If Draupadi had any doubt about the identity of her husband before while walking towards her new home and listening to the conversation between him and his brothers she realised that she had married the man her father had always wanted her to marry, the Pandava prince of Hastinapur, Kumar Arjun. Among the rest, the tallest and bulkiest of all was Vrikodar Bheemsena, who had the strength of a thousand elephants. The two younger ones, who looked almost identical, were the twins of Queen Madri. And the calmest of them all, the one who walked in front of everyone with his head held high, must be the crown prince of Hastinapur, Kumar Yudhisthira. Draupadi wore a pleased smile on her face as she walked with them towards their residence on the outskirts of the city by the forest. The realisation that she married the prince who her father told her was the best archer in the world, made her satisfied and proud of her decision.
After walking for almost an hour they reached in front of a hut, where their mother was waiting for them. The five men conversed among themselves and rarely said anything to her. A few times, she caught all of them stealing glances at her. When their eyes met, realising that they had been caught, the men averted their gaze. Although Draupadi felt a little uncomfortable when her husband's brothers looked at her, she tried to hide it behind a polite smile. She grinned when Arjun's dreamy eyes fell on her.
Arjun invited Draupadi inside their small hut. Draupadi's eyes wandered around, taking in the details of every small thing she saw for the first time. The bamboo frame, the earthen walls, the straw roof, the six mats made out of Madur Kathi, and a bunch of matted clothes hanging from the hangup rods made of twigs of bamboo were wonders for her. In the back of the hut was the kitchen, where they assumed Kunti was.
-"Mata, look what we got as alms today!" Bheem shouted excitedly upon entering the even smaller kitchen in their makeshift hut. In front of the traditional clay oven, sat a woman, her posture straight and rigid. Draupadi gazed at the woman's back. A strand of dark hair peeked out from under her plain white saree which covered her head, almost touching the ground. Kunti could see the reflection of her five sons and the girl dressed in royal wedding clothes and elaborate golden jewellery on a brass pot for making rice, that was kept beside her. It was not hard to guess the identity of this seemingly unknown girl, who else but the renowned Princess of Panchal. She sighed; she had to do it, for the sake of keeping her sons united forever.
The previous day, when the Pandavas returned from the temple, Kunti noticed something strange about their behaviour. Arjun had forgotten to bring fruits from the forest, which he had gone to get. When Kunti asked him what he had brought, he lowered his head in shame and his cheeks turned pink in embarrassment. He went out again and returned with some bananas, guavas, jujube fruits, and a coconut. Yudhisthira sat on a rock in front of their hut, lost in thought. Meanwhile, Bheem almost chopped Nakul's hand off, but Kunti warned them just in time while they were cutting firewood. Sahadev absent-mindedly was scribbling on a piece of palm leaf and when Kunti went to call him for lunch, he spilled the entire pot of ink on the floor. Not wanting to ask them directly where their minds were, Kunti decided to ask them about their day. The first thing that came out of their mouths was about the regal Princess of Panchal. Then they went on about her beauty and grace whom they had seen that morning in the temple.
It was obvious that all of them were drawn to the princess. A month ago, when the pilgrims of Kashi, whom they met in the forest, told them about the Swayamvar and how King Drupad desired Arjun to be his son-in-law, they decided to travel to Kampilya. Arjun would somehow participate in the competition and would surely win it. If he married the Princess of Panchal, the Pandavas would gain the support of King Drupad, and their enemies in Hastinapur wouldn't dare to harm them anymore. They could emerge from hiding and return to Hastinapur to reclaim Yudhisthira's throne.
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Beyond Times
Historical Fiction-"And where do I reside?" -"You reside in my heart, Priye!" Two broken souls, who endured pain and loneliness all their life. Destiny united them and they became one. they healed each other. But in the restless time of chaos and distraction what aw...
