Beyond Times

Chapter 53 - The Battle at the Swayam Var

-"As your so perspicuous daughter has successfully insulted and denied the only one who could have fulfilled the task, are you ready to send your daughter off as a Dasi, King Drupad?" Jarasandh asked, his spiteful venomous words made King Drupad worried for the first time that day.

Drupad turned to Krishna for help, "Vasudev, what do I do now? The society would not accept my daughter if she remains unmarried today."

-"Your daughter will not remain unmarried Panchal Raj. Don't worry too much. As the royals have failed to accomplish the task at hand, I think we should now open the competition for the Brahmins." Krishna suggested.

-"You think the task that the mighty warriors of Aryavarth couldn't do, a mere Brahmin would be able to do?"

-"Many Brahmins are skilled warriors Panchal Raj. One such warrior is present right in front of you." Krishna pointed towards Ashwatthama with his eyes.

Drupad's expression turned bitter, "Not even in my worst nightmare I can imagine him as my son-in-law, the son of that dirt-poor Brahmin who came to me to seek alms."

Krishna's voice became hard, "You are forgetting he is the king of Uttar Panchal now and eighty percent of the Brahmins in this, who do not engage in malpractice are dirt-poor."

Drupad dismissed the edge of Krishna's words and replied, "But they are not Drona's sons." He thought for a moment and then instructed Dhrishtadyumna, "Putra, please announce that the competition is now open for the Brahmins. If anyone wishes to come forward and believes they can fulfil the task, I will offer them my daughter's hand in marriage." 

-"Marrying a poor Brahmin is at least better than marrying a Suta King," Drupad muttered under his breath. 

Krishna, as if defeated, just shook his head. He looked up toward Tiasha only to find her staring into the eyes of a certain someone. She was almost in a trance, lost in those amber orbs that gazed back into her dark pools. Nothing that was going on around her reached her ears. 

-'Ahh! At least something entertaining enough is happening in between all this chaos.' He thought as the smile returned to his face. He lightly drummed his fingers on the back of Tiasha's hand which was set on the armrest of his seat. 

The sudden touch startled her. She looked at him and the teasing smirk on his lips made her blush. She released a sigh, at least nobody could see her flushed face as it was covered with the veil.

Dhrishtadyumna stood up and announced, "As none of the great Kings of Aryavarth could complete the task I request the Nobel Brahmins present in the arena to join the competition. It would be very unfortunate for all of us if my sister remains unmarried today. Please come forward, oh great Brahmins and save my sister from this grave situation."

The royals exchanged mocking smirks. The Brahmins in the arena shifted in their seats, none of them willing to invite insults upon themselves. After a little while of hushed mummer in the crowds, a mismatching group of five stood up from the midst of the Brahmins. The way they communicated with each other, people had no difficulty figuring out they were brothers. One among them stepped forward towards the dais while the remaining four waited at the sideline. 

Royals and common people in the crowd covered their mouths to hide their laughter. The idea of how a broke bloke like him dreams of winning the hand of a princess seemed jocular to them. The man was not much to look at. He was tall and well-built but not as much as the mountain of a man like his brother. He was dark, but not as much as Krishna, or Draupadi, or even Tiasha. Dressed In saggy tattered soiled saffron clothes, his unrecognisable beard-covered (handsome) face, and matted dusty hair, he was not much to look at.