10,000BC
The era prior to Mahabharata
BHARATVARSHA---A kingdom resplendent with wealth,beauty, valor and spirituality, the epitome of education, knowledge,principles and POLYANDRY.
But a turn of events leads the High Priestess to issue a prophecy f...
The soldiers of the rival countries stood taut;with bow in hand and arrows in their quiver as they glared at each other;each comtemplating the other's murder with solid conformity. It was a normal day at the border between Bharatvarsha and Mayavarsha which marked the separation between the two nations, their ideologies, their habits and their consciousness. And the grand border was marked by a......small 'swamp' filled with rohu fishes swimming contentedly, blissfully unknowing of the fact that their habitat was the demarcation between the two great nations.The countries had never warred after the last "Great Siege" but the sourness which the incident left behind did not heal with time. Though the younger Aryan soldiers tried to be amiable and reset peaceful relations at the border but the ego filled seniors' constant taunting competition made it hard to do so.The loud sound of conch shells marked the change in the soldiers' shifts as the next group began to proceed towards their stationed posts.
Swachhi, a 26 year old Mayan woman from the Yona tribe observed everything from behind the tree trunk. Her 3 year old daughter Maya watched her with inquisitive eyes as she began to think of her next plan of action. She had spent several prahars hiding inside an army truck transporting rice grains to the Mayan army quarters. She somehow managed to get herself as close to the border as possible without being seen. Swachhi perceived everything around her. The Mayan soldiers who were about 15 feet away had their back to her facing the Aryans.The Aryan warriors had still not finished positioning themselves which was weird because they exceeded the Mayans in nearly every way. It seemed odd to Swachhi that they were slogging at such an important task. Moreover, she had an eerie feeling that the Aryans could see her but decided not to linger her mind on it. She noticed that this shift of warriors contained younger men and women who were not so much as glaring at each other like their predecessors. They seemed to be friendly and many of them were carrying out small talks as if to ease the serious situation created by their seniors. Swachhi thought that this might be a suitable time for making an escape. She realised that the large distances between each soldier would make it easy for her to escape, had there been no traps laid at the line of control, in order to prevent intruders from invading. She was well aware of the kind of traps which they had laid.
Swachhi had been planning her escape to Bharatvarsha for several months and hence had read about all the possible ways of smart escapades. She had duct-taped her daughter's mouth to prevent her from making any noise and tied her hands behind her back. Her left hand held her daughter while in her right hand, were tear bombs which was supposed to cause a confusion among Mayan soldiers while she made her escape. However, Swachhi had no idea about how would she be able to make her entry into Bharatvarsha with all the treacherous traps laid; that would directly blast her once she stepped on it.
Swachhi calmed her erratic breathing as she analysed her situation. The entire Mayan royal family was looking for her frantically. If she got caught by them ,she along with her daughter would be brutally tortured by them to reveal the secret. That thought brought a shiver down her spine. She looked at Maya's innocent face and kissed her head. "I wouldn't allow anything bad to happen to you, my dear. We are in this together. We have nothing to lose. If we cross the border without stepping on those traps and without being seen by the Aryans, we live; or else we die. But we should not get ourselves caught by the Mayans. They would not allow us to either live or die." Swachhi said fearfully. She closed her eyes and chanted Lord Shiva's Tandav Strotram.Her fear slowly subsided and gave her a newfound strength and a sense of clarity. Her mind began to clear and vision sharpened. She looked around and saw a medium sized catapult some 20 feet away from the tree trunk.
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An idea struck her like lightning. The idea was insane. She knew both of them would die instantly but for Swachhi it was a do or die situation. She stealthily crept towards to catapult.Her green and brown clothes gave her perfect camouflage in the forest environment.
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CRUNCH!
In her excitement of reaching the catapult she unknowingly stepped on a large twig. The sound that emanated was not very loud but it was significant enough to alert the Mayans positioned at the border.
Swachhi knew that her cover was busted. She did not look back. Hordes of arrows rained on her as she mounted the catapult with her daughter. Miraculously, none of the arrows harmed any of the two. Chanting Lord Shiva's strotram;Swachhi worked as if in a trance. She threw both the tear bombs at the approaching soldiers and did not wait to see the results. While the soldiers coughed and bawled she descended the catapult; picked up a huge rock in her right hand holding Maya in the other; climbed the catapult again and threw the rock on the heavy counter weight with perfect aim. She held Maya tight to her bosom and closed her eyes."Om Namah Shivay",she chanted as the duo hurtled towards space. A defeaning sound of bombs, and a head splitting thud and Swachhi knew no more.
