Kaal Chakra

2. बुध्

बुध् - Meaning to come to; wake up; recover consciousness after fainting

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Somnath, Prabhasa

Chaturdashi, Phalguna Krishna Paksha, 5000 BCE

The moment she fainted, Uddhava, who was standing on her other side, kneeled down next to her.

" Bhratashree, her condition doesn't look so good. I will go ahead and inform the rest of our family. And also tell Daruka to bring the chariot here." He said and upon getting a nod of approval from his older brothers, he stood up and almost ran in the direction of the temple.

"She recognised you, Kanha." Balarama said quietly, looking at his brother.

"She recognised us, Dau. Not just me." The dark-skinned lord said, fondly stroking the forehead of the unconscious girl.

"Her head is bleeding." Sankarshana said after a momentary silence, observing the specks of blood on Krishna's soft palm.

The usually stern face of the strict crown prince of the Yadavas had softened at the sight of the young girl whose skin was scratched up in various places. However, his forehead wrinkled the slightest when he observed her clothing.

Just as he was about to say something about it, the sound of hooves thundering on the ground mixed with the rumbling of chariot wheels stole their attention.

They turned around and looked in the opposite direction. A magnificent royal chariot with four pure white horses pulling it, was moving swiftly towards them.

With only one glance, anybody could tell that this beautifully crafted chariot belonged to Dwarkadheesh Vasudeva Krishna.

It was made out of the strong, sturdy wood of the Keekar tree and was so spacious that it could easily fit atleast ten people and a dozen weapons. The umbrella of the chariot was made out of intricately carved pure gold that blazed fiercely in the rays of Surya Narayana. Tiny gold bells hung from the wide radius of the umbrella which  produced the sweetest tinkling sound as the winds pushed through them. At its crown, a triangular saffron coloured Garuda dhwaja, made out of velvety silk and embroidered heavily with gold and silver threads, fluttered wildly in the sea breeze. The four horses, namely, Shaibya, Sugriva, Balahaka and Meghapushpa, occasionally tossed their silvery manes in the air as they ran in a quick synchronised manner.

Within a few moments, it stopped in front of them and a tall, lean man jumped out from the charioteer's seat. He was Daruka, one of Krishna's most trusted men as well as his close friend.

Face twisted in concern and apprehension, he rushed towards the scions of Yadu clan.

"My lord, Yuvaraj Balarama, are the both of you alright?" He asked, his words tumbling over each other in his haste to check whether his beloved Dwarkadheesh and the heir apparent of Dwarkawati were in pink health.

With a melodious laugh, Krishna stood up from the ground and kept a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"We are completely fine, mitra. But this unconscious young girl is in need of your amazing charioteering skills so that we can reach Dwarka as fast as possible and get her treated by the Raj Vaidya."

"At once, my lord. Shall I lift her onto the chariot?" Daruka asked humbly.

"No, it's alright. You go and take your seat. Dau and I will bring her." Dwarkadheesh said and with a quick pranaam, Daruka went to the chariot and took his place before turning it around skillfully, so that they could climb on.