The Wrath of Gammon

Chapter 37

The Wrath of Gammon

Disclaimer: This story is my humble attempt to write a fanfiction of the epic Mahabharata. My intention is not to hurt anyone's sentiment.

Aum Namah Shivay!!

Major Jayant Roy, SM is a fictitious character. Any similarity with any living person is merely a coincidence.

Chapter 37

Mathura, Dwapar Yuga

Arjun POV

We had started our journey from Mathura to Hastinapur today. I was sad because I had to leave Madhav, but the soft smile of my newlywed wife was enough to suppress that sadness. My cousin, after he got the news of his wife's pregnancy, he was literally jumping with joy. He was acting so overprotective around his wife...well, it seems sometimes that he was literally overdoing himself. But still, his antiques were a treat to watch and it's nice to see that my cunning cousin is behaving like a child, because, as long as I knew him, he always had a mature aura engulfing him.

I looked at his chariot...which now had three fluffy quilts on the seat. He insisted for the extra quilts adamantly, much to the humour of all of us, including of Bhabishri Devapriya. He even insisted that two vaidyas from Mathura would accompany us up to Hastinapur. Maharaja Ugrasena had to talk to him...to knock some sense in his head, and the fact that Devi Devapriya herself had extensive medical knowledge helped a bit. Now, a young vaidya accompanied us on his horse.

The weather was fine today, so our journey was going without any problem. This was the monsoon season, but it seems that Indra Devta was merciful to us. The sky had clouds, but they were providing us a calm shadow.

"Aryaputra?", I turned my head to my Subhadra, who was looking at me with a calm smile in her lips. Her face was so pure, so beautiful, that I was literally drowning in her beauty.

"Yes?", I smiled at her. She snuggled at my chest, giggling softly. I embraced her tightly. We were losing ourselves in our little bubble of love, when suddenly her body jerked violently. I was shocked to see the fear in her face.

"What happened, beloved? Are you afraid?", I was concerned. She was literally shaking in my arms.

"Danger...danger is coming towards us. Be alert, alert him...."

BOOOM!!!

Her voice was interrupted by a loud sound. The sound literally pierced my eardrums, and it felt like the ground beneath us was shaking due to it. I stood up somehow, grabbing my bow tightly. There was a huge burning hole in the ground in front of us. I looked at Duryodhana, who was also standing now, with a mace in his hand. We both looked at each other, then looked at the soldiers accompanied us. They were all grabbing their weapons tightly, with a shocking expression. I know the reason of their shock, because they don't know who the assailant was.

"Kumar, I saw a huge, burning stone fall from the sky.", I heard my charioteer's shaken voice. I looked at him to say some reassuring words, but then I heard a sound. This sound was coming from above. I looked above and what I saw made my blood cold.

In the clear blue sky, a huge burning stone appeared magically, and it started falling straight towards my head. I quickly fired a shakti towards it. The burning arrow hit the stone and broke into pieces.

"Everybody, take cover!", Duryodhana's roaring voice entered in my ear, "Arjun, you okay there?"

"Yes, I am...."

My voice was interrupted by another two burning stones which were now falling on us from the top. Another burning shakti went to them, and saved us in the nick of time.

"Who are you, coward? Show yourself!", I roared. But it was of no use. The invisible assailant didn't master the courage to show himself. Suddenly, I heard the sound of another stone falling, but it was not falling on us. It was falling straight to my cousin's chariot. I quickly tried to fire another shakti, but I was too late. With horror, I saw him hovering on his wife like a canopy, and the huge burning stone contacted with his back.

Boom!!

With astonished eyes, I saw that huge burning stone breaking into a thousand pieces. But then I saw with utmost horror that my cousin's body slammed into his wife's under the impact of that stone. The impact was so powerful, that both of them slammed into the back of the chariot. The wooden barrier hit bhabhishri's back and it broke, and both of them fall down on the ground. All of these happened so swiftly, that I was startled for a moment.

"Priya! Open your eyes, Priya!"

The fanatic voice of my cousin literally broke me out of my trance. I looked at the surroundings, and saw dead bodies of the soldiers accompanied us. Some of them were injured, and they were lying in a pool of their own blood, with the blood of the horses.

"Where is the vaidya? Where is he?", Duryodhana was shouting like a madman. I felt the soft hands of Subhadra hugged me tightly.

"The vaidya is killed too.", she murmured, her voice was choking with sobs.

The warrior inside me was burning with revenge, but her soft touch was enough to calm my head. We quickly jumped on the ground and ran towards my cousin, who was still holding the unconscious body of his wife. When I got closer, I saw the blood flowing from her mouth. A cold shudder passed through my spine. He somehow sensed me standing beside me. He looked at me, tears flowing from his eyes.

"Arjun, she is not moving! She is not responding! She is not talking to me!"

I quickly checked her pulse and to my horror, I couldn't found any. Subhadra was beside me now, crying softly. For the first time in my life, I didn't know what to do. Suddenly, I heard my cousin's voice.

"I won't die before my death...I won't be defeated before my defeat."

I looked at his face. It became hard as iron. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then he sat on the ground on lotus position, after carefully placing his wife's head on his lap. He crossed his hands and started chanting.

"Om tryamvakam yajamahe sugandhim pusti-vardhanam/Urvarukam iva vandhanam mrytor muksiya ma mrtat."

It was the 'Mahamrityunjaya Mantra', a mantra which had the power to even stop the Yam Raja. The chant was booming in the atmosphere. I could feel the power of his chant in my mind. A huge amount of raw power was manifesting around us. With each passing moment, the power was becoming more violent, more sinister. Then for the first time in my life, I felt fear in my mind. Suddenly something flashed in my mind like a lightning. I quickly crossed my hands and closed my eyes.

"Madhav, please help us."

I called my Sakha with all the love, all the respect, all the devotion I could feel in my heart. The energy from Duryodhana's chant was still gathering around us. I could feel that energy started pressing my soul and mind now. Then suddenly, a calm aura engulfed me totally. Then I heard the voice which has the ability to push me out from all sadness, all evil and all other bad omens.

"You okay, Partha?"

So this is chapter 37. Please read, vote and comment.