Pralāya Yajña : The Jewel of Gajasāhrya

3| Time flies

3 years later ~

The firstborn of Pandu watched as the lapping flames of the funeral pyre made her eyes go cold as the ruby gem they were always compared to.

"Amazing as always, Maheswari"! Pandu praised as Maheswari finished her first sect of training in archery after two whole prahars.

A grin broke out on her face as she swiped the sweaty strands of hair off her face, lowering the wooden bow.

"But I'm not as good as Anuj Arjun. I don't why", she mumbled while splashing cool water on her face.

Pandu gave her a kind smile as he responded, "Patience, Putri. You achieving this sort of level for a sixteen year old girl is an achievement in itself! I'm sure you will improve more though it seems that you have a special preference for the sword such as the twins."

"Ah yes. I suppose it's because, during fencing, I get to move around much unlike archery where one needs to have a steady footing."

"If there's something that you need to improve on other than your archery skills, it's definitely your patience. You are too impulsive for your own good", Pandu chuckled and ruffled her already deshelved hair.

"Now practice five hundred swings with your sword till the time I come back from visiting your Mata Madrī", Pandu instructed and left with Maheswari ardently obeying his commands as she started swinging her sword in various strikes. Only after two years of extensive training with the wooden one did she get to hold an actual weapon.

The experience of practising with the real deal was divine as it fitted her hands like a glove. It almost seemed as if the weapons she held, regardless of their forms, were like a part of her body — like various pairs of limbs.

After finishing nearly three hundred strikes, she took a short break to refresh herself with the cool mountain water and catch the breath she had exhausted while training. As the clear liquid cascaded through her locks, washing the sweat and dust with it, she noticed one of the sages's disciples running in her direction with a grave and panicked expression.

"M-MAHESWARI"! He called out as he gasped for air on reaching her.

"What's the matter, young Brahmin? Here, have some water", She asked in concern, handing out the earthen pot of water towards the disciple.

The young disciple shook his head as he wheezed out the words, "Dear girl, it's not the water I need. I-It's your father! H-H-He had unknowingly activated his curse"!

Maheswari covered the eyes of her twin brothers when she saw Madrī ascend the funeral pyre in an act of self- immolation due to her guilt of indirectly activating her husband's curse.

According to the disciple, her father and her second mother tried to get intimate in a nearby meadow without the knowledge of Kunti. A crushing weight settled upon her heart as she heard the frightening words that came out of the disciple's mouth.

At that moment, she had dearly hoped that whatever was taking place in front of her were merely the results of hallucinations because of overexerting herself during training. But life was never merciful.

Part of her wanted to blank out while the other gave birth to a hidden fury against her parents for their ignorance.

Why did they do that even though they were well aware of the consequences? Did they not care about us? 

Numerous blasphemous questions pervaded her subconscious. She sucked in a sharp breath of air as the screams of Arjun and Bheem pierced her eardrums as they tried to stop their mother from sacrificing herself to the flames. The sages and Yudhishthir rushed to stop the boys from unknowingly throwing themselves in the pyre along with their mother in a desperate attempt to save her. She felt Nakul and Sahadev squirming beneath her hold in confusion and curiosity to the harrowing events that were taking place beyond their covered eyes.