooja . only problem was staying away from her family for 45 days

" As you say father " replied Pritha

After 2 days shurasena and his wife Marisha started their journey to Dwaraka .Pritha too went to the forest

Veer came to know about the pooja from people.He decided it was the perfect opportunity to meet kunti .Pandu too had seen how his brother smiled when he heard the news he knew his brother was going to do something stupid

Pritha conducted the pooja for the 1 day and was spending her time on the banks of the pond near her hut .She heard crushing of leaves behind her She stood up and threw her blade which she kept for protection against the intruder

Veer saw the blade and dodged it .the blade hit the tree behind him .he looked towards kunti  in common attire she looked more beautiful than before

" Who are you ?" asked Pritha with a deadly glare she knew who he was she had seen him before at the temple

" I am just a commoner ,princess kunti"
" Lie you would not be able to dodge that blade without proper training ,so tell the truth"
" Beauty with a brain,I am impressed  ,the truth is I am Veerdath son of Parusharamshishya Bhishm and princess Amba, king of Hastinapur"
" Why are you here?"
" To see you to express my love to you"
" You might be joking you even don't know me then how could you say that you are in love with me"
" You are right princess I don't know you well so from today onwards I will come every day to meet you . this way you will be able to know about me too"

Veer walked away from kunti
"Those who loves me call me Pritha" she yelled she didn't know why she said that to him
Veer turned towards kunti and give a small smile " good bye Pritha"

Veer visited kunti everyday veer loved how her eyes wide when she talked about her nephews
Kunti understood that veer would do anything for his loved ones.how much he loved his brother's though they are his cousins.His ideas and reforms he wishes to bring to change the society. By each passing day they become inseperable

On the 35 day , They were sitting near the pond soon rain started to shower  they ran towards hut .they closed the doors after reaching inside veer saw a droplet sticking on her lips. Automatically his hands rubbed her lips removing the droplet
Kunti was shocked by his action but she also felt to keep his hands on her lips forever , Their eyes locked and their heads moved forward locking their lips .They move towards the bed inside the house .At that night both Veer and Pritha merged as one soul spiritually and sexually

They were lying on their bed Pritha  head was placed on veer chest and he was holding her tighter towards him

" What will we do now " asked Pritha
" I will be going back to Hastinapur and will talk to my father about our marriage"
" What if he doesn't agree "
" Then I will abdicate my throne for Dhritarashtra and will come for you"
"What if my father doesn't allow"
" Then I will kidnap you just like my father kidnapped my mother . Pritha , you will be the only woman whom I will love and marry .It's the promise of Devrath's son  Veerdath

Hastinapur

Amba and Bhism were reminiscing the antics of their son and nephews

"About the marriage of Veerdath, what is Ghandar Raj's opinion" asked Amba
" His daughter will be the queen of the powerful kingdom in the entire Aryavarta. He doesn't has any objection" replied bhishm
" Shouldn't we ask Veerdath's opinion too "
" Amba this marriage will boost the economy and military strength of Hastinapur As a king he has to marry Gandhari, if not for him then he has to do this for Hastinapur . You do not worry he is my son he will listen to me , Gandhari will become the daughter in law of kuruvansh"

*In this story Krishna and Balram are cousins . Krishna is a normal human being .He won't have any godly powers .but celestial weapons will be there.their existence will be explained on upcoming chapters*