ARYAVARTA

chapter 10

Hastinapur,the kingdom of great kuruvansh,protected by the Maharathi Parusharamshishya Bhishm. He hates this city,  the foul smell ,the crowded market,the discrimination of poor and rich, and the worst the cast system. It's just a farce to keep the lowerborns from achieving greatness by highborns.so that they could remain as the absolute power.To the outside world Hastinapur is the great kingdom which upholds its tradition,the land of great warriors,the land of great Parusharamshishya Bhishm.
But once you are inside , you will understand that this are all just a mirage to hide the truth that there is nothing special to Hastinapur.
He was just a boy who loved to spend his time with his sister and brother, who loved playing chausar with his father though he never won. It's all gone,now they are just a memory, he never knew his mother, she died when he was 6 months old, it was Gandhari who raised him ,At the age of six she became mother like figure to him, may be that's the reason she adopted karn . But now her sister who fear dark is forced to spend her lifetime in darkness, He hasn't slept for many days when he close eyes all he could see his dead brother and hear his father's maniac laugh. Even if he tried to avoid all these thoughts the pain didn't,the parting gift of his father always reminded him who he is and his destiny, He is shakuni prince of Gandhar and the destined to destroy bhishm. He will destroy everything that bhishm helds dear like bhishm did to him and the thing that bhishm loved the most was Hastinapur.

Her dark blue eyes,her long hair ,the smile that could brighten the darkness. Kunti he had never seen anyone like her
He had heard the stories of his grandfather's first wife Ganga , princess of Devbhumi, but he doubts even she could compete against Kunti. He could do anything for her, there is no dharm or adharm to see her happy. He remembered the day he had met her, she entered the temple with offerings to god but then she tilted her head and give him that beautiful smile.
He has always been a introvert when it came to girls, though they didn't cared . Everyone was fighting to gain the attention of veer, who inherited the handsome and beauty of this father and mother , while he was just a sickly child. He is considered as a good archer but not the best ,that title too was given to veer. But yet he loved his brother until he met her.
Veer like every thing stole kunti from him, he yet didn't said anything ,he followed him like a dutiful brother, he always followed veer to forest to get the glimpse of his kunti. But that day changed him.when he saw veer and kunti kissing it give birth to a new Pandu who was filled with jealous and revenge to the man who tainted the pure Kunti. He left the forest and Veer didn't came back that day . When the next day veer confessed he slept with kunti , he felt a rage that he had never experienced. At that moment he decided that he won't let veer to taint kunti anymore.He left him alone saying that he has to purchase necessary items for travel .But he didn't went to the market instead he went to royal palace to meet the king and at that day he along with shurasena planned to kill veer with the help of Drupad who was thirsty for revenge against bhishm. He created the perfect reason for a duel against veer and Drupad . And at last with the death of veer his kunti is pure again. But he can't let her become an ordinary princess ,she was born for greatness she has to be future queen of Hastinapur. Hence he manipulated bhishm Satyvati and Vidhur to make him the king. Now atlast after 2 more months he will be married to his kunti, but deep down a fear crept his mind what if she still loves veer ,will she be reminded of him when they kiss ,will she be reminded of that night with veer when they spend their nights alone in his chamber

Seeing Gandhari was like seeing a reflection of her, the princess of gandhar what would history will tell about her,the princess who gave away her vision for her husband or victim of the political game of the great kuruvansh. The child was another mystery. Everyone who knows Gandhari knew that karn is not her son but yet to an outsider this information will be a shock. Gandhari never left the child alone, from her expression she understood the reason ,she is afraid that the kuruvansh would do anything to karn. So Amba decided to help her in settling herself and karn . Amba still doesn't know what caused Gandhari to give her karn, but the moment Amba hold him, he reminded her  of veer ,if he had been alive, Gandhari would never had to suffer this fate.
She felt that Karn was sent by god's to her, she will never be a grandmother may be through karn she could become one. She had accepted Gandhari has her daughter and thus karn as her grandson,her first grandson marking the beginning of the next generation

Hastinapur is different ,It doesn't have a coastal border like gandhar ,it is surrounded by land on four sides
In gandhar she would spend her free time gazing at the sea
She would spent hours gazing at the endless sea where sea and sky merges together. At dusk the sky turns orange as if the sky is a canvas which pictures the eternal beauty of the setting sun.
But these are now just memories.
She won't see the sunset again.
She doesn't know why she did this to exile herself to live a life of darkness.Is it her way to seek revenge against bhishm,so he would feel guilty for what he did, whenever he sees her. But now she understood what a blessing it is to have vision. She felt to tear away the red cloth but she can't,she vowed that she would share her husband pain and sufferings and gandhari will never break her oath.
Her husband,she hasn't met  Dhritarashtra .she had heard from the maids that he felt insulted by her action. But it was never to insult him.After reaching here she had heard how he was rejected throne due to his blindness. She felt sorry for him. Similar to her he is too forced to marry her. All she could hope now is to find a mutual understanding with Dhritarashtra as Mata Amba and Ambika said. She had lost her mother at a young age,Amba and Ambika brought back those memories of her mother. In Hastinapur those 2 were the only ones with whom she felt safe and protected. Maybe because she might have reminded the princess their past.

The words his mother told him still reverberates in his ears" be there for her" what does it means .he was walking through the corridors when he heard a lullaby . The voice was not heavenly like the court singers but it has a warm and affection of mother. He moved towards the direction of the sound .He knew he reached the nursery .
He entered the chamber and felt the presence of an unknown person
" Who is it?" asked Gandhari
" I am Dhritarashtra, princess"
" Atlast we met, prince"
" Yes, why did you do this, to insult me" asked Dhritarashtra
" If I did it to insult anyone,it was never meant to be you . I am sorry if you felt my actions like a insult. But this decision had opened my eyes to the truth that you have to preserve every moment till it last ,once it's gone it will never return"
" You won't see how he looks like ones he is grown" said Dhritarashtra
" I don't need to,he will explain to me how he looks and I will be able to see the world through his eyes"
" I am sorry Gandhari, for what tAtashree did to gandhar. I could understand your pain of loosing a brother and I give you my word Gandhari that till my last breath I will protect you and karn . We may not be able to love eachother like ram and sita, but we could begin this relationship with a mutual understanding."
" I like that, prince you could begin by teaching me how to recognise other through their footsteps" both Gandhari and Dhritarashtra smiled at each other at the presence of karn begining a new chapter in their lives

After 1 week Dhritarashtra and gandhari married, later Pandu married kunti at kuntiboj. Hastinapur eagerly awaited the arrival of their new queen