Aditha's Queen

The Hero At The Forefront

Bhimadeva Shahi's annual shraddha rituals were conducted through many religious ceremonies befitting the great king, who in his old age had given up his life voluntarily by meditating on Lord Shiva and offering himself unto Him by descending into the sacrificial fire.

Maharaja Jayapala Shahi and his queen visited the old palace on the shraddha day and after taking part in the rituals, invited Maharani Dhiddha to their palace. It was the new residence of the king since he assumed power some years ago and thus the power centre of the Hindu Shahi kingdom. The Maharani has always declined pompous royal reception upon her arrival as her visit to Udabhanda was for a solemn occasion.

Maharaja Jayapala was a very tall, well-built, handsome man with a sharp intellect and a fine sense of humour. He already knew Naravahana and everyone else who came with Dhiddha very well. So the queen only introduced Aditha to the king.

"Adithya was crown prince of a vassalage in Dakshin Bharath who forsook the throne to marry his love. Obviously, the kshatriya brahmin demarcation is very strong in Dakshin Bharath unlike the feeble delineation here. So he has now arrived in Kashmir to make a new home." The queen then pointed at Nandini who was holding Kannan and said, "Nandini here is his celestially beautiful wife and Kanha is their little son."

After Aditha and Nandini had respectfully exchanged greetings with the king, the Maharaja said to Aditha, ". It takes a lot of courage to walk away from the seat of power. Only an unflinching commitment to love, duty or honour can achieve that. I wish i will have the courage to abdicate if the need ever arises."

The king then shifted his gaze from Aditha to his queen and drawled, "And contrarily, in my case, it is Maharani Chandrakala's regal beauty that is not letting me renounce." His queen blushed and everyone else smiled.

"Jayapala! I hope Bhrathrujaya (SIL) is not tying down your efforts against the enemies, now that i know you are a slave to her beauty." Dhiddha made a tongue-in-cheek remark to her distant cousin, who was younger than herself.

"My dear sister, I am a tad less of a slave than Kshema was to you", the Maharaja bantered back and made Dhiddha smile proudly, albeit sadly. "And trust this brother of yours to uphold the Shahi spirit against all odds. I will update you on all the tidings tomorrow", Jayapala Shahi said and left for his palace with his queen.

Aditha and Nandini noticed the mutual trust, respect and affection between Jayapala and Dhiddha. They also noted how seamlessly they switched between Sanskrit, Gandhari Prakrit and Kashmiri Prakrit during the conversation.

On the next day, the Shahi royal house hosted and honoured Dhiddha and her retinue suitably. Dhiddha along with Naravahana's and Aditha's families gathered at the banquet hall with the king and queen. The dinner was filled with pleasant conversations and lavish food and drinks.

"Help yourselves to more Kapisa wine", Maharaja Jayapala prompted his guests. He was surprised to know that Aditha has always hated and avoided distilled spirits and had given up meat after marrying Nandini.

Dhiddha extended her golden goblet for a refill. "I have neither lost my love for Kapisa (Kabul region) nor my taste for Kapisa wine", she said with a wry smile as the Maharaja filled her goblet.

Dhiddha was worried that since Bhimadeva's death, the Lawiks were defeated and Ghazna had gone into the hands of the Samanid commanders and they were at the doorstep of Kabul now.

Jayapala gauged her thoughts and said, "After the Lawiks lost Ghazna despite our support, it is fast becoming an autonomous power and its governor is ambitious to expand. He is urged by Sabuktigin who is slowly gaining power and support in the army. He is a vicious jihad warrior. My instincts tell me that Bharath is soon faced with a never-before-seen-or-heard brutal attack on her foundational culture and values. I am at the forefront of this attack and i swear i will give my all to fight this assault."

"And I will send reinforcements to support you", said Dhiddha.

"I have always taken that for granted. And it is very important for all the kings of Bharath to unite and put up a consolidated effort to counter this. I am strengthening our war alliances in the region and mainland Bharath as best as i can. But you know the reality of kshatriya disunity that is unfortunately prevalent in Bharath", the king said.

Dhiddha nodded and said, " I hear from Naravahana that Adithya is a an unparalleled warrior. I will leave him with you to counter the enemies."

"You need him more, Dhiddha. Kashmir needs him more." Jayapala Shahi then turned to Aditha and said, "Adithya, Kashmir has very big challenges of her own. Make Kashmir an impregnable fortress with your abilities. It is very important to have a powerful Kashmir while i deal with the malicious enemies. Promise me that you will always strengthen my sister's hands and i will deal with the enemies in peace."

Aditha had already gained immense respect for Jayapala Shahi. The king had clarity of thought, foresight, honesty and was passionate. "I promise to serve her majesty, Sir. But feel free to summon me any time and i will be at the forefront with you", he said to the king.

Jayapala Shahi smiled. "I am now like Sindhuraj. I am the wall between the enemies and the rest of Bharath. Until i fall, you will not face them. Take care of Kashmir", he said to Aditha.

Aditha folded his hands in acceptance and then looked enquiringly at Naravahana, not knowing who Sindhuraj was.