Sankarshana - The Mighty Bringer Of Joy

Chapter 1

It was a chilly winter morning filled with lots of festivities as the city of Mathura prepared to welcome their newfound princes. Krishna and Balarama attempted to get dressed in the rather complicated royal robes and jewels, but the elder somehow managed to get it done faster.

He waited with a smile as his brother walked towards him at the pace of a snail, struggling to fix his necklace. His dhoti was not so neatly draped and neither were the peacock feathers of his crown attached properly. But Balarama expected him to do well with the necklaces he was so used to wearing even back home.

"Come here," he called, arm outstretched. Krishna gave up completely on the piece of heavy gold and came over to his brother, handing it to him.

"Do people in the palace wear such fancy clothes everyday?" he asked, seeming both fascinated and slightly overwhelmed.

"I'm pretty sure they do." Balarama replied. "All we know of Mathura is from the weird demons we had to fight." He rolled his eyes and chuckled.

"Yeah and I think that's precisely what we're expected to change. What a great start already."

Balarama fixed the necklace and adjusted his brother's armlet. Although they behaved nearly normally ever since they'd come to Mathura, there was still a hidden hint of sadness, disappointment, even betrayal, in everything they did.

But the boys who had been brought up to rear cattle and nurture prospering agricultural fields were now being asked to do something massive.

Krishna tripped on his dhoti as he tried to pick up a bracelet for his brother. "How do people survive in full length dhotis?" Krishna murmured under his breath, when his brother began laughing. "Yeah, laugh, laugh all you want! I know perfectly well even you can't walk around in this."

"I can handle myself better alright? You're the one who's going to trip over your own clothes, thanks."

"Whatever. Get ready quick. They're going to show us off, two villager boys, to the subjects, as their new princes."

"I'm ready." Balarama replied, picking his brother's crown off his head with disappointment. "When you can fit feathers onto a turban, how can you struggle to do it on the crown?"

He carefully aligned the three big, beautiful peacock feathers perfectly between his thumb and index finger and placed the stack carefully behind the clip, attaching it to the beautiful crown.

"That's how you do it, child." Balarama mocked.

"Thank you, grandpa." Krishna replied with a flashy, wide, incredibly artificial smile.

"Right, maybe we should actually go or our real grandpa won't be happy."

When Krishna rolled his eyes, Balarama grabbed his wrist and walked towards the court. They lost their way every three seconds and had to ask someone to help them navigate in the massive palace.

Eventually, they did reach the court. Though they were tripping on their long dhoti and angavastra and getting frustrated with prickly necklaces, they did eventually reach their destination.

They walked in at their "royal" best (it was absolutely like normal young boys struggling to handle silks and gold in front of hundreds of people staring at them with anticipation), and stood near the two seats next to one another that had been arranged for them.

Ugrasena Maharaja stood at the throne, beaming at the boys who had just freed the Yadavas from the worst they had ever had. Kamsa.

"Mathura!" he began, addressing everyone who had assembled. "Here are our two Princes." He had his arms outstretched, pointing at them with pride and a smile.