Love and Redemption

Chapter 100

The old king, Maharaja Vijay Singh Rathore whispered to his daughter, “As much as I appreciate your decision, widow remarriage is forbidden”, while the queen sighed exasperatedly.

Aparajita asked her father, “Are you okay with their marriage?” The old king nodded in affirmation giving much-needed strength to his daughter who stood up and the gestured everyone to be quiet.

Amidst the chaotic silence and hushed whispers, the queen addressed everyone, “The decision taken by me, the ruler of prosperous Vijaygarh is neither a sin nor is it forbidden in our scriptures. I command you to accept the order of your ruler respectfully.”

“Your highness, we will accept the decision and bless the couple only if you could cite the scriptures allowing this sinister marriage”, challenged the royal priest with respect in his tone. Having read a plethora of religious books, he was sure that a woman was allowed to be taken just once in a marriage. He realized that the queen had a good intention of making sure that her young sister-in-law would not end up all alone throughout her life, but being bound with laws, he could not let a forbidden event take place in his presence.

The queen smiled as she said, “I would request the ancestral priest of Shatakshigiri, the revered Acharya Paramanand Bhardwaj to clarify the doubts”, as everyone looked with hope in their eyes. He was indeed, the wisest man in the kingdom. The royal priest joined his hands and greeted him. Everyone present in the royal court had immense faith upon Acharya Paramanand Bhardwaj and they welcomed his wise words which were supposed to abided by all.

“Greetings to the wise ministers and royal families of Vijaygarh and Shivgarh! Today everyone in this court believes that the queen’s decision regarding the marriage of the honorable lady, Nandini Singh Rathore is forbidden according to the religious scriptures. I have come here to highlight the verses from our religious scriptures which allow widow remarriage.” The priest told and everyone present in the royal court listened to him like diligent disciples of a wise teacher.

A small smile played on the queen’s lips as she looked at grateful Nandini and anxious Uday, while the old priest continued, “According to the ninety-seventh verse of the twelfth chapter of Narad Smriti, a woman is justified to seek another husband if her husband is dead, lost, or is impotent. She is also capable of marrying again if her husband is banished from the society or he has turned religious ascetic. Similar anecdotes are found in Parasar Smriti, Garud Puraan and Agni Puraan.”

The ministers gaped at the newly found knowledge when the old priest smiled at the royal priest and said, “Still if any doubt persists, I would advise you all to refer to the scriptures yourself”.

The royal priest bowed down his head in embarrassment as he murmured, “What about the scriptures that say a woman should be taken once in marriage?” He did not challenge the old priest as he knew that the old man was really brilliant, and he just posed a question he had in his mind.

“Those scriptures prohibit polyandry”, answered the old priest clarifying the doubt. Taking a deep breath, he announced, “I will grace the event of marriage of both the couples on the full moon day of coming month to bless them”.

With a gleam of joy on everyone’s faces, the ambience in the royal palace emitted positive vibes as the decision of remarriage of Nandini with Uday was wholeheartedly accepted in the royal assembly. Uday and Nandini were the happiest after all, they were finally getting married which was indeed, unexpected for both of them.

Uday glanced at Nandini with a sweet smile plastered on his face while Nandini blushed hard. It was indeed, a dream come true for both them. Admiring the blush on her face, Uday grinned mentally thanking the queen for paving an easy path for his marriage. Finally he could spend his life with his beloved without any fear of getting caught.

Veerbhadra admired his beautiful queen adoring a captivating smile embellishing her regal aura. Her chocolate brown eyes were gleaming with happiness. He felt proud of her as she had finally fulfilled the promise of adding colors to the life of Nandini. As much as he was happy for his friend, he was proud of his queen who was breaking the orthodox norms of patriarchal society for the betterment of the citizens.

The old king, Maharaja Vijay Singh Rathore announced, “Celebrations for both the events shall begin from tomorrow. In the meanwhile, I command the foreign minister, Shankar Sharma to send the invitations for the grand affair to all our allies. The royal court stands adjourned for today."

Avinash Singh Shekhawat walked towards the queen with tears of joy in his eyes after all, his daughter was finally getting rid from the title of a widow. Gratefully, he said, “Honorable queen, thank you so much for bringing back the joy of mg daughter. May the Almighty bless you with a beautiful future ahead.”

Graciously, the queen joined her hands and took the blessings of the old man and assured him of his daughter’s happiness. She invited him to stay in the palace till the wedding after all, no wedding is complete for a girl in the absence of her father.

Outside the royal court, Avinash Singh Shekhawat met with his daughter, Nandini who was elated to see him after a long time. The father-daughter duo headed towards Nandini’s royal bed chambers and the old man was astounded to see the opulence of the royal palace where his daughter resided. He requested his daughter to arrange a meeting with Uday, his prospective groom. He was assured of his daughter’s blissful future after all, he had full faith in the decision of the queen.

Uday was making plans to profess his love to Nandini on their wedding night as he knew everyone, including his bride would be busy in the commotion of the royal palace after all, two royal weddings were supposed to be held thirty-five days down the line. He also knew that he would not be able to meet Nandini till their wedding owing to the rituals. He grinned as he walked towards the training grounds for the training sessions when a royal guard informed him, “Honorable lady, Nandini seeks your presence in her bed chambers”.

Rendering a full-blown smile, Uday walked towards the residential wing of the royal palace to meet Nandini wherein he was surprised to see her old father with her. He touched the feet of Avinash Singh Shekhawat to take his blessings while the old man caught him by his shoulders. He looked towards Nandini who was sitting on one of the upholstered chairs with her eyes glued to the marble floor of her bed chambers. He realized that she looked more beautiful with a coy smile on her lips.

With a glint of hope in his eyes, the old man requested, “Uday Singh Chauhan, my daughter has already suffered a lot. I just beg you to keep her happy.”

With utmost sincerity in his voice, Uday answered, “Swearing on the fertile Earth, the omnipresent Ether, the priceless water, the calm air and the deadly fire; I promise to give all the happiness to Nandini, care for her and shower her with all the affection she deserves”. Uday had his eyes glued at Nandini whose heart fluttered listening to his heart felt confession. She looked up to him with immense love in her pitch black eyes as she mentally thanked Aparajita for arranging her wedding with the man she adored.

On the other hand, Veerbhadra’s parents retired back to their bed chambers feeling proud of their future daughter-in-law who was striving hard to make this world a better place for women. They were happy for their son who had finally got an opportunity to spend his life with the woman who was just perfect for him. Aparajita’s father retired to his bed chambers with a satisfying smile on his face as both of his daughters were getting married in the coming month to the love of their lives.

Amidst all of this, Veerbhadra and Aparajita took their responsibilities as they summoned the royal guards as well as royal maids in the assembly hall and distributed them their duties. They enlisted all the rituals and requisite necessities after all, they just had handful days to prepare for the regal event.

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Hi everyone

Pheww! This is the last chapter.🥰

To be noted that the Hindu scriptures actually had provisions of Widow Remarriage. ☺

I would thank each one of you who is reading this story for your unwavering support despite my irregular updates. 🙏🏻

I am truly overwhelmed upon completion of this story because this historical fiction attempt of mine is really close to my heart. ♥️

I hope you enjoyed it. 😊

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Take care ♥️

Hopefully, Epilogue is coming up soon. ❣

Love you all
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